By the time Claire made it back home, Ritah and Andrew had already arrived. Ritah was in the embrace of Mrs. Heimi Dane’s arms, crying pitifully. Mr. Alden Dane was on the other side of Ritah, patting her back the way a father would when comforting his daughter.
The sight that Claire met in the living room of her home astounded her. Heimi and Alden were her parents. How could they be comforting Ritah?
"Mom, dad, I am home." Claire announced, tossing her bag onto the couch before sitting down.
Hardly had she settled into the chair when her mother sharply screamed at her. "Did you slap Ritah?"
Claire winced. Raising her eyebrows slightly, she replied, "Yes, I did. And I would do it again. Has she told you what she did to earn the slap? She has been having an affair with Andrew!"
Andrew rose, wine glass in hand. "It is not an affair. It is a relationship."
Claire was ready to protest the shameless response, but her mother interjected. "An affair?" Mrs. Heimi Dane scoffed. "Is that why you slapped Ritah and humiliated her in a restaurant of crowded people? You ripped a necklace off her neck and left a bruise on her skin? Don’t you know how precious smooth skin is to a woman?"
Claire looked at her father. "Dad, has mom lost her mind? I am her daughter. Her daughter, whose boyfriend had cheated! And yet, she is more worried about the cheater than me?"
She wondered if she was the only one who thought this was crazy. Her parents and Ritah had a close relationship, which started two years ago when Ritah moved in. They pampered her cousin to crazy extremes, as if she was their own child. But even if they loved their niece, there had to be a limit. In Claire’s mind, this was that limit.
Alden leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. "Your mother is right." He said with ease.
Claire gasped.
"You should not have hit Ritah, no matter what." He droned on with an air of self righteousness. "A relationship cannot be forced. You and Andrew are not married. Andrew and Ritah fell in love, and that is not a crime. Their only mistake was not telling you about the new developments sooner, which resulted in a misunderstanding."
Claire laughed softly, under shock. Apparently, there was no limit to the madness of loving their niece! Her parents had officially lost their minds. "Misunderstanding? Mom, dad, whose side are you taking? I am your daughter!"
"No, you aren’t." Mrs. Heimi snapped.
Claire’s eyes opened wider than they had ever done. Before she could question her mother on the absurd statement, guests walked into the house. Eight in total. Mrs. Donna Dane was at the front, and her husband Victor Dane followed closely behind.
They were Claire’s aunt and uncle and also Ritah’s parents. They had come with their children--all six of them. Two men, that were two years older than Claire and Ritah by two years. Archer and Ansel.
The other four were quadruplets--all thirteen year old teenage boys. Benjamin, Bernard, Benson and Bennett. Everyone called them the Bens. Donna was forty two when she had the quadruplets and for this Heimi secretly called her a rabbit.
Both families had a good relationship on the surface, but deep down, things were different. Alden and Heimi were rich, so they looked down on Victor and Donna, who were average financially.
Claire had never approved of the way her mother secretly gossiped about her aunt, or made fun of the woman. That was why it was surprising when her mother suddenly took an absurd interest in Ritah two years ago. She invested in her education, gave her a bedroom in their house, hired a personal assistant and driver for her.
Their family owned a chain of restaurants--sixteen in total. All of them were under the management of Alden and Heimi foods company. Ritah was brought onboard a year ago as the Human Resources Director. A position she did not deserve.
Claire had barely held on to her position as Chief Operating Officer, which Ritah had been aiming for. All in all, Claire now concluded that Ritah simply wanted everything she had. From her parents, to the company, and now, her boyfriend.
The air in the living room was already tense. And it became even more so when Donna asked a question.
"Why is Ritah crying?" She asked in a slightly frantic voice.
Their family rushed towards Ritah, to offer collective sympathies.
"It was Claire. She slapped Ritah, ripped the pearl lucky charm necklace off her neck and humiliated her. She ruined our marriage proposal." Andrew tattled.
Many eyes turned to Claire, glaring with accusations.
"I take it that everyone here is aware of my relationship with Andrew, and the fact that he has been having an affair with Ritah." Claire said, clenching her fists. "Aunt Donna, was I wrong to react the way I did? If you were in my shoes, how would you handle the situation? How would you handle it if your boyfriend made plans with you to celebrate ten years of your relationship only to propose to another woman. In a restaurant you booked. To a song you prepared, a cake you paid for..."
Suddenly, Heimi shoved Donna back as she attempted to pull Ritah into her arms.
Victor and their the Bens rushed to stop her fall. Claire’s tirade was interrupted by the shock. What were her parents doing? Why was her mother stopping her aunt from touching Ritah?
Heimi huffed and raised her voice. "Don’t touch my daughter."
Some people gasped.
The room went silent, so much so that they could have heard a pin drop. Claire was very observant and once she got over the shock, she noticed that Victor’s family was shocked, but her family was not, and neither was Andrew.
Her brothers, James and Cordy walked down the stairs. Both of them were Alden and Heimi’s sons. James was thirty, and Cordy twenty five. At his age, James was already the Chief Financial Officer at the family company, and Cordy was the Chief Marketing Officer.
Claire smiled when she saw them, because she knew they would be on her side. They had never liked Ritah’s pretentious attitude, just as Claire hadn’t.
"Mom, have you told uncle the truth already?" James asked as his feet reached the bottom step. He looked at uncle Victor and said coldly. "We have already packed up all of Claire’s things, you can take them with you immediately. There is no need to make things ugly between our families. Our family will take the lead in suing the hospital which swapped Ritah and Claire at birth, you can join if you want. But when the compensation is given, we will take 60% because the lawyers are ours."
Claire’s breath caught like glass shattering. Swapped at birth?