Inez had been listening to the same words over and over again, to the point that she was about to go crazy. And this was all because Dominic and the rest turned their backs on her.
Over and over again, she had questioned herself a million times. Why? Why did they hate her? What happened that made them hate her?
She bit her lip and turned to face her mother before saying to her, "Do you really think that? Do you really think that it's my fault? Then I will go and tell them the truth; let's see if they will still blame me once they realise where I was and what I was doing."
No sooner did she say those words than Maria's expression changed. She rushed over to where Inez was standing and yelled, "No, you can't!"
Of course, she couldn't because the fact that her daughter was a half-siren was the biggest regret and shame for Maria Sinclair.
She looked at her and said sternly, "You will not do such a thing. I have had enough of all the trouble you are bringing to our house, and I will not have you ruin your father's and my reputation as well."
Inez scoffed. "Of course, who cares that I must pay for your well-maintained reputation to stay clean by being the pack's punching bag, right? Are you really this blind mom? Or do you simply not take me as your daughter?
She spread her hands in front of her and showed the muck and grime sticking to her clothes and hair to her mother. "Can't you see this? All you care about is your reputation, your love life with your mate and how your son is doing but what about me? You know that I was not in the wrong but you won't let me tell the pack the truth because you fear your reputation getting damaged."
"I am not going to let you ruin Ricky," she said, pretending as if she could not hear a thing that Inez had said. "You could have simply avoided all the trouble if you had just apologised instead of maintaining that you did nothing wrong and made our alpha angry at you."
Inez clenched her fists so hard that her nails cut through the skin of her palms.
It didn't even matter to her mother whether she was at fault or not. As far as her mother was concerned, Dominic and the rest were at the top of the food chain of this pack where they lived. And because their family was at the bottom of the pyramid, her mother wanted to kiss Dominic's feet until everything went back to how things were.
However, Inez refused to shatter the one last thing that she was proud of.
Her pride.
As a part siren, she would rather die than lower her head and admit that she did something that she didn't. Sirens were prideful creatures; in fact, if Inez was to say that pride flowed in her veins instead of blood, she wouldn't be wrong.
The only reason she stayed in the pack was because, as a part-shifter, she craved the connection and trust of her pack mates. More importantly, with the radicles running— the 'We hate shifters and all creatures that were not humans deserve to die,' movement— was quite terrified of the notion of running away.
If she escaped the pack, there were only two options left in front of her. Either die in the hands of a rogue or in the hands of those shifters-hating organisations.
That's why she stayed in the pack. But —
There was no way she was going to bow her head in front of Dominic when it was clear that it was him who gave up on her.
And the one person who was even more devastated because of this sudden blacklisting was her mother. She had long enjoyed the privilege that came with being the mother of the alpha's best friend. However, the second Dominic turned his back on her, her mother started to lose her temper with her as well.
Now she didn't even have the patience to listen to the things that Inez had to say to her.
"Can't you stand up for me just once in your life? I love you, Mom, but you are making it really difficult for me to look at you with the same respect that I used to have for you."
Her mother's lips twitched as she looked at her and silently appraised her. She then licked her lips and mulled over how to respond to what Inez had said to her. She then said, "Of course, I want to stand by your side but—"
"Really? Because that's not what I can see. You don't help me when I get bullied and you don't even care that I am being tormented."
"You can see that I was treated like a dirty rag but you still blame me for causing trouble. Why? Just because I can no longer bring glory to you and your son, I no longer deserve the basic human respect?"
"Enough! Is this how you are supposed to talk to your mother?" Maria snapped with an annoyed expression.
Inez rolled her eyes as she turned on her feet and climbed back upstairs. She knew that even if she were to waste her time quibbling with her mother, she would only waste her time.
And with the condition she was in, Inez would rather take a bath than try to make her mother understand her problems. Because she knew that even though her mother loved her, she loved the very idea of perfection more. And with how she was, Inez knew that she didn't quite sit right with the perfect world her mother wanted to create.
"Wohohoho," As soon as she opened the door to her room, which she shared with her sister, Inez heard her half-sister hoot.
With her fiery red hair and green eyes, Scarlet looked at her with amusement flickering in her eyes.
"They got you good, huh?" she remarked with a hint of teasing in her voice.
"Shut up, Scar." As close as Inez was to Scarlet, she really didn't wish to talk with her right now.
"Hey, don't take it out on me," Scarlet raised her hands in the air before asking, "Do you want painkillers?"
"I do, loads of them," replied Inez as she marched to the bathing room and closed the door behind her. Because as much as she didn't wish to be alone, Inez knew that nothing would help her more than crying a river in her bathtub.
And as she slipped inside the warm water and brought her knees closer to her and buried her face within them, Inez could no longer hold back the tears that she was trying to stop from falling.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" She questioned with her shoulders shaking just as forcibly as she said those words.
However, no one answered her and just like how Dominic had sneered at her upon hearing this question, the silence sneered at her.