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My attention went from one to the other, but returned to Ivy. My mouth felt dry as my throat clawed at the next words to come out. I didn't know if I really wanted to ask the question or if I wanted the answer.

“What divorce?”

“Ivy, you never really learn to shut up, hm?!” My mother's voice came from behind me. I felt my back tense up as my fears blended with silent uncertainties.

“Mackenzie, dear sister-in-law...” They hated each other. Mom despised Aunt Ivy and every day she wanted to hit Conrad,her younger brother and Colleen's father. “I'm sorry, I thought you would have told Kendra by now.”

The champagne hit me hard. I could handle alcohol just fine, but the alcohol content mixed with the strong emotions I was feeling were poisonous. Doping me, eating me up, taking me to the damn rock bottom.

I felt my mother's fingers holding me, but I ripped them away.

“When? When were you going to tell me?” I looked at her with disgust.

“Don't make a scene.” That was the only thing Mackenzie Winfrey was able to ask of me, luckily I've never been good to obey.

I hurriedly turned around and took half a dozen hurried steps, my eyes burning, before bumping into the last person in the world I wanted to see at that moment.

“Delilah?”

In her eyes I found the past, but in her hands I found the biggest diamond stone I had ever come across.

“Hey, D!” Her boyfriend arrived and smiled even bigger at me. “Hey, Kendra. Long time no see! We didn't know if it would be here.”

I wanted to say something back, but I couldn't. There was a lot going on.

“Kendra, come on…” Colleen grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I just allowed myself to go, being carried to a more private place, away from that crowd of people. Outside in the back garden, Colleen finally said: “I'm sorry, Ken.”

I shook my head. This could only be a big nightmare. All of that being thrown into my head at once made no sense. What do you mean my parents were getting a divorce? Why? I felt like crap. I was suffering, and yet I tried not to smudge my damn makeup, because deep down, that's what I was taught to do.

Be a good girl, never show your damn pain. Because if you show it, well, the hyenas will mount you and they'll eat you alive while laughing in your face.

“Why am I never enough, Colleen?”

The expression on my cousin's face was one of pain and pity. She didn't know what to say to me, so she just hugged me and held me there until I finally let out all my tears.

The event could fucking explode, I wouldn't go back there. I felt betrayed by both my parents and myself, their happy family image could go to hell. My head already hurt significantly, but I refused to move. I was a little cold too, but I continued to feel paralyzed and my thoughts were racing.

I sniffled again and kicked the grass with my heels.

I was exhausted.

“Hey, Kenny...” My mother's voice resounded behind me. I didn't move. “Dear, we were going to tell you, but it's a complex process and we didn't think you needed to know about it until we sorted out some details.”

She sat next to me and tried to touch me, but I avoided it.

“Why is he going to leave you? Couldn't take your crazyness any longer?”

A rigid sadness shone in my mother's blue eyes.

“Kendra!”

I stood up, crossing my arms as my muscles felt too cold from the weather and exposure to the autumn weather.

“Can I go home? I just want to sleep.”

“I need to talk to you, dear.”

I limited myself to shaking my head in denial. I was too tired. I didn't want to deal with anything that came from Chamberlain. After all, nothing that came from that damn city was good.