Ghost Soldiers || Bucky Barnes

Chapter 19: Goodbye

The night didn't end like Clementine had expected. She went home by midnight, after hearing Sinatra sing for over an hour. Bucky was dying to speak to him, but they were not allowed. However, he still had the best birthday ever, and he was so grateful for what she had done for him.

Arthur left Clementine home at 12:30, and then went to leave Bucky in Brooklyn. After saying her goodbyes, Clementine sighed and opened the door of her home, only to find most of the lights in the living room turned on. It was quite strange, since usually by that hour, everyone in the house were asleep.

She didn't think about it twice, and started climbing the stairs slowly. However, she stopped as soon as she heard her mother's voice behind her.

"Clementine, we need to speak to you." Said her mother, in an angry tone.

Clementine then turned around slowly and stared at her angry parents with their arms crossed in front of her. She then followed them to the living room, and wondered what was happening.

She then heard footsteps going down the stairs and saw Sophie storming into the room.

"I'm so sorry Clementine... I couldn't stop it." She said.

"We'll talk with you later, young lady. Now leave." Said her father, angry.

Before Clementine could say anything, Sophie sighed and turned around, leaving them alone once more. Clementine then turned around once more to face her angry parents.

"What's going on?"

"Don't you have something to tell us?" Asked her mother.

Clementine looked at her mother and then to her father and shook her head.

"I don't think so..."

"Oh, stop lying Clementine. We know the truth about that... Brooklyn guy." Said Mr. Argent, with disgust.

Clementine suddenly felt scared and extremely anxious. She had always known they would find out somehow, but she didn't think it would be that soon. She thought about pretending not to know what they were talking about, but something told her it would make things worse.

"Who told you?" She asked, staring at the ground. However, before her mother answered, she already knew the answer.

"Martha. Is is true, then? That he lied to both of you, making you believe he was a wealthy man?"

"Yes, but-"

"This is unbelievable. How is it possible that you went out again with such an uneducated man? We've taught you so much Clementine, how is that you disobeyed us and betrayed what this family stands for?" Said Mrs. Argent.

"Okay, what does James have to do with our family and what it stands for?" She said, confronting her.

"He has no money, you stupid child. He's not worth it, and I would never accept a man like that one into our family. It goes against our traditions! How could you forget all that?" Said Mr. Argent.

Clementine felt so hurt in that moment, since her father had never spoken to her like that before. He was usually a strict but a good man, and he had never called her something like that.

"I'm not apologizing for what I did. He's a good man, probably the best one I've ever met. And I don't care about those stupid traditions and about what people think! He makes me happy, something I think you will never understand." She said, raising her voice.

"Oh, don't be naive, Clementine. Happiness, really? Is that's what you're thinking of? You're supposed to make your family proud and to take over the company, you should not be thinking about love. You've always known people like us have to make sacrifices in order to stay powerful. And one of those is to marry someone suitable, even if you don't love them." Said Mrs. Argent.