Chapter 5: A Tragic Past

"Little wonder my head hurts. The gun must have knocked me unconscious before I was brought here," Ryan pondered. In the dimly lit cave, the acrid smell of marijuana hung heavy in the air. “You will pay for this Astrid, I promise you. This battle is far from over. You dare sleep with my woman!” Damien said bitterly amidst the uncontrollable laughter of Orion and the annoying laughter of Astrid.

Ryan’s nose began to twitch with the telltale signs of an impending sneeze due to the smell of marijuana. Desperate to stifle the inevitable disruption, he willed the urge away. But despite his best efforts, a mighty sneeze erupted, echoing through the hallowed cave, earning the attention of the notorious 3.

“Well, well, well, look what we have here, the doublewide sleeping beauty is awake.” Astrid said.

Laughter immediately erupted once again. “Woah, that’s new. Doublewide?” Ryan thought to himself. He was used to being called different names like Meathead, Fatso, Lard-butt, Willy the Whale, Porky hog, and Butterball. This was due to his obesity right from his birth caused by Osteoarthritis.

Ryan was very passionate about sports and he constantly had to face years of relentless bullying and stigmatization due to this condition. Anytime he tries to play, he would be called different names like Foodlyan Mbappe, Cholesterol Ronaldo, Delicious Jnr, Danny Drinksoda and others.

Just then, Ryan noticed the half heart shaped Celestial Reliquary of the Greystones’ hanging on the neck of Astrid.

“You set me up. Didn’t you?” Ryan looked fiercely at Astrid.

“Of course I did! All I needed was Chef Alessio’s cooperation to drug and make you feel nauseous while I get the family’s crestgem to him. Blab blab blab, the rest is history now. Isn’t it?” Astrid said mockingly.

Ryan spat at his face and tried to charge at him in fury and rage but was immediately held bound by the chair he was tied to. “Calm down big man. The party is just getting started,” Astrid said as he wiped off his face.

“Why are you doing this to me? Did Mr. Benedict send you to annihilate me? I can never be a threat to the Greystones’,” Ryan said looking so terrified. Astrid immediately replied, “Don’t worry about Mr. Benedict Greystone. He doesn’t go back on his words. You are not a threat to him but a bigger threat to something else.” The doors of the hallowed cave immediately flung open and there stood a solitary figure against the backdrop of ancient rock.

The flickering torch in her hand cast erratic patterns of light and shadow, illuminating the rough-hewn walls adorned with age-old stalactites and stalagmites. The flames danced wildly, casting her features in a dramatic pattern, lending an air of enigma to her presence.

“Welcome mum!” Orion and Damien, the twins, greeted the feminine figure. With no response to their greeting, she immediately gave both of them a resounding slap. “Is this the way to treat your stepbrother?” she asked. Immediately, Ryan recognized the voice of the female figure as she unveiled her face. “STEPMOM???” Ryan said in awe.

(FLASHBACK)

Ryan was the only son of Mr. & Mrs. Astralforge who lived a very comfortable and fulfilled life. Despite his obesity, he was given all the love and attention by his parents. Evangeline, Mr. Astrofolge’s wife and Ryan’s mother, made sure to provide everything he needed and raised him to value himself. On the other hand, Mr. Astralforge stood as a father figure and made sure to play with him at his leisure, yet discipline him when wrong. Ryan’s favorite game was ‘hide and seek’ and no matter the number of times he was caught, he would always hide in his father’s wardrobe.

On one particular occasion, the family was headed for a picnic in the family car. Ryan filled with energy tried closing the eyes of his father who was driving. The vigilant father laughed hysterically as he waved off the hands of his mischievous son. As the sun dipped low on the horizon, casting a golden glow over the winding road, the family of three journeyed homeward from their picnic retreat. In the cozy confines of their car, laughter and chatter filled the air, the memories of their time together still fresh in their minds.

At the wheel this time, Evangeline steered with practiced ease, her eyes scanning the road ahead with unwavering focus. Beside her sat her beloved husband, his gentle smile illuminated by the fading light. In the backseat, their young son Ryan fidgeted with restless energy, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Suddenly, with a mischievous grin, Ryan reached forward and playfully covered his mother's eyes, a gleeful giggle escaping his lips. Startled but indulgent, she laughed and swatted his hand away, her heart filled with the warmth of maternal love.

But in that fleeting moment of distraction, fate intervened with tragic swiftness. A sharp bend in the road loomed ahead, unseen and unforgiving. Evangeline's reflexes were swift, but it was too late to avoid the collision that followed. With a sickening crunch of metal and glass, the car went off the road, a cacophony of screeching tires and shattering dreams. In the chaos that ensued, time seemed to stand still as the world turned upside down.

When the dust settled and the echoes of the impact faded into the night, the devastating reality of their situation became painfully clear. Mr. Astralforge and his son Ryan emerged from the wreckage battered but alive, their hearts heavy with grief and disbelief. But for the mother, her laughter silenced forever, there would be no compensation from the cruel hand of fate. Before her last breath, she pulled the crying Ryan to her bosom, kissed him and wore him her necklace. As the sirens wailed in the distance and the stars looked on in silent witness, a family shattered by tragedy was left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, forever haunted by the memory of a playful gesture gone horribly wrong.

Everything changed after the demise of Evangeline. Ryan’s father became dejected and lackadaisical towards work and his company slowly started declining as he took to alcohol. He blamed himself every day for the death of his beloved wife, Evangeline. He wished he had sternly warned Ryan earlier for covering his eyes, he probably wouldn’t have repeated the same thing with Evangeline on the wheels. With his company at the brink of bankruptcy, the Gwendolyns’, one of the five affluent families of Halycon Bay offered to help but on the condition of a marriage alliance, where Astralforge would be joined in holy matrimony to Isabella, the daughter to Mr. Gwendolyn and a promiscuous mother of the twin, Orion and Damien.

Mr. Astralforge did oblige to save his company and remarried. Isabella, now Ryan’s stepmom, was a serpent and a chameleon in disguise. When Astralforge was around, she would shower Ryan with lots of love and reprimand the twins anytime they treated Ryan awfully. However, in his absence, she would verbally and physically assault a 5 year old Ryan and allowed her twins treat him unfairly whilst threatening to kill him if he mentions anything to his dad.

The cat would not remain in the bag for too long as Mr. Astralforge had her in the act one day. It happened that Astralforge schedule for a shareholder’s meeting got cancelled on his way to the office and he decided to come back home. Unknown to him, he would receive the shock of his life. The mischievous twins purposely poured flour on the floor of the living room and blamed it on Ryan. Isabella, waiting for an opportunity to pounce on Ryan joyously took the opportunity. A disappointed Astralforge opened the door to a scene that broke his heart. There was Isabella sitting directly on Ryan and pounding blows on his helpless self. Astralforge found himself at the mercy of the Gwendolynes’ and could not sue or do anything to Isabella.

He hesitantly, amidst tears, took Ryan to a foster care outside the city at six years old where he believed he would be safer. He lied to Ryan that they were going for a picnic and he would come get him at night. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, hours turned to days, days turned to weeks, weeks to months and months to years, but Astralforge never returned. Young Ryan never understood why his father abandoned him and hated him so much. He vowed to succeed and take revenge on everyone. He finished high school while working multiple jobs despite his health and decided to apply to Silverlake Academy for college.

He knew only the rich could afford the expenses of the sound education at the institution but was determined to be successful at any cost. Because of this, he applied for a lot of scholarships. He got a lot of rejections in his first couple of applications. However, anytime he thought about giving up, he remembered the words of his late mother, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm and never define your obstacles as failures, instead mark your success by your repeated perseverance through adversity.” That was his driving force to a fully funded scholarship to Silverlake Academy he won from a foundation. Whose foundation?

(FLASHBACK ENDS)