Rise of The Son in Law

CHAPTER TWO

Jason's initial shock and confusion gave way to a burning need for answers. Determined to confront Alison, Julia, and William, he dropped his waiter's napkin and began to make his way through the jubilant, cheering crowd.

However, his path was abruptly blocked by Eric, who stepped in front of him, an arrogant smirk playing on his lips. Frustration boiled within Jason as he demanded, "Eric, move out of the way! I need to speak to Alison. I need to know what this means."

Eric, his mocking grin widening, retorted, "You? You don't get to talk to her. Go back to your work station, Jason. You're nothing here."

Jason's patience, already worn thin, snapped. In a moment of fiery defiance, he pushed Eric aside, determined to reach his wife and get the answers he sought. Eric, fueled by his own arrogance and disdain, responded with a forceful shove of his own.

The room seemed to hold its breath as tension escalated, and then, in an explosive burst of anger and frustration, Jason and Eric began throwing punches at each other's faces.

The guests, previously celebrating and cheering, now gasped in shock, and a commotion rippled through the room as they tried to intervene and separate the two men locked in a violent altercation.

Julia went to break up the fight between Jason and Eric in the midst of the commotion and loudness. She exclaimed at them in a stern and demanding voice, "That's enough. It's time for you two to go to the study."

As they resisted being told to do something and instead walked to the study while ranting violently at one another, it was clear that tension existed between Jason and Eric.

The visitors were still in a state of shock and trepidation while Julia maintained her composure and observed them. She tried to diffuse the situation by listening to their worries and assuring them that everything was in order.

In the middle of the confusion, Alison approached Julia, her mum, to ask about the goings-on, her countenance a combination of worry and interest.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Julia said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You remain with your future husband. The unfortunate Jason will be cared for by me."

She minimised the importance of the altercation with a tone of condescending and hardly disguised dislike. As visitors exchanged confused comments and attempted to make sense of the unexpected turn of events, the room was buzzing with talk.

Jason and Eric were nursing their physical injuries after their brutal altercation when they found themselves in the study. Normally a haven of calm reflection and thoughtful discussion, the room suddenly hummed with unease.

The oppressive stillness was broken by Jason, who was still suffering from the punches he had traded with Eric.

He took a slow, deliberate stride towards his brother-in-law, his face filled with sadness and sincerity. "I'm very sorry for what occurred," he said, his voice laced with humility. "Eric," he said. "I shouldn't have responded in that manner."

But Eric wasn't in the mood to make amends. He looked at Jason with a hard, unwavering glare as his brows wrinkled with smouldering rage.

He did not accept the apologies or extend forgiveness. Instead, he launched a torrent of epithets that were more cutting than any hit to the body. "You are completely worthless, Jason," he hissed, his voice dripping with disdain. a weight on their household. "You dirty bum, leave my sight right now."

Jason slouched as he took in the insulting comments. Instead of the empathy or understanding he had hoped for, he was met with a hard, icy rejection. He experienced feelings of being an alien who had overstayed his welcome in the Hastings family.

As he nursed his physical bruises, Jason couldn't help but reflect on the events that had led to this point. The Hastings family, once a source of warmth and belonging, had become a den of hostility and estrangement since the passing of Grandpa Hastings.

The contrast between those first two years of his marriage to Alison and the present moment was different, like night and day.

The incident at the party, where he had been given the role of a lowly waiter, had been a stark reminder of his newfound status within the family. The spilled champagne, the insults, and the humiliation had only served to reinforce his sense of displacement.

Now, as he stood in the study, nursing both his physical and emotional wounds, he couldn't help but wonder how everything had unraveled so swiftly.

The announcement of Alison's impending marriage to William Steele had been a shock beyond compare. It was as if the ground had shifted beneath him, leaving him adrift in a sea of confusion and betrayal.

The room was abruptly overtaken by Julia's commanding presence as Jason remained absorbed in his thoughts, his internal turbulence disturbed by the previous happenings. Both Jason and Eric felt a definite chill of anxiety at her entry.

The tension increased in the study's dark lighting as Julia's intense gaze pierced into them. Her normally cold demeanour was suddenly accompanied by a harsh air of authority, and her countenance suggested that she was not pleased.

Julia made a pointed motion to quiet both men before they could speak. They could tell they were about to receive a punishment because of the weight of her displeasure hanging heavily in the air.

Julia started by asking, "What were the two of you thinking, causing such a scene at the party?" in a tone that would not tolerate debate.

Eric charged Jason and pointed a finger at him, taking advantage of the chance to shift the responsibility. "Mother, Jason was to blame. In order to confront Alison and William, he was about to go to the table.

With her voice tinged with scepticism, Julia's rage erupted, and she directed her piercing eyes on Jason. "Jason, what do you mean by that?"

Jason stumbled as he tried to explain himself because he was both terrified by her intimidating presence and conscious that he was on fragile ground. "I... I was so confused by the announcement of Alison and William's marriage. All I wanted was to ask some questions."

A mocking symphony of laughter resounded across the space in place of a firm warning from her. Jason was puzzled as to what about his hesitation made her chuckle, making him quiver.

"What right do you think you have to ask questions? When Julia could finally talk, she did so with a sarcastic tone in her voice. The tone of her words simply served to fuel Jason's growing wrath.

Jason had the will to answer, his voice firm and loud, "Because Alison is my wife."

Julia and Eric roared with laughter again, this time with a sour edge. Julia smiled scornfully and stepped in closer to Jason. She snarled, "In no time Alison would not be your wife."

As Jason strained to comprehend the gravity of Julia's statements, his confusion grew. "What are you talking about?" he said, his voice a little urgent.

With a sly grin, Julia retrieved a piece of paper from her desk drawer. She pulled it out for Jason to examine, and his eyes widened in shock and horror. He said, his voice trembling, "What's this for?"

"Jason, these are your divorce papers," Julia said in an unpleasant tone. "You're going to sign them."

Jason's rejection came swiftly and categorically. "I'm not going to sign it, and I have no doubt Alison won't either."

When Julia's veneer of control broke, she launched into an insulting rant, each word a sharp jab. She mocked, "You're poor, Jason," in a disdainful tone. "You're in bad luck. Grandpa Hastings was the only one who brought you into the mansion, and now that he's passed away, we have no need for you."

Jason resisted the urge to sign the divorce papers, standing his ground with a renewed resolution burning in his eyes. He made an unwaveringly firm decision, "I won't sign it, and I won't let you keep humiliating me."

His footsteps echoed with a sense of defiance as he marched out of the study, turning away from Julia's penetrating gaze. The atmosphere in the room he left behind was tense, and his choice weighed heavily in the air.

The door closed behind him, leaving behind a lingering sense of defiance and a family torn apart by discord.

Eric, witnessing Jason's departure and finding it disrespectful, felt an urge to follow him and assert his mother's authority. However, Julia's restraining hand halted him in his tracks. She regarded her son with a steely resolve, her eyes reflecting her unwavering determination.

"There's no need, Eric," she said coolly, sounding certain in her tone.

Julia was concentrating on Jason's exit through the door. She said, more for her own benefit than Eric's, "I will do everything in my power to send him out of this house and this family." Her mouth curled into a sneer of retaliation.