Shelly's PoV
I yawned as I returned to my room Toren's giggles could be heard from inside. When I opened the door, he was on the floor playing with Damien.
"Beep bop! Defeat the dino!" Damien shouted, moving the toy robot he held.
Toren moved a toy dinosaur around, roaring. "Rawr!"
I chuckled. Damien was so weird. But he was a fun guy. He was good with kids, especially Toren.
He had changed his dress shirt and tie for sweatpants and a black t-shirt. His hair covered his red eyes, and he was smiling as he played with Toren. He looked so relaxed. I wondered what his childhood was like. Did he even have any toys to play with? He did say he spent most of it learning to run a company.
I walked over and sat on the bed. "Hi. What are you doing?"
"Playing," he said, smiling at me. "Wanna join? I have more toys in the closet."
I shook my head. "No, I'm good."
"Rawr," Toren said, pouting.
Damien gave me puppy eyes. "Pleeeaaase."
I chuckled. "Okay, fine." I picked up a toy car from the floor and started to drive it around.
"Vroom-vroom," I said, smiling.
Damien smiled back at me. "That's the spirit."
Toren giggled as he continued to play with his toys. He looked so happy. I was glad he was having fun. I was a little worried about him when we first arrived, but now I was confident he was going to be fine. He had Damien, Zara, and me to look after him from that old hag and the rest of the family.
I was a little jealous of him, though. He was so carefree and innocent. He didn't have to worry about anything. He didn't have to worry about our financial situation, or about the fact that we had no place to live if we ended up kicked out. He didn't have to worry about being the heir of a multi-million dollar company. He didn't have to worry about being in the middle of a fight between the family.
He was just a kid, enjoying himself. And I was glad he was able to do that.
Damien looked at his watch and then back at me. "Seems I have to go. Alexander called an emergency meeting."
"About what?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably something to do with the will. But, I'll be back later. We can have dinner together. How about noodles?"
I nodded. "Sure."
"Good, good. I'll see you later, then."
Toren wimpered. "Rawr..."
Damien smiled sadly and ruffled his hair. "I'll be back, Toren. Don't miss me too much."
"Rawr!"
He chuckled and stood up, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
Toren sighed and looked at me. "Rawr?"
I nodded. "I know, I'm going to miss him too."
"Rawr!" Toren shouted as he got on his feet and began stomping around.
I giggled. "You're so silly, Toren."
"Rawr," he said, pouting.
I laughed. "Okay, okay. Let's go play outside."
"Rawr," he said, smiling.
I took his hand and led him out of the room. We walked down the hall, and I could hear voices coming from the floor below. I led Toren to the stairs and we listened.
"This is unacceptable," the matriarch yelled. "I should be able to get rid of that bastard child's children!"
"Calm down," Cassian's mom said. "We'll find a way around this, mother."
"I'm not going to calm down, Evelyn! Those bastards are going to take everything from us!"
"Nah, Shelly and Toren aren't like that," Damien said. "They're good kids. They're not interested in money like the rest of you. And, they're not going to take everything from us. They're going to get what's rightfully theirs, and that's it."
"Shut your mouth, you damn brat," the matriarch shouted. "I'm the head of this household. I'm the one who decides what's right and what's wrong. If I say those bastards are going to take everything from us, then they are."
Wow, what an old hag. She was insane. She was treating us like criminals when she was the one who was wrong. I had to hold myself back from stomping over and giving her a piece of my mind.
I looked at Toren and he was trembling, tears in his eyes. He wasn't as isolated from the drama as I thought. I pulled him closer and hugged him.
"It's okay, Toren," I said. "She's not going to hurt us. We're not alone here. We have Zara, Damien, and Uncle Fred. They're going to protect us."
Toren sniffled. "Rawr."
I smiled at him. "Rawr."
He chuckled, wiping his tears. I was glad that he was feeling better.
Suddenly, guards appeared from around the corner. "Lady Veyron de Luthaine, wishes you two to depart. Immediately."
"Wh-what?" I said, shocked.
"Rawr?!" Toren gasped, holding onto me tightly.
Damien rushed back upstairs. "What are you doing?! Shelly and Toren are staying here. That was in the will!"
"Exactly why they are leaving," the old hag said, appearing from the stairway behind Damien. "Consider this as fixing your mistake of bringing them here. They were never a part of this family, and they will never be. They are nothing but bastards. They have no place in our home."
Damien gritted his teeth. "This is wrong. They're a part of our family, and they deserve to stay. The will said-"
His great-grandma scoffed. "And, the will said they only get their inheritance once they're of age and stay here for two years. If they leave now, they get nothing. I can make sure that happens. I am the head of this household. You don't have any say in the matter."