45. Drop

                                    

                                          


♟️ 






"I'll drop out."
Elena stares at Erland, right in the eyes. She doesn't see her pathetic brother anymore, all she can see is a monster. He is greedy, for money and for power, and in the midst of it all her wife is in danger. Erland has given her what she knew, deep down, someone eventually would. An ultimatum.
Is it not exactly what Vera warned her about before she got married? Be careful. Hilarie comes to this world, completely new to it, right into the middle of a harsh dispute in one of the richest families of the country. It was dangerous from the start, and Elena should've seen it coming. In fact, she should be surprised that it hasn't happened earlier. She had only hoped, perhaps, that it wouldn't have been such a harsh ultimatum.
If she had given the chairman position to Esias, maybe she could've been happy about it sometime in the future. Esias is greedy for power, yes. But he isn't clinically insane for it. Once he gets what he wants, he calms down. He would continue to let her act as CEO and her life would be as it is now. Having Esias as head of the family could not be that much different from having her father be it. But now that it's not Esias giving her the ultimatum, but Erland... Elena knows that the price will be heavy for everyone involved.
She'll do it anyway. Nothing weighs heavier than Hilarie and Vera. It's not her place to risk Hollie's life, only to protect her and save her.
Esias grabs her wrist the moment she gives Erland the green light. Elena turns around to look at him, and notices the wide-eyed, worried look on his face. "Elena, you can't honestly be thinking of doing this. Erland can't become chairman. You know he can't." He tries to keep his voice down, but in the echo of the hospital room, Erland can still hear every word. Elena's first reaction is rage. "Do you understand-" but just as she is about to yell at him, she cuts herself off.
Esias doesn't understand. He has never loved anyone, not like this. He's like what Elena would've been if she had never met Vera so many years ago. Vera pushed herself into her life, forced love into a heart that was otherwise cold and uninterested. Elena wanted revenge, power and money like any other member of the Void family. Esias wants the same. Nobody has ever taught him that there can be anything more valuable. In part, Elena finds fault in herself. She is his older sister. Perhaps, somewhere down the line, she should've taught him.
So, it's with a sigh that she calms herself down. For the first time in what feels like forever, she talks to him without annoyance prickling under her skin. With the intention of understanding him, rather than hating him. Even though he often deserves the hate that she gives him.
"There will come a time in your life when you will understand, Esias. Hilarie can't die now. If she does, it's all over for me. I'll die too, on the inside. There won't be anything worth living for."
Esias looks at her like he's given up. It's an expression of hopelessness and exhaustion. "You do understand the price you are paying though, right?" Elena looks back at him with a hint of pity. She is determined, however. Of course she is. Esias will understand one day. Love comes before all else. Family comes before all else. She turns back around to her other brother, who has just been observing them with nothing but a small smile on his face, waiting for them to come to the inevitable decision. Elena breathes in, saying it again.
"I'll drop out, Erland."
A smile appears on his face, a smile of satisfaction. "That's great. But it won't be enough." He enjoys having his oh so powerful sister under his control. He is a man, after all. A dumb man. Erland gestures at his twin, who is already glaring at him from the hospital bed. "If you're not running, but he is- Esias will become chairman." He turns back to his sister, the smile fading away from his face. "Esias drops out, or I kill her."