Chapter 19 just a punching bag

Chapter 19 just a punching bag
Oscar’s P.O.V.

“You are late.” I stopped in my tracks and stiffened completely when I heard my mother’s cold voice, echoing through the silent hall.
“Don’t think to lie about your whereabouts, Oscar. It seems that you still didn’t learn your lesson.” Her cold and angry words now did not affect me.
Her heels clicked sharply against the floor.
“You act like a spoiled brat all day, and the way you are creating messes everywhere, the day when you will lose your claim on the heir position is not that far.” She stopped at some distance from me and looked at me angrily.
Her famous ruler was still in her hands.
“And what good is this claim going to bring to me?” I asked defiantly.
Whip!!!!!!!
I ground my molars to suppress the pain when she swung the ruler at me, hitting my left thigh brutally.
Mom always made sure that no one could see the marks of her cruelty on my body.
“It seems that you really forgot your place, Oscar. How dare you speak to me like that?” she roared, hitting me a few more times, and every time, the ruler hit the places that had already gone numb because of the constant beating.
So I didn’t react, just stared at her blankly, infuriating her further, because what my mother wanted to see was fear and a plea for mercy in my eyes.
This gave her immense satisfaction. There was a time when I pleaded to her to stop, begged for mercy, and admitted that I was wrong, hoping that she would stop.
But now….
I was just standing like a wooden log, not even a flinch in my body whenever that ruler hit me.
“Enough. What do you think you are doing?” My father entered the hall and roared at Mom while almost running in her direction.
“I am disciplining him. What else can I do other than this? He never learned his lessons.” Mom yelled at him, still hitting me violently.
Dad approached her and grabbed the ruler when it was about to hit me again.
He snatched the ruler from her and threw it away.
How wonderful it would be if he had broken that ruler once for me!
But that was just my wishful thinking.
My mother, Bella Howart was one of the top socialites in the city and also served as president of my father, Joseph Howart’s, company.
Yes, my father’s own company, not in the Howart’s Corporation, our family business.
My father is the second son of my grandfather. After my elder uncle, James Howart, took over the CEO position of Howart’s Corporation years ago, my father decided to start his own business. With my mother and her family’s help, their business, B&J SoftTech, is now running successfully.
But this isn’t the reason my mother was so cruel to me.
She is an ambitious woman, and her eyes are always on the family business. So, from a very young age, she did everything to groom me in the heir that my grandfather wanted to see in his grandsons.
Their ambitions, their expectations, and their cruelty…..
Turned me into something else….
A person whom I hate the most.
“You are the reason that he is like this now. He has to stay upright and to prove that he is the only heir of our family. How dare he talk back?” Mom yelled at my father, fighting hard to push him away, but Dad was now holding both her hands tightly.
I grimaced and spun on my heel.
“Where are you going? Stop right there.” Mom screamed behind me, but I didn’t stop.
If it hadn’t been for the family rule to stay in at night, I would have never come back.
“Stop now.” Mom roared at the top of her lungs, but I stormed out of the mansion, fuming with anger and wanting to lash out at anyone, though I knew my limits.
I jumped inside my Ford Mustang convertible and drove it away without hesitation.
My mind was a mess. They blamed me for everything that went bad or went wrong related to them.
I should be proper and perfect, but are they perfect?
For them, I am just a stepping stone to raise them to power.
I ran the car on the road aimlessly. I was with Galvin and Fred at the club an hour ago, but they also needed to go back.
That’s why I came back here.
It seems that I also needed to buy an apartment or a condo like Easton.
I stopped the car at a busy street, filled with small vendors. I leaned my head against the edge of the backrest and looked outside.
My gaze landed on a small family near a food stall.
The anger that I wanted to suppress in my heart boomed again when I saw how happy they were.
The man was holding a young boy in his embrace, and the woman was feeding both of them with a wide, happy smile on her face.
The boy was giggling from time to time, and the couple was smiling at the boy dotingly.
Why can’t my parents look at me like this once?
They were ordinary people. I am sure that they didn’t even have their own place to live. Yet they were happy.
I looked at another set of people near another food stall. I guess it was a barbecue stall. The smell of oil, spice, and cooking is thick, but for the first time, I didn’t find it disgusting.
Maybe I was hungry. That’s why I found this smell nice.
All of them were laughing while eating and drinking, teasing each other, bantering, and bickering.
A couple was fighting a little far from my car, but soon, the man embraced the girl, coaxing her while she continued throwing a tantrum, but the blush on her face was enough to tell that she was about to give in.
They all had their own set of problems, but with these insignificant happy moments, their lives were still better than mine.
Why? Why can they have these moments with their loved ones, but not me?
I banged my hand on the wheel and kicked the car frame under the wheel frame in a fit of rage.
I was now breathing heavily. These happy moments of these people were now an eyesore.
I started the car again and drove away as quickly as possible.
I decided to go to Easton’s studio apartment. Going back home tonight wasn’t an option for me.
My phone was continuously vibrating on the passenger’s seat.
I didn’t even bother to look in that direction. It was Mom and Dad.
It was still summer, and the air was warm enough to let the heat slap my face.
I welcomed this warmth, though.
Something to hold onto. I took my phone from the passenger’s seat and scoffed bitterly when I saw how many times my mother had called.
I ignored all her calls and messages and opened my contact list.
I dialed Easton’s number while driving so that he could give my car a clearance there.