All the Wrong Places (excerpt)

Chapter 1

"Get out of my face!" Edward Sanders bellowed. His voice vibrated in every corner of the tea room where he sat with his wife, his son and his daughter. "Get out of our lives! Consider yourself banished! You cannot expect any form of financial support from this family from now on!"

"Dad!" Julianne heard her twin brother plead. "That is too harsh a punishment! She made a mistake but she's still my sister, she's still your daughter! And the baby she is carrying in her tummy is every bit our flesh and blood! Do you really want your grandchild to grow up without a family?"

"What difference does it make? It will grow up without a father, right? Its poor excuse of a father chose for him to become a bastard! And its mother chose to smear this family's name! Generations of good reputation, wealth and grace... gone because of your sister's indiscretion!"

"I know she caused you grief. But I guarantee you it would break your heart even more if you choose to banish her from this family, father. Please don't do this!" Gian tried desperately to defend his sister.

"I have made my decision. Your sister has made her bed, she has to go lie on it!"

Julianne listened in tears as her father and twin brother talked about her like she was not in the same room at all. Her mother cried silently beside her father. She couldn't even bring herself to look at her.

"Where will she go?" Gian asked.

"I don't care where she goes, so long as she and her bastard stay away from this family!"

Julianne's heart broke even more for the baby inside her tummy. Usually, news of pregnancy was celebrated, particularly in their family. Her baby wasn't even born yet and he was already hated, loathed and cursed by his very own grandfather.

"I am giving you three hours to pack," her father said to her. "When I come back from my golf game, you better be gone."

"You're kicking her out of the house while you continue to have a good time with your golf buddies? What kind of a father are you?" Gian asked his father angrily.

"Don't use that tone on me, Giancarlo Sanders! Or do you want to be the next to be disinherited?"

"You're disinheriting her?" Gian echoed.

"After what she did to tarnish our family name? After I had to swallow all my pride to tell the McAllisters that we could no longer honor our agreement? She should be thankful that's the only thing I'm doing."

"You are unbelievable," Gian said, shaking his head. He turned to his sister. "Come on, Ian. We can figure something out."

Julianne gave her father one pleading look. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to break your heart. I am so sorry."

Her father turned away from her, without uttering another word. Gian quickly dragged her out of the room and into her bedroom so she could pack her precious belongings.

After she packed a few clothes, her eyes drifted to the cabinet in her room. It was full of her glass bottle collection. She walked towards the cabinet, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You cannot bring that, sis," Gian told her.

"Gian, I've collected these since I was young!"

"I know. I will safeguard them for you, don't worry. Where you're going, you cannot bring a cabinet full of fragile glass bottles."

She nodded, and then took her bag from the bed.