Mistakenly Fallen

3. While My Daughter Earns Her Success...

The Santiago’s celebration of their children graduating high school was nothing but all of their business partners and board members, gathered under one roof and sipping on expensive bubbly champagnes and cognacs for the evening.

Camila found it awfully sad to see that how people who would otherwise deemed to be rich and powerful were actually surrendered down to spend an evening with her family, just in the name of celebrating some children’s graduation.

Of course they were going to do whatever they thought made Alejandro and Rachel happy.

That was the power her father exhibited and it only reminded her that a man as powerful as him, didn’t climb up the ladder just without any reason. He must have butchered a lot of people just to be this powerful and scary and he definitely had a lot of enemies, who were also Camila’s enemies.

But it wasn’t because of any personal enmity that she held against them but because of those enemies of her father, it might become an impossibility for her to be able to go to a college of her own choice.

Even though, the party was supposed to owner the fact that she and her brothers graduated and she was a valedictorian, Camila still felt out of the place.

She was never the one to be an extrovert and deal with people in such large gatherings, that gave her anxiety.

She tried to search around for Selena at first, so that she could keep the little one around but saw her standing outside the hall, through the glass windows, as she mingled with girls of her own age group.

Camila, sighed realizing that it was only appropriate thing for Selena to do and besides, the rest of the cousins, threw a lot of dirt at her, for being friends with a, thirteen years old.

She decided to search for Ariana and at least sit or stand by someone’s side who would not make her feel weirded out.

She couldn’t exactly place Ariana in the place and found Vincent standing next to a broad, by the bar.

She shook her head at her cousin’s innuendo behavior, who was a sucker for a pretty girl and latched himself at one, whenever he would detect one in any gatherings.

At the same time, she spotted Lucas, who could be easily distinguished by his identical brother, given to his lengthened hair that ended right about his cheek bones.

She was about to step towards his brother but noticed that he was also trying to flirt with the daughter of their father’s business partners.

She didn’t want to be a bother to her brother and interrupt his little attempt at trying to get laid.

She knew that they hated attending that party, which the whole world knew was held by her parents, only to make her happy as she didn’t have any friends with whom she will be attending other graduation parties, unlike her brothers, who will be invited to every single one of those parties and in fact, will be throwing one of their own.

She was already grateful to her brothers who were simply going through what she could only deem as pure torture to them.

She saw that the only sense of enjoyment that Lucas had in that party was the girl that he was flirting with.

She decided to go and look for Ariana, whom she was sure that was present at the party only because her parents asked her to come and she didn’t go against her parents, well not in front of them. Behind their backs, she was everything but a good obedient daughter.

As Camila searched around the place, her eyes landed on her mother who was headed her way.

She gasped in fear, watching as her mother, bring out an elegant woman along with a young boy, who look just around the age of Camila.

She felt agitated that once again, her mother was trying to set up the boyfriend trap for her.

Camila hated it!

In fact, loathed it.

She knew her life was pretty pathetic as a teenager already and her mother’s actions did her no good and only added more fuel to her feeling even more pathetic at trying to hook her daughter up, with a well mannered boy.

She saw that her mother was busy talking to the woman in the black dress, whose son the young boy was, so she took it as her perfect opportunity to try and disperse away in to the crowd.

She turned around trying to get away from her mother’s eyes and find another spot to hide but it was already too late, as she heard her mother call her name.

“Camila! Cami.”

Camila bit her tongue and turned around, finding her mother standing face to face with her.

“Mom!”

She perched a soft smile and Rachel walked to stand next to Camila.

“Violet, this is my daughter Cami, that I was talking about with you. She just graduated today as the top valedictorian of her graduating class.”

The woman Violet’s eyes went wide for a second, seemingly amazed actually surprised to find that someone as dull and seemingly plain could be Rachel’s daughter, a woman with such grace and elegance.

“Oh, hello!”

The woman offered her hand for Camila to take and the look of being completely unimpressed and underwhelmed by Camila’s presence and attire, was quite evident on her face that Camila didn’t miss.

She was used to of seeing that look. In fact, she could read that look right away. At first, when she was young she had no idea what that look meant, as people’s expressions suddenly changed when they would look at her, after looking at her mother, father or her brothers.

Camila was clearly able to tell that the woman already held a distaste towards her and the reason why she had readily brought her son with her to introduce him to Camila, had started looking like a dull idea to her.

“Hi!”

Nonetheless, Camila still shook her hand, because her parents had thought her about better etiquettes than to be rude.

There was a moment of utter silence in which Violet hadn’t said a single word and Rachel was looking at her keenly, waiting for her to introduce her son to Camila but when she didn’t do it, she decided to take matters in to her own hands.

“This is Violet’s son, Fredrick.”

The boy held a indecisive look on his face, looking at his mother for an approval, whether he should offer his hand for Camila to shake or not.

Violet knew that it would definitely be rude of her to not to allow her son to shake hands with Camila to the least.

She was obviously mad for a moment that Rachel had shown her the gracious gardens of her daughter being pretty and Violet’s son getting the chance to score a good shot at a bright future.

Violet weighed her options for a second, wondering if Camila’s plainness was worth losing a golden chance to establish a relationship with a family like the Santiagos.

And in fact, she contemplated her chances and realized that if Camila looked plain, she might as well be a simple girl whom they can groom or change anyway they wanted to.

“Oh of course, Fred! How rude of you to not greet such a pretty lady. Why don’t you take her to the dance floor and get to know Camila more.”

Fred sighed, knowing that he would have to do whatever his mother would ask of him.

He extended his head with a plain expression, offering Camila to take her to the small floor set up in the middle of the ball room but Camila was smarted than what she had assumed of her to be.

She might not put much effort in her looks but she did definitely put a lot of effort to her cognitive abilities.

She was quite sharp witted when came to realizing who was sincere with her and who not.

She had a lot of friends in her life, who used her only to get closer to her brothers, therefore she was prepared to see who would use her as a ladder and who not.

She looked down, at Fred’s hands and looked back up at him, smiling ear to ear. He did have a handsome and mesmerizing smile but not the kind of one that Camila would fall for. In fact, she wasn’t much enticed by a man’s physical appearance but rather his intelligence and currently Fredrick, seemed to be a perfect puppet to his mother with zero sense and aptitude of his own.

“I actually can’t dance. But thank you for asking.”

With that she brushed past the boy, holding her dignity up and high.

Rachel rushed after her daughter, wondering what she was up to rejecting such a handsome boy that Rachel had crafter for her.

“Cam! Cami… what the hell was that? I just got that really pretty boy and…”

“Mom! That’s the problem! He is a pretty boy, who needs a pretty girl to be happy! I need a good boy, who will be happy with a good girl…”

“But…” as Rachel tried to protest, Camila cut her off.

“Now be a good mother and tell me where are the rest of my cousins hiding.”

Rachel rolled her eyes in disappointment, knowing very well how much Camila was against the idea of being forced to get along with someone she didn’t like.

“They are by those frills.” She pointed towards the curtain and Camila, gave her mother a peck on her cheeks, rushing towards the side to join in her cousins but paused right outside the curtains, when she heard Ariana complaining to Salva and what she could assume to be her worst fear, was her own brother Nicholas.

“I am just so frustrated man!” Ariana moaned, venting like a little child.

“Why?” Salva asked from Ariana.

“Why? You ask me why? Even I am tired of asking myself that why do I have to be at a party that is clearly boring.”

“It is a graduation party for all of us.” Nicholas pointed out.

“All of us, seriously? Hey! Didn’t I already tell you that we will get to attend much better parties than this shitty ones and I swear, I’d rather be in my bedroom smoking weed right now than to be, pretending to be just as lame as my cousin, for whom your parents are throwing a pity party.”

She laughed to herself, “Gosh! Sometimes, do you guys even imagine how pathetic Cami’s situation really is? Like she really is a loner. Doesn’t have any real friends and her parents sympathize with her to the point that they throw her a party…”

Nick just couldn’t stand Ariana’s intolerable behavior anymore, he took a step ahead and finally gave her a shut up call.

“That would be enough Ariana!” he warned her with a grave tone and even though Ariana pretended to be cool. She had to actually shut up, as she was afraid of her own deeds, that Nick might slam her down for the kind of the toxic person she was.

Rolling her eyes away, she slammed back on the couch and looked away with Salva grabbing Nick’s arm and pulling him away from the couch.

“Let it go!”

He tried to dismiss the situation and standing on the other side of the curtains, Cami’s eyes were filled with tears, as she realized how lowly her cousin looked upon her.

Obviously, she wasn’t dumb enough to not to know that her cousins did realize how pathetic her situation was, as she was a complete loner in life but she didn’t expect Ariana to make fun of her behind her back in such a brutal situation.

She knew that Ariana only tolerated her because of their familial relationships but she had never imagined Ariana being so cruel with her thoughts about her.

She turned back to leave but her footsteps halted, listening to Ariana’s words coming back from inside the little curtained corner.

“By the way Nick! Don’t tell me that you are also in attendance at this party only because of Cami. Aren’t you here because your father is officially announcing you as his heir to his enterprises?”

Leaving a final bow in to Camila’s heart, Ariana looked away and Nick also ignored her, not wanting to talk to the woman anymore but what he didn’t realize was the fact that his silene scathed Camila’s heart.

She always thought that no matter what came ahead in her life, her brothers will always have her back.

She didn’t know why, she was deeply hurt by Nicholas’s silence but something led her to assume that Nicholas was only silent because Ariana was right. He was at the party only because of the announcement and maybe, if not for that he might not even be there.

She felt hurt that the graduation party, even though sympathetic courtesy of her parents, was supposed to be for her only. The only thing that she thought was being done for her only because not only had she achieved a great result but she was also going to be the valedictorian speaker at her graduation ceremony and she assumed that the party was to commemorate in celebrations of her achievement but yet again, obviously, just like every other event in her life, that party was as well over shadowed by her brother’s who would be getting announced as the new generation to be taking over her father’s businesses.

Yet again, her achievements were belittled by her own family members, who after working for nothing would be getting all the applause tonight and she will be left with nothing but ignorance, received at the hands of her own parents.

The mic beeped, for a second, before her father walked ahead on the small stage and tapped on the mic for a second, creating a beat for a second to test whether the mic was working or not.

People everywhere around the room, looked up at the graceful man, donning an expensive suit, shining under the bright hall lights and standing out from everyone else, with his bulging muscles that she had now turned from lean to a bulkiness due to his growing age as he had reached a good corner of being fifty years old.

But he still didn’t look a day older than forty, with all of his hair on his head, still shining jet black and the tattoos on his hands, neck and his chest, that flashed out of his shirt, that he had left unbuttoned from the top, reflected back sharply in to the eyes of the bystanders.

Every woman, from old to young, still swooned over the man, as he was definitely a treat for the eyes, even at that age.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you so much for coming to my children’s graduation party.”

As he mentioned his children, the spotlight circulated around the room for a second to locate the children in question and it first landed on Lucas and the other one went to search for the other child.

Camila stood silently in the middle of the crowd, until Nick, heard his father talking over the mic and along with Salva and an exhausted Ariana, walked out of the curtained section and the second spotlight spotted him as well, just as soon as he stepped out.

The one struggled and Camila felt infuriated, over how much the world made her feel left out and feeble.

Someone standing right next to her, finally realized that she was the third daughter of Alejandro Santiago and lifted his hand up with the spotlight immediately ending up on him but he was quick enough to grab Camila’s arm and pull her to stand in the light.

She immediately shielded her eyes away, not wanting anyone to notice that she had tears at the very brim of her eyes, threatening to spill out any given moment.

“I am extremely proud of my children.”

With that everyone began clapping once again and Camila looked down at the floor, snorted at how risible everyone in the room was.

There wasn’t even the slightest ounce of their appreciation and claps that sounded or seemed genuine to Camila.

“Especially my daughter, who scored the top of her class and will be the valedictorian speaker at her graduating ceremony.”

Everyone clapped once again and Camila clenched her jaw tight, weighing her reaction upon the next moment, when her father would announce just what she was expecting her to do so.

“But my sons wouldn’t be feeling left out. While my daughter earns her success, these to idiots…”

The spotlight on Camila turned off and Alejandro pointed at his sons to walk up on the stage and they both shared a determined look as they walked up.

Camila’s blood boiled inside her brain as she thought of her parents to be nothing but sheer and pure hypocrites.

If her brothers, ever overshadowed her or stole her thunder, it was suddenly dawning upon her that they had gained that audacity only from her parents, who allowed them to not to care about her and be selfish enough to do whatever made them happy.

As her father announced the future transfer of his power to his sons, Camila walked out of the hall not having it in her to stand by and listen to more of her parents’ masks lies.

She knew that her father had a mafia business and laundered money for rich and powerful people all across the world and had set up a legal empire of his own as well. But what truly vexed her was the fact that in the party, her father was going to announce the merger between his company and the other companies of her mother’s family and at the same time, he was going to tell everyone that he would be splitting his business equally between his sons, whilst Camila already knew just like everyone else in the family that Lucas will be getting the mafia branch and Nick – the legitimate business branch, because he was apparently the wimp of the family who couldn’t shoot or kill like his other brother.

And in between all of that Camila was nowhere.

She was derisory, useless and futile in her purpose in life.

The only thing that she had ever been able to attain as a identity of her own, was shining out brightly through her education.

And also she thought in that moment was the fact that she was a fool to assume that her father would be proud of her and would ask her what she wanted to get for achieving such a good score in exams. Because she didn’t only work hard to top her class and be a valedictorian but she had done that to make her father proud and happy and she stood outside and by the pool, looking inside at the party hall, all she could feel was bitterness and resentment towards her family, who all stood on the stage, including her brothers, father and mother, as her father chanted to all of his business partners and other business men who were potential stakeholders of his company, about the greatness of his sons.

She suddenly felt suffocated, that being a good girl didn’t bring her any reward and all it brought to her was feeling belittled and woeful.

Suddenly, she felt angered, horrible at her own existence. Her impulses told her to scream out loud yet she kept it to her own self.

She bottled it inside her, just like many other things.

She wanted to resent the party and leave right away but another part of her mind told her to stay put and not to move, because that part knew that she would do something so rueful, it might ruin a lot of things not just for her but for her family as well.

As the party went by, the guests were fed a luxurious row of buffets and finally asked to leave, leaving behind only the family members.

Throughout those entire events, Camila sat by the pool, waiting for the moment, when her family would realize that the party for which they smudged her name and stated that it was for them, had Camila missing that whole time.

“Oh! Let’s take a picture.” Rachel told everyone, as she readied the photographer before they left and asked them to take the family portraits before they left, as a memory to remember that night with.

As the entire family gathered by the stage, which Rachel and Alejandro standing up on the stage, along with the rest of the parents, the children were asked by the photographers to line up in front of their respective parents.

As Lucas and Nicholas, gathered to stood in the middle with Rachel and Alejandro, the man in question suddenly had a realization.

“Wait! Where is Camila?”

“Oh yeah! Where she is?” Rachel inquired from her sons, who both shrugged, having no knowledge of Camila’s existence, what so ever.

Camila snickered sarcastically how much selfish and self centered her folks were and she felt sorrowful over how much their life would have been better and unbothered without her existence.

“Oh! There she is.”

Aurora pointed out towards the pool area and seeing that everyone had already spotted her, Camila rolled her eyes and walked inside the hall, which now empty, was actually more prominent as their entire foyer of the house, connected to the pool area on the outside.

She simply went ahead to stand by her brothers, who were held apart from their shoulders by their father, asking Camila to stand in the middle.

“Come, stand between your brothers.”

She looked down on the ground, not wanting to look up at anyone or look in to their eyes.

She was annoyed and angered already, she didn’t want to look up at anyone and be reminded that she didn’t matter to anyone.

Going ahead, she pushed Lucas towards Nick, making him stand in the middle and stood beside Luke.

Her father already pointed out that something was up with his daughter, as he could spot even the slightest of the change in his daughter’s mood.

“Everybody, say cheese!”

Fixing the camera on his tripod stand, the photographer pressed the button, to capture a picture and looked up at it for a second, holding out his hand at everyone to wait, in order to see whether the clicks were nice or not.

“Wait a second, you… the one in purple.”

He pointed out towards Camila, who was still indulged looking down at the floor, paying zero to no attention towards the photographer felt startled when Lucas shook her shoulder up.

“He is calling you.”

“Huh!”

She looked up towards the cameraman and he told her to smile.

She had zero energy in her to smile but she still stretched her lips out with a dead pan look covering her eyes and posed for the camera.

“Okay! Great! Next up, the parents only and then we will click one picture with all the graduating kids as well.”

“This is not fair! I am not graduating but I think all cousins should be in this photo.”, Selena complained to her parents and Rachel laughed at her insolent demand.

“Of course why not! We will take one picture with all the kids in it.”

She ordered the photographer who nodded.

As the parents posed for the pictures, the cousins, all discussed on the kind of the poses that they will make to make the picture a memorable event in their lives.

Alejandro was bothered to see his daughter looking so gloomy. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary that she wasn’t mingling much with the rest of the cousins but seeing her standing at a corner, feeling so down, told him that something was bothering his precious little daughter.

“Parents, say cheese!”

Alejandro looked away and into the camera posing for the picture with a smile.

“Okay! Now the kids, pose up.”

The photographer ordered and all the cousins lined up, with the half of them standing up on the stand and the rest on the floor in front of them.

Camila simply stood in the corner, as Ariana and Vincent stood next to her and stuck their tongues out making a fun pose. Nick, Salva and Luke also posed together as Selena smiled widely for the camera.

The camera man looked at his device’s monitor for once and felt annoyed by the fact that Camila still wasn’t smiling again.

“Are you to be asked every time, to smile, please smile.”

Everyone in the room laughed, leaving Camile feeling even more flabbergasted and embarrassed.

“Just crop her.”

Ariana mocked her, making Luke and Nick, look at her with aggression.

They were obviously pissed off at her that she was once again, at their sister’s case, going after her to nag her and annoy her.

“Just cut it out Ariana.” Luke warned her and being the incessant woman that she was, she looked back at Luke and c****d an eyebrow.

“What? I am being serious. She is just ruining the picture by being here and it wouldn’t even matter if she wasn’t here.”

Rachel held a hint of dander against the woman who was slandering her daughter and Alejandro on the other hand was looking keenly at his daughter, watching how fast her expressions changed from feeling low to getting angered, something that he knew was a very rare sight to see in his daughter.

Camila took a step away from her cousins, making everyone look at her with concern.

Lucas assumed that Camila was only thrown low by Ariana’s words and decided to cheer his sister up.

“Cami, just ignore her and…”

“She is not wrong.”

Cami stated suddenly making everyone in the room go silent.

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