marah's freedom

Chapter 3- Compared Siblings

Melanie's Pov:
I laid down on the surface of the fountain as I let my eyes close. 'I just adore our garden' I thought aloud, placing my hands on my lap. 'Careful, your hair is in the water' Marah warned. Usually I would've instantly sat up and fretted about getting wet hair but since I was so exhausted from tonight, I just didn't care. 'Meh' I mumbled under my breath. Marah snorted. 'Meh? What is that supposed to mean?' she questioned. 'I'm not exactly sure, most teens say it when they don't care about something' I explained, still having my eyes closed. 'How strange' my sister chuckled as she sat down near my head. 'Do you think father has taken this debate a little too far? I mean, he's constantly judging and discriminating against every person or company that tries to do anything creative' Marah suddenly brought up, I went silent for a moment. 'I have to say, I agree with what you're saying but sadly it's his job. We can't stop what he's doing' I told her, sighing. Our father is a wealthy businessman but is snappy and serious with almost everyone he works with, excluding his colleagues. He does meetings and debates with his company about what should be shut down and what should stay.

After some time of Marah and I just chatting and watching the fountain, we went back inside as dinner had been announced. 'A toast to Edward Mei! The company would not be the same without him, no doubt. It's thanks to his hard work and dedication that we can do our job properly and help the public. To Edward!' Micheal chanted, standing up with his raised glass of wine. Me and everyone else raised their glasses as well and cheered. After some more hours of drinking, eating and dancing, the guests started to leave our home. 'Thank you very much for coming!' I thanked the last person politely before closing and locking the front door. 'That was so tiring!' Marah sighed with a chuckle. 'I know right? Are you going straight to bed now? It is late' I mentioned, noticing it was past midnight. 'Hm...maybe I'll read for some time' she wondered aloud. 'Evening, girls. Melanie, you were so very polite to each one of my colleagues and they all told me how kind you were to them' our father walked up to us with his usual stern expression. 'Why thank you, father. I'm glad they all thought that about me' I beamed, he looked over to Marah, who was crossing her arms with frustration. 'Marah. You however were very disrespectful and you displayed disgusting behaviour towards most people at the gathering. To Oliver in particular..' he snapped, making Marah wince after every insult. 'Well, I think he was very rude towards those scientists, along with you, father' she sassed back with a sound that almost sounded like a growl. 'Go to your room!' father bellowed. Making the two of us jump, Marah was close to crying. 'I hate you!' she cried as she stormed outside to the back garden.