From Scorn to Sparkling; The son-in-law's Redemption.

CHAPTER SIX: Prolonged Rays ☀️

He has met his Waterloo," a tall, slim woman said from the crowd. "Order them out of here; I wouldn't want to turn and see any of them a second time."

Romsey sat, watching Tim and his set of erring workers being pushed out by the guards. he turned to see his former colleagues at work looking at him in surprise, Roger couldn't imagine his eyes. It seemed like he was daydreaming. He shook his head in disbelief.

For Tim, the shame was grave enough, his four years of job experience now lost in a twinkle of an eye. He had struggled to rise through, but his deafening and arrogant character demoted him.

*******

Romsey headed back into his room to prepare for the next business of the day. It was the Ralphs' family reunion, and Lucas had paid for the most expensive conference room to impress Fiona Ralph. They were all seated when the door opened, causing Fiona and her mother to turn. Fiona frowned when she saw Romsey walk into the hall.

"Who invited this man to the family reunion?" Sterling groaned. "I detest seeing a poor soul, for crying out loud."

Romsey rolled his eyes and approached the table where the rest of the family members were seated. He had only arrived to get a copy of the divorce notice and the court date.

Fiona turned and sighed, dragging her chair closer to Lucas. "I found something on the internet," she whispered.

"What could that be?" Lucas asked curiously, wondering if Fiona had discovered his hidden agenda. They laughed in unison as Fiona played a video of Romsey's humiliating incident at the hotel. A user had posted a clip of it, without including the aftermath of the action.

Fiona showed the phone to her dad, who was seated close to Mrs. Sterling, Fiona's mother. Mr. Ralph knitted his eyes in contempt, and the laughing aggravated as other members of her family joined in without knowing the cause.

"What are you laughing at, Fiona?" Rachael, one of Fiona's aunts who had joined the reunion, asked. "He must always be an ass," Romsey couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the video playing on Fiona's phone.

Fiona's cousin, Brian, handed him a drink. "Hey sir, here's for you," he said respectfully. But Fiona hissed upon noticing that Brian had always been cool with Romsey. "Birds of a feather," she said, ignoring Brian's startling gaze.

Brian, a young guy of twenty years, had always respected Romsey despite the stark humiliation he faced from the other members of the Ralph family.

Lucas had once said that it was because Brian's father was as poor as Romsey. Of course, Mr. Alexia was considered less fortunate among the Ralphs. His wife had died of lung cancer, and his means of livelihood was diminishing. One could tell from his Volkswagen Passat, a push-to-start car he went around with. He had even refused to come with it to the family reunion, and none of the other members of the Ralph family assisted him.

It was time to pass the food. Romsey had waited to request the divorce papers. "Hey, Fiona, can I have my copy of the divorce?" he asked, raising his brow to show how authoritative he could be.

"How dare you ask me that? Can't you wait till I'm done with the business of the day?" Fiona screamed back.

"Young man, I won't permit you to talk to my baby anyhow you wanna!" Lucas roared, his voice sounding stern.

And don't you talk to me in that manner," Romsey scoffed, banging his hands on the desk. He wasn't in for the humiliation today.

Fiona quickly took a glass full of wine, emptying it on Romsey's face. "Who invited you to this reunion?" she barked, her voice piercing through the wide conference room.

"I did," Mr. Ralph answered. "I needed him to come to disgrace himself to the fullest here. I needed a clown for today's event, and there was none better than him."

Romsey stood up. "Can I have the papers, Fiona?" Fiona immediately threw the file at him. "Do your worst, young man! Do your worst, and I will lock you up forever."

Romsey first hardened, but his nerves calmed, he sat while Brian rushed to pack the papers that had dropped on the floor."

"He should pay for his meal, every dime, everything he has tasted here, including a drop of water," Lucas scornfully said, his fingers pointing at Romsey. The rest of the family members laughed. They knew that a plate of the meal cost a huge amount of money there, also a bottle of very costly wine, priced at $5000 was handed to him by Brian.

"chill with this, sir," he said innocently.

"Don't say that, my in-laws," Mr. Alexia quickly replied, trying to calm Lucas, his motive to avoid Romsey from being embarrassed.

"Hey," Lucas called out to the hotel waiter. "Calculate everything that the idiot has eaten minus the amount from the earlier payment, do that immediately!."

The lady walked up to Romsey with a cunning smile, handing him a bill for $10,000. "Sir, your total cost is $10,000."

Mr. Alexia knelt to beg Lucas, but Romsey immediately told him to get up.

He inserted his hands into his pocket and brought out a black card. He had carried it along after seeing Robson and Eleanor pay a huge amount with theirs. He points it to the waiter.

"Here, have this," Romsey said confidently, pointing out the card.

"I'm sorry, sir, we do not accept that here," Rossie said mockingly after taking a look at the card, other members of the Ralph family laughed hysterically.

Brian quickly got up from his seat. "Can you try it in the POS first?"

"I'm sorry, sir, some of these debit cards could hack our system," she replied, sounding more serious this time.

Brian turned to Romsey, who was confidently seated. "Sir Romsey, can you please beg Mr. Lucas to allow it, Please?"

No, don't bother, Brian. That's a top VIP card! She has to accept it," Romsey replied, smirking his fingers. Some members of the Ralph family laughed mockingly again. "VIP card? Who gives that to a peasant?" Lucas remarked, pointing out his palm and turning it to everyone. They laughed again. But before now, the messenger at the doorpost rushed to inform Miss Britney, the manager…

"Hello, ma, a customer is here with a black VIP card!!" The messenger reported. "Where exactly?" Britney sprang from her seat, rushing with the securities to the conference room.

"What happened?" Britney asked curiously.