\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 5 Show You a Way\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 (Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 5 Show You a Way\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night, I trudged home with legs heavy as lead and found the house aglow and a total mess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the living room, Mom sat on the floor, wailing, while Dad glared at her with a face like thunder. The coffee table was shattered into pieces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barnaby and Eileen sat on the couch. Though tears streaked Eileen\u2019s face, her eyes gleamed with triumph.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the sight of me, Dad sprang to his feet, lunging forward like a bloodthirsty lion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He jabbed a finger at my nose, and his voice shook with rage. \u201cSylvie! Look at what you\u2019ve done!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was struck dumb, my mind going blank.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mom threw herself at me, pounding on my arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour brother got into a fight for Eileen! He smashed someone\u2019s head! They\u2019ve called the cops and demanded a 33-grand in compensation! 33 grand! Where are we supposed to get that kind of money?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at Eileen with consternation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eileen cried even harder, collapsing into Barnaby\u2019s arms. \u201cIt\u2019s my fault! Don\u2019t blame Barny! That prick was drunk and tried to assault me. Barny did it to protect me! He\u2019s a hero!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barnaby held her tightly, craned his neck, and shouted at Dad, \u201cI did nothing wrong! Any man in my position would have done the same! It\u2019s right to protect the woman you love!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bastard!\u201d Dad trembled with rage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He raised his hand and slapped Barnaby. \u201cHow are you gonna pay for it? And with what? Your life?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After saying that, he turned to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that look all too well, cold and cruel, as though evaluating a commodity for its worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was checking his imaginary scale again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSylvie.\u201d His voice carried no warmth, each word cutting me to the quick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
0.00%\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Chapter 5 Show You a Way\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter what has happened, the scale is completely off balance. Your brother has fought to protect the family. He deserves credit, but he\u2019s also erred. You must fix his mistake.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He fixed his eyes on me, as if there was a price tag on my body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFind a way to get that 33,000 dollars.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
33,000 dollars-that number hit me like an avalanche, burying me alive and crushing the air from my lungs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I juggled three jobs a month and barely made a few thousand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How was I supposed to come up with that kind of money?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, I don\u2019t have that much money\u2026\u201d My voice broke into sobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care how you do it! Don\u2019t fail me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes held no love, only cold, merciless calculation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI raised you, provided for you, and gave you the best education. Now, it\u2019s time for you to repay\u00a0<\/p>\n
me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eileen feigned tears and sniffled. \u201cMr. Ravenscroft, don\u2019t pressure Syl. It\u2019s my fault\u2026 The worst- case scenario, I\u2019ll get down on my knees and plead with them\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing that, Barnaby wigged out and jumped to his feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo! I won\u2019t let you do that!\u201d he snapped, spinning toward Dad. \u201cDad! Are you even a man? Sylvie says she can\u2019t handle it, so sell the house! Grandpa and grandma left the house for me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mom wept. \u201cDorian\u2026 Just pawn my jewelry. It wouldn\u2019t be much, but it could help\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough!\u201d Dad bellowed, and silence instantly took over the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes bore into me, like a butcher sizing up the animal that was about to be slaughtered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur roots lie in this house. It\u2019s untouchable. As for your mother\u2019s jewelry, it\u2019s barely worth anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice deepened, full of merciless determination.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSylvie, you\u2019re the only valuable asset in this family right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019ll show you a way. Pierce Stafford is my business partner. His son, 35 and recently divorced, is seeking a dutiful wife. He doesn\u2019t ask for much, just a proper family background, a\u00a0<\/p>\n
45.47%\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Chapter 5 Show You a Way\u00a0<\/p>\n
decent education, and a presentable look.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In that instant, the blood in my veins ran cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 \u00a1Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
97.32%\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:39\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Marriage On Hold by Mark Twain 5 \u00a0 Chapter 5 Show You a Way\u00a0 288 (Vouchers\u00a0 Chapter 5 Show You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-story-of-my-life-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}