(Emily's Point of View)

The trek up the driveway to my parents house was unpleasant at best, the frosty February air gusted against me. Michael waited in the car outside just in case anything happened between us, after all we hadn't talked much since I introduced Nate to him.

I wouldn't be able to show all of my cards this round after all my largest gambit was the documents my mother had. But if I played them too soon they would realize that we were the ones to break her out of the prison they held her in. Not yet at least we needed to see how far this plot went and without all of their plans we would be going in their guns blazing blindly.

I arrived at their doorsteps the door was cold to the touch as I knocked two sharp knocks. I waited for a couple moments bracing myself for the topics I knew would come up during my time here. But we needed to at least play one card while I was here to stop the progression of their plans.

"Ameilia nice to see you after so many months." Sebastian invited me in acting far to cordial for my own tastes. I still made my way inside as he lead us through the house to where Sala sat in the living room. I glanced around remembering the last time I had been here with them.

"Excuse me!" Shock was evident in my voice as I paced in front of my sorry excuses of parents. Now, it's not as though I hated them all the time. Nor was I ever a wild child in my teens, and they reward me with this.

"It's not that difficult to understand, Emily." My Mother's exhaustion was prominent, her voice exasperated and coming out as a sigh. 

"You expect me," I paused putting my thumbs to my chest, "to marry some random man that you," I take a deep breath to again, I had to keep calm. I pointed towards my mother, "have picked out for me."

"Mother." I nodded towards her keeping my back straight as I went to sit on the couch opposite of her. Sebastian sat down next to her watching me with blank eyes, I wondered if he ever realized that I wasn't related to him.

"How has your new job been treating you Ameilia?" Sala asked me her own eyes guarded as she talked to me. The atmosphere was stiff filling my lungs with lead like I couldn't breathe properly.

"It's been enjoyable and I've learned much under Mr. Winston." I could feel my lips quirk up in a smirk as I watched them react to the name. Nate had brought the topic up to my just yesterday and I agreed almost instantly.

Yesterday...

"Fenice can we chat for a second." Nate gently pulled me away from the rest of the group and the bedroom we now shared. With everyone under one roof we each had gone off in pairs to share the rooms. Dai and Michael both ended up having their own rooms while my parents shared a room.

"What's up Chimere." I smiled slightly enjoying the French name rolling off my tongue, I took his hand in mine lacing them together.

"I want to cast my name as Richmond aside, its done you enough harm." I paused for a moment surprised at the words falling from his mouth.

"So your changing it to Kolebrook?" It made sense after all James had practically raised him and gave his company to him. Imagine my surprise when he slowly shook his head once more and bent down onto one knee.

"Nate what are you doing?" I questioned rapidly feeling emotions flash through me more at once, confusion, scared, happy, and excited.

"Don't worry Fenice I'm not proposing." He laughed slightly smiling at me with a yearning look in his eyes, "I want to take your mother's name of Winston and one day I wish for you to as well."

"I think that's the best idea you've ever had."

End of Flashback...

"Mr. Winston? You mean Nathaniel Richmond." My father spoke carefully as if I was a toddler that messed up someone's name.

"He's legally changing it today to Winston, so as I said Mr. Winston has taught me much." I responded crossing my legs and folding my hands into my lap. My Father began to lean forward watching me with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"I'm glad you've learnt from him," He paused allowing Sala to finish off for him, "But don't you believe it's time to face reality?" I knew what they were referring to and I no longer was going to be a player in their game.

"Perhaps it's time for you to face reality." Slowly I rose from my seat my back straight and my head held back. No longer would I be intimidated by my family instead I would stand in their opposition.

"What reality is that?" Sala stood up first with Sebastian following her lead supporting her from behind.

"I am not your puppet. I will not be marrying Brandon Harris Richmond and I will not be pushed around by you any longer." I began to head towards the door making peace with what I had said, we had already planned on how they would retaliate.

"Ameilia!" Sala shouted out as they both followed behind me as I made my way to the front door. I made my way to the sidewalk I had walked on just minutes earlier. In the distance I could see Michael watching just in case I needed him, wading in the shade to steer clear of their lines of vision.

"Ameilia Abigail Montgomery!" Sebastian spurred out my name in a rapid fashion, I paused for a moment the name falling vile on my ears. Montgomery. Such a beautiful name for such horrible people, one that I hoped I would leave behind one day.

I turned around facing them with my arms on my hips standing strong against their invisible forces. Goosebumps rose on my arms from the frosty air and the leaves that made it through January blew throw the air.

"Get back inside and talk like an adult. We did not raise you to be an ungrateful Bitch." Sebastian's voice cut through the air like a whistle in the silence. His eyes flitted towards mine with his eyebrows narrowing their gaze.

I walked towards him leveling my eyes to him getting only an arms length away, "The time to talk is over Sebastian just as I am over you both." My eyes flash to Sala's for a moment at the word both before I turned making my way to the car.

"I'll cut you out of our family." His voice raised and if I listened enough I could hear the quaking of his voice. He may believe that this family is the most precious thing but I have no relations to him. I have a man whom I can look up to as a father and another who I love dearly.

"I have a family, one that doesn't need poisonous leaves." I responded continuing to the car watching my brother slowly getting closer.

"I hope you die just like that horrible woman that gave birth to you." I knew what he what he was trying to do, all of us had predicted his movements flawlessly. We had his brother on our side who knew him better than anyone after all.

Michael jumped in the car waiting for me to join him, I cast one more glance to the pair of people who stood at the house. I had spent the majority of my life doing their every whim and desire, but as a gust of wind hit me I realized that finally... finally I was free of their reign. Smiling I jumped into the car the wheels screeching as we took off.

"Salad and Sunburn didn't hurt you did they?" He ruffled my hair slightly with one hand my locks twisted in the air around me. He smiled at me before turning his eyes onto the road making sure we drove safely.

"I can handle myself Bro Biscuit." I crossed my arms over my favorite jacket rolling my eyes with a secret smile. Glancing down I looked at the necklace that stood more as a reminder than a piece of armor. I knew that it didn't matter than my Grammy wasn't related to my by blood, but it still hurt my heart that she didn't know the truth.

"I need to talk to you about something I almost forgot about Mich." I glanced down at the other pendant that hung around my neck, Nate's love was always with me. My brother and best friend deserved that kind of love to.

"You can talk to me about anything, except maybe my sex life." His chuckles echoed off the windows of the car, granted he had no idea how close the topic would be to that. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Sierra." I gauged his reaction seeing his fingers twitch slightly on the steering wheel and for a moment his face tensed before straightening out once more.

"What do I have to do with Sierra?" He tried to play it off but anyone who had heard his voice once could tell that something was off about him. It was stiff and filled with tension, nothing like the flexible and carefree attitude he normally wore.

"You should know that Sierra has a habit of accidently calling me when she's doing certain," I paused our eyes locking from the corner of our eyes. "Activities."

He took a sharp intake of breath involuntarily before responding, "No wonder she seems happy all the time if she found some guy." He tried to laugh it off playing it as a joke but I kept pushing knowing he would only confide in me.

"Yeah someone named Michael, say do you know anyone with that name?" I turned to fully face him showing that I knew everything even though I barely knew anything. But all of the glances at the Christmas party and the phone calls were enough for me to ask him up front.

"Do you love her Mich."

"Yes." He took another sharp breath almost as if the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. He looked over at me for half a second before going back to the rode ahead of us, his eyebrows knit together watching me.

"Relationships can either be filled with love or regret Biscuit, don't make my same mistakes." I regretted much from Nate and I's relationship but somehow we made our way back to each other.

"Her mother hates me, ours loves Nate its different." He muttered half to himself and half to me, but I wasn't going to let him make excuses.

"Nate and I weren't some fated love story regardless of what we say," Passion filled my entire body as I spoke sitting up on the edge of my seat, "We fought tooth and nail for our love against all odds."

"There will be toxic people in every family but if you choose each other than nothing can stand against you." I felt the beast inside of me that had laid dormant for so many years, the one the Montgomery name tried to kill. "Choose her. Love her. And never hurt her or I'll destroy you."

He smiled at me as small laugh escaping his throat, tears filled his eyes as he watched me. "When did you grow up." He shook his head and leaned over to hug me with tears threatening to escape.

"Mich the car!" I grasped my hands on the wheel to make sure we didn't hit the random pedestrian in the road. He quickly got back into his seat focusing on the road once more, to the rest of the world he may be the stone cold ladies man photographer. But when he talked to me he was nothing but a puppy dog.

The rest of the drive was uneventful until he was dropping me off, I refused to let him into the parking garage. I jumped out of the car and stood on the sidewalk shaking my head, it was time for him to fix his relationship.

"Sis just let me park my car!" He screamed trying to figure out the code to get into the garage, my only saving grace was his talent of forgetting codes. If his phone didn't have his thumb print then he would get locked out of it to.

"You chose each other, that's important Michael. I am not letting you into the apartment until you have her with you end of story." I stomped off towards the apartment complex smiling to myself when I heard the screeching of cars once more.

As I neared the entrance to the building my phone pinged, imagine my surprise when my not-so-half sister texted me. "Can we talk?" ~S

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