She stepped off the plane into the cold Massachusetts's night. No one said anything to her; they just moved her on to the next destination; the Crain mansion. Her father, for some reason, decided to let her come home two weeks early. She was quickly escorted into the limo and got in as quickly as possible in hopes that she would be able to warm herself soon. The limo drove off and Sheridan sat in the back of the limo all alone. Whenever she came back to Harmony no one was ever there to greet her. The only one who was ever excited by her return was Ethan and the maid, Pilar. Julian never paid any attention to her and Ivy had her own problems to deal with.
Sheridan drove past the Lopez-Fitzgerald house and saw three people playing in the snow outside. She smiled and wished that she were one of those girls out there playing with their father. Her father never played with or never talked to her for the matter. He was ruthless and cold. He only saw Sheridan as nuisance not a daughter. He was harsh towards and he always scolded her when she came home. She hated being apart of the Crane family. To her, it was like they never cared for anyone but their selfish needs. Ivy had only been married to Julian for eleven years and she was already more of Crain than Sheridan had ever been. She didn't understand why Julian married her when it was obvious that he didn't love her at all. She wondered if her father ever loved her mother. He never talked about her to her ever. Her mother was not even aloud to be discussed in the Crain household. The limo arrived at the front entrance and waited for the guards to open the gate. The limo finally pulled up to the front entrance and Sheridan reluctantly got out of the car and headed up to the front door. A maid opened the door and greeted Sheridan. She stepped inside of the warm house and could hear her brother and father talking in the other room.
"Father, why did you have Sheridan come home so early?" Julian asked
"This is the last time that I'm going to let her come home ever again." Alistair replied.
Sheridan stood at the door and heard everything her father and brother were talking about. They looked up when they noticed her and motioned for her to come in.
"Sheridan come in here now." Her father ordered.
"Yes father." Sheridan said.
"Sheridan you will be staying in the family cottage on the other side of the property." Alistair said.
"Why can't I stay in my room in house?" Sheridan asked.
"It's not your room anymore. Now go with Jenna and she'll take you to the cottage." Alistair said.
Sheridan said nothing and went with the maid to the cottage. Sheridan was left by herself in the cottage. She went into the back bedroom and cried herself to sleep.
The alarm rang and Pilar sprang out of bed. Martin was still sound asleep and she was careful not to wake him. She turned the lights on in the living room and in the kitchen. She then proceeded into the kid's rooms and woke them up. Antonio and Luis got up right away. Paloma and Theresa however didn't budge. Pilar shuck them again and still they wouldn't budge. She became annoyed with their stubbornness so she went out back got two buckets full of ice water from the back yard and poured it on them. They both woke-up screaming so Pilar slapped them across the face.
"How dare you wake-up screaming when your father is sleeping after his long hours at the Crain mansion." Pilar sternly said.
"How dare you pour ice water on us then smack us when we scream from the ice water." Paloma said.
"Excuse me young lady." Pilar said.
"You heard me." Paloma said.
Pilar smacked Paloma across the face again.
"Don't you get smart with me again." Pilar.
"Yes mama." Paloma said.
"Theresa get out of bed now and get ready for school." Pilar said.
"Yes mama." Theresa said.
Pilar rushed her kids out of the house and into the car. When she got outside, she noticed snow angles in the yard. She then understood why Paloma and Theresa couldn't get up this morning.
"So girls did you have fun last night?" Pilar asked.
"What do you mean mother?" Paloma asked.
"She means did we have fun making snow angles with daddy." Theresa said.
"Your father was outside playing with both of you when he knew that you should have been inside and sleeping. Paloma you don't get if do you? Fine I'm not going to ground you. You want to play in the snow so badly then fine by me. When you get home I want both of you to get the shovels from the storage room and I want you to shovel all of the snow off the yard. I hope you have doing it." Pilar said.
"But mom, Theresa is only seven years old. I think that, that punishment way to harsh for her." Paloma said.
"Paloma what did I tell you before? Theresa's old enough to play outside late at night, then she's old enough to shovel the whole backyard." Pilar said.
There was silence the rest of the way to school.
Rebecca woke up with a smile on her face. Her daughter Gwen came into her room and sat next to her mother on the bed.
"How is my little darling this morning?" Rebecca asked.
"I'm fine mother. I can't wait for the Crain ball in two weeks." Gwen said.
"I can't either. I'm glad that you brought it up. I need to talk to you about something important.
"What is it mother?" Gwen asked.
"Marriage Gwen." Rebecca said.
"Marriage mother? I'm only thirteen." Gwen responded
"I know my dear but in a few years you'll be ready." Rebecca said.
"Well, what about marriage mother?" Gwen asked.
"At the ball you are going to meet the future heir of the Crain mansion and business. Your goal is to make him fall in love with you so that you can become the future Mrs. Crain." Rebecca said.
"Why would I want to marry him?" Gwen asked.
"If you marry Ethan Crain then you will be the most powerful the most richest woman in the world." Rebecca said.
"Wow! Mother I like that idea." Gwen said.
"That's my girl. Now why don't you go get ready for breakfast." Rebecca said.
"Yes mother." Gwen said; then left her mothers room.
She had done her part now it was Ivy's turn to do her part.
Ethan came into his mother room to see if she was up yet. She turned around from her mirror and smiled at him.
"Come in my dear and shut the door." Ivy said.
"Good morning mother." Ethan said.
"Ethan I want to talk to you about something." Ivy said.
"What is it mother?" He asked her.
"Ethan I want to talk to you about a certain young lady that is going to be at the Christmas ball in two weeks." Ivy said.
"Who mother?" He asked.
"Gwen Hotchkiss." Ivy said.
"What about her?" Ethan asked.
"Ethan, Gwen is the one I want you to marry one day." Ivy said.
"Mother I don't even know her and what happens if I don't love her?" Ethan asked.
"Ethan that word is so over used. Who even knows what love really is?" Ivy said.
"I thought that you're suppose to love someone before you marry them." Ethan said.
"In marriage, love doesn't really matter. It's not the most important thing. Now when you get married if you happen to both fall in love than good for you. Love is just another probability to marriage that's all; nothing else." Ivy said.
"I never thought of it that way." Ethan said.
"Well, I want you to think about it." Ivy said.
"Yes mother. I'm going over to see Sheridan." Ethan said.
"Okay but be back here in little bit." Ivy said.
She was glad that she had finally talked some sense into him.