The Beautifully Damned and the Eternally Blessed (SAMPLE)

Chapter Four: Cutting Losses and Cutting Ties

Jana's POV

Buckhead, Atlanta, the following day...

Gerald Michael Booker and Melania Veronica Booker (nee, Calhoun) strongly believed in seeking perfection in all that they do and with all that they have. And when it came to their children, it was more so since they believed that only the best and flawless in life was more acceptable. Or rather, they believed that their children should emulate them and pursue nothing but the highest standards that were set before them.

Unfortunately for Derrick and me, the two of us didn't fulfill what Mom and Dad wanted, hence him being dead and me being ready to cut ties with them. Melina, on the other hand, was as ruthless and callous as Mom and Dad are still, hence her being the family favorite.

And even as I had stepped out of the limo after an afternoon plane ride and seeing my best friends off back at the college (me promising to come back to the dorms after dealing with my family), I knew that neither of the three would let me cut ties with them that easily- especially not after the confrontational phone call the previous day. In my father's eyes, I had no say on what I wanted for my life and I was to be loyal to the family no matter what.

But I wasn't going to be denied like Derrick was before he had the gumption to finally break things off.

"Jana," Mom greeted me as she and Dad (both of them in matching white Dior) stood at the front of the doorway. "We've been wondering when you were finally going to arrive."

"Had to drop off my crew back at the AUC," I replied stiffly, foregoing one of Mom's hugs.

"Good, because your mother and I still want you to go through the wedding plans and let Asher make a lady out of you," Dad intoned as I followed him and his wife inside and we went through the halls, the maids and servants hustling and bustling with daily chores. "Asher's been asking for you and he wants to make things official with you, hence tonight's big party."

"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously, blinking twice. "And what makes you think that it's going to happen, especially when I'm still in college."

"Come now," Dad scoffed as we arrived in one of his many dens and took our seats while a waiter silently distributed glasses of iced tea for myself and Mom while Dad settled for his  glass of whiskey. "Your mother and I think that you're wasting your time at that school of low-levels despite being an HBCU. Besides, if you had went to Hampton, Howard, or one of the Ivy Leagues up north where your mother and I could keep our eyes on you; then you might've had a chance to have some say. Alas, you decided to be with the riff-raff. And besides, you don't need a degree to be a housewife and stay-at-home mom."

"And what makes you think that I want to become a mother when I'm only 22?" I asked sharply.

"Watch your tone, young lady," Mom warned. "And you should know that it's up to you and Melina to keep the family name rolling. Your sister already has two sons who are taking up after her just fine."

More like future prisoners who will become perfect chew toys on D-block, I thought to myself.

"That's right," Dad commented. "Melina is the sister that your mother and I wish you could emulate. I don't see why you two can't seem to get along."

I gave the man a pointed look. "It's because she's too much like you two," I explained flippantly. "Even when I was a preschooler, she would demand so much attention from you and you let her get away with everything and anything from under the sun while I can't even whistle without either Mom giving me Emily Post nightmares or you giving me the fifth degree whenever I was simply doing schoolwork. Tell me, Daddy dearest, if I was a boy and I was living a semblance of what you wanted, would you and Mom still treat me like garbage or worse when you did Derrick?"