It was the morning after a long night of staying up to write and edit an article that needed to be submitted to my editor by midnight and her irritation levels were at an all time high. The subject of her irritation was her phone that was ringing like crazy right now despite the fact that she was very tired and very adamant on doing nothing until later on. Her precious baby, Cristian, began to bark out of irritation from the sound of her phone ringing. A small smile formed on the young woman's face at the sound of his barking. He was just like her when it came to having his sleep disturbed and it was a very endearing thing to witness.

Not wanting to hear the blasted phone ring any longer, she tapped accept and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" She groggily greeted into the phone.

"Daphne Marilyn Richards, why are you still in bed at this hour?" Her mother's agitated voice nagged into my ear. The sound of her scolding her so loudly caused a headache to form causing her to hold the phone a few inches away. She began to go into a full blown rant about how disgraceful it was for her daughter to even be in bed at this hour and how embarrassing it was for her to have a daughter who just slept all day. She then proceeded to start insulting the young woman's profession too, which wasn't new at all, but it still irked her all the same.

"-women in this family are not groomed to work useless jobs at places like that little, nameless magazine company you work for," She ranted.

"Mother!" She exclaimed loudly. She stopped ranting long enough to be quiet, she was grateful for. One more minute of her insulting her passion and she would have blown her top. She's annoying when she's constantly nitpicking she loves. At least her father, may he rest in peace, had the common decency to encourage her and do everything he could to help her achieve her dreams, unlike her mother who would rather tear it down than help to build it up.

"I am not going to sit here listening to you insult my work as if it's meaningless. If you have nothing else to say to me, then kindly talk to me another time," She firmly stated, "I am very tired right now and I don't want to hear your drivel about my job that I will never quit."

"Daphne Marilyn Richards! How dare you speak to your mother that way," She chided. Lord. Maybe opening her mouth wasn't the best idea because now she's upset and full on ranting again about respect and how her generation doesn't have any. She should have just let the phone ring without even picking it up. Hearing her voicemail about how she never answers her phone would have been much better than this in a way, even though hearing her rant is still a pain in the ass for her ears.

"Mother, what did you call me for?" She interrupted her rant. She stopped ranting and took in a deep breath. She guessed that she was running out of fuel from that damn scolding she gave her.

"I am calling you to tell you that I want you to meet me at the country club this morning during lunch at exactly noon," She informed her.

"Why? Can't we just go to a regular restaurant?" She inquired raising an eyebrow. Something in the back of her mind told me that she had some kind of scheme cooking in the back of her mind that she would not like at all. In fact, she'd probably detest it in every which way.

"Because I already called to inform them of our arrival," She responded. It took everything in her to suppress a long and loud groan that was residing in the back of her throat.

"Fine," She muttered, "I'll be there."

"Good and don't wear any of those god awful dresses you have. It's embarrassing to have a daughter of your size dress like you do," She ranted. That statement struck a cord within her that had her beginning to feel not as confident as she usually does. This always happened whenever she said something about her weight, even though she was as healthy as horse. She could tell that today was going to be one of those days where she would start to second guess herself when she looked in the mirror as she tried on different outfits for this lunch.

"Umm...uhh...o-okay," She mumbled.

"Just what would the other members of the country club think when they see you and all that fat on your body in one of your tight outfits? I'd be the laughing stock of the century. I'd never be able to live that down for as long as I live," Her mother added. She let out a small cough to prevent herself crying as she went on and on and on about her weight. You'd think that after all these years she would be confident about herself no matter what size she, but, like everyone else, she has those days where she's not. She has those days where she can't stand to look at herself in the mirror.

She has those days where she tries on an outfit in the mirror and think to herself "you are a disgusting slob". She has those days where she's reluctant to even wear the curve hugging jeans or dresses in her closet. To say she was confident all the time would be a lie because she, like everyone else, has those days where she's not as confident as she seems. She has those days where she doesn't dare to look in the mirror and hate what she sees.

"Mom, I'll see you later. Bye," She mumbled. Her thumb pressed the end call button without so much as giving her chance to even respond. Tears slipped from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away and cleared her throat. Cristian looked over at her sensing her mood that went from irritation to sadness within a moment.

He walked over to the bed and jumped onto it to lay next to me her his way of being comforting. A small smile of appreciation formed on her lips at his thoughtfulness and she laid down in the bed next to him as he moved closer to her. Days like this made her very grateful to have Cristian, who was just a pup, to comfort her when she was feeling down. Without him, she doesn't think she could find the strength to face the day.

"You are such a sweetheart, Cristian. I don't know what I would do without you," She murmured petting the soft pup. Aside from her siblings who had their lives to live, Cristian was the only one within her life that she could actually confide in when needed and she greatly appreciate the fact that he would just sit there and listen without any judgements. She was sure that she sounded like some weirdo who's only friend is their dog, and there's nothing wrong with those who do have their dog as their best friend.

After lying there for a moment petting Cristian to her heart's content, she climbed out of bed and went to her bathroom to start getting ready for this shit show of a lunch she was going to have with her dear mother. As much as she would love to decline, she can't because she don't want to hear her mouth and because she wants to keep the peace within the family like her father did. She'd feel like a disappointment to him if she didn't at least try to get along with her mother.

Once she finished getting ready, she put on an old, large t-shirt and took off her satin cap to reveal the durag underneath that held down her twists that had been done last night. She took out the make up she needed to and wanted to use, and then began painting her face.

An hour after that was done, she took off the shirt and put on a pink, knit sweater dress that stopped above her knees, some thick, thigh socks, and thigh high black boots. To help fight off the cold, she put on a beige coat and a scarf. Once her appearance was acceptable for this lunch, she grabbed her purse and placed what she needed in there. Before she left, she took Cristian out and then was on her way to the country club that her family, technically her mother, has been a member of for years.

When she arrived, she handed the valet her keys after they opened her door and headed inside to be escorted to her mother. As soon as she stepped into the room her mother was in, her gaze instantly began to pick apart her attire with an analytical expression on her face. When she finished, her face twisted up into an expression of disapproval at her daughter's appearance and her confidence started to plummet.

To make this less uncomfortable for her, she cleared her throat. She looked her in her eyes with a disapproving gleam to them.

"This...I...you have just managed to render me speechless with how much you embarrass me by how you're dressed. Are you serious right now, Daphne? I told you not to wear something like those dresses, which I'm grateful that you did, but you still managed to disappointment me with such juvenile attire," She scolded. A lump had formed in her throat while she was talking and her eyes began to sting a little with tears. It was very heartbreaking to hear her talking to her like this as if she was some child. She's always been like this ever since she was child. Just so judgmental of any and everything she does. She has always made her very hesitant even be around her when she says and does things like that.

"Just have a seat. You're already here anyway and there is no point in me even trying at all," She sighed out of exasperation. Softly, Daphne sniffed and went to go take a seat in a chair over from hers.

"Aside from your clear lack of style, we have two more guests joining us at this lunch. I suggest you at least go to the bathroom and make sure you look presentable before they come here," She informed. Daphne should have known that she was doing this. She is always luring her out of her home for lunch only to try and set her with one of the sons of her friends, even though she has told her countless times that she is not interested in them, but she's just so damn persistent about it that half the time she just give up completely.

"Make sure you don't embarrass me at all with your antics and make sure you keep your job a secret. We cannot have him know what you do for a living. That is an embarrassment within itself," She explained. Silently, she nodded and just kept her mouth shut. It was best to just let things just go the way they're going. Opposing was so much more exhausting than agreeing and she didn't have time to do that at all.

Once their guests had arrived and they all had gotten the formalities out the way, her mother and her friend had pretty convinced the both of them to go out together, even though she told them that she had drove here, and that resulted in her getting glared at by her mother. The guy, who had completely decided to go along with their mother's wishes, opted to follow Daphne to her home where they could drop off her car and go have a day on the town. Their mothers agreed to the idea and urged them to go before gossiping like some old ladies.

When me Daphne and the guy, Vincent King, arrived at her home, her parked his car in the driveway and then she headed inside to check on Cristian and take him out once more before leaving again. Once she was finished, she walked out to find the blonde haired, blue eyes man talking on the phone somebody. He did not acknowledge her at all nor did he make any move to open the door either. He just kept talking on the phone to whoever. Rude.

"Alright, man," He said to his friend, "I'll talk to you later."

His hand had made its way to her exposed thigh and he began to rub on it slowly. Instantly, she knew what was coming next. It was inevitable to be honest, especially after the look he gave her earlier when we were first introduced earlier. She won't lie and say that he isn't good looking because he is, but he was really expecting me to give it up for him? She's slept with a few of the guys her mother introduced her to, and not all, but he wasn't really her type to be honest because usually guys that look like him don't even last that long to be honest.

Once his phone call ended, he opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to the punch.

"Let's just head inside my house," She said. A surprised look came over his features at that suggestion, but she didn't really care to be honest. He was getting what he wanted and she was getting what she wanted, and what she wanted was a little stress reliever for the shit she endured today.