10x Cashback: Your Wealth Is Mine

52  Why Do You Hate Me So Much?

There was nothing quite like treating yourself to something nice after a day out.

It is even better when you don't have to do the work involved in providing the nice thing.

But it has been some time since I'd had a home cooked meal, so I decided to fix something up for myself.

It wasn't hard to throw together a simple dinner. I served it and placed it at the island called the small dining table the previous Nico had dragged to the middle of the cavernous kitchen. From eating here, I could see why he liked it that way.

The silence here had always been oddly comforting.

It was like a space of my own with no walls around it, giving me the mental freedom to think. To plot and plan. And tonight, to eat in peace. At least, that's what I thought as I took my first bite.

I savored it, admiring my own cooking and took a sip of juice like it was wine. I grinned. "Not bad."

Just as I was about to dig in, the doorbell rang. I sighed, looking at my food longingly. Matt never really bothered with the bell since he knew the door code and I don't really invite other people over.

This meant I had an uninvited visitor. Who the hell could it be?

I stood with another sigh and walked to the screen mounted on the wall by the door.

I blinked as I saw who it was. What was she doing here?

It took another ring of the doorbell for me to move. It was Jenny standing there. Her expression right now was nothing short of venomous but I'd seen it enough times to be almost amused by it. Almost.

I pressed the intercom and told her to come in, unlocking the door. I stepped back, waiting for her to waltz in like she owned the place, which, given the way she always acted, she might as well have thought she did.

Jenny stepped inside, looking around the house like she was judging every square inch. "So, this is what you're wasting from our father." She said in a voice that was colder than the iceberg that sank the Titanic.

"And you're so ungrateful that you're not satisfied just living in it. No, you had to meddle with my friendships too."

I raised an eyebrow, barely suppressing a chuckle. She was coming in guns blazing.

"Is that why you're here? To accuse me of ruining your friendship? I didn't ruin anything, Jenny." I said dismissively. "You did that all by yourself."

Her eyes narrowed at my words. "Stay away from Quinn." She snapped. "This is your one and only warning. If you don't… I'll make sure Ascendant Capital pulls every bit of their funding from your precious hotel project."

At that, I actually laughed. She couldn't have picked a worse subject to threaten me on. Oliver would rather cut off whatever friendship he had with her than give me any reason to meet with his father.

From her eyes, I could tell that she had been expecting something different out of me. Maybe fear or at least a flinch. Instead, I leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms and meeting her threat with a smirk.

"Do your worst." I said simply. If this wasn't a challenge, nothing else was.

For a moment, she leaned back in surprise. This was like the sun taking a vacation. It had never happened before.

It was rare for me to face her so directly. At least, it was rare for the version of Nico she'd known. "Where's all this confidence coming from?" She sneered, her expression shifting from surprise to arrogance.

"You think you're some big shot now? You're nothing, Nico. Don't forget your place."

"My place?" I said, standing straight. I took a step closer, never taking my eyes off her.

"My place, Jenny, is as the true heir of the Voss empire. I am the only blood offspring of Logan Voss, not some heir by marriage like the rest of you opportunists." Jenny blinked at my words. Her smirk faded slightly and I could see the wheels turning in her mind as the insult sank in.

"No matter how hard you all try," I paused, "it'll be me who sits on that throne."

There was silence as Jenny stared at me. Then, she burst into laughter. "You? Sit on the Voss throne?" She kept laughing and shaking her head.

"You're weak, Nico. You think you could ever measure up to what it takes to lead the Voss empire? Dream on."

And that was when I had the realization. I could see it clearly now. What she was hiding.

I wasn't angry. I didn't even need to fight back. Instead, I simply looked at her, seeing her in a new light. A light that came with understanding.

And then I said something that caught even me by surprise. "Jenny… why do you hate me so much?"

Her laughter cut off abruptly and she blinked in confusion. "What?"

"It's so obvious to me now, why you hate me." I shook my head with a sigh. "You hate me because… I remind you too much of yourself."

Her mouth fell open slightly but she quickly snapped it shut, her gaze turning icy. "You don't know anything about me."

"Oh, but I do." I said, holding her gaze. "We're both outcasts in this family, Jenny."

"You might have the Voss name, but you know as well as I do that there's a part of you that will never be accepted. Not fully. Whether with father or with your mother."

"Your place, your rights… they've all been handed to someone else. Just like my place was taken from me."

She froze and for a split second, I saw the pain she was hiding behind the anger in her eyes.

Her mother always overlooked her and she could try as hard as she wanted, but she would always be playing second to her younger sister in the eyes of the family.

"You hate me because I remind you of how helpless you feel." I continued, watching her expression shift.

"And now that I'm actually doing something about it, actually fighting for what I want, you can't stand it. You're terrified that I might succeed where you couldn't. That I might prove you wrong."

Her face went through a range of emotions like a lady unsure of what to wear for a date. Confusion, anger, hurt, and then, something that almost but didn't quite look like shame. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words didn't come. For the first time since I'd known her, Jenny Voss was at a loss for words. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

I laughed, a soft, humorless sound. "Face it, Jenny. You're angry because I left you behind."

"Because I had the courage to stand up and go after what I want. And that reminds you of how trapped you feel. How… powerless you are."

A storm of emotions flickered across her face and she stammered, struggling to find something, anything, to say.

Unable to come up with anything, she finally turned on her heel and stormed out of the house, leaving the door swinging shut behind her.

As I stood alone in the silence, I realized something.

Jenny Voss was more lost than Nico Voss had ever been. And for the first time, I felt more pity than anger toward her.