Hollywood Zenith

" You know when I look at you I am suddenly reminded about the past." Patricia mumbled. Even though the cheers and laughter of the party were drousing the room, Kate clearly heard it.

" I must be around your age when I was forced to marry into this family. At that time, Rothschild family was in a decline. It was no where close to what normal people faced but when compared to their haydey at the beginning of the twentieth century, people's perception had warped after the war."

" War?" Kate felt that word was the most foreign things that she had ever heard. Everyone knew the meaning but only those that lived through it profound those three words were. She couldn't help but feel longing for what more she was going to say.

" Many of them felt that the family profited a lot during those times. They were somewhat right but during those intense event, what's to say what was even right or wrong? Everyone was trying to fight for their own survival." She paused for a second looking at Kate. She seemed to successfully garnered her attention.

" Former head of the family, that brat Kenneth was exceptional from birth. It was like the start of Rothschild's revival which was why most of the people and elders supported him. My family was one of them, they were neither powerful nor weak, they stayed neutral in the succession war."

" Are you talking about Sami's grandfather?" Kate couldn't help but grasp hearing her address one of the titans of the society like some alleyway kid.

" Yes, I still remember the first time I met him. The way he carried himself in the past was enough to crush girls hearts left and right. I invertedly became on of his victims." She said with a smile.

" You had a crush on him? So then-" Kate was confused. Why was she telling her this? She read many articles about the Rothschild family as 'research' when he met Samuel but there was no mention of anything regarding Patricia or her husband.

" It was a childish dream. I was young at that time and being swept in the moment was not exactly uncommon in those days. Now people have celebrities and singers to obsess over but those times were different."

" So remember my surprise when I found out I was arranged to marry his older brother. The mysterious oldest son that never showed his face to public. I was devastated because at that time I foolishly believed that the brat liked me too. It might be because I was few years older than him but that's what I believed why everyone insisted on pairing me with the older brother."

" The brother who never showed any interest in the succession race. Rumours that I heard at that time was that he was cold and distant to even his own parents. There was a separate place of the house reserved for him and he never came out of that place. No one knew what he did there making the rumours so twisted that he became evil personified in normal people's eyes."

" But I don't see that.." Kate saw the normal old man that Samuel introduced as his uncle. He hardly seemed like someone who could even hurt a fly.

" That's right but fraction wars are brutal. Being the oldest automatically made him the next person the succeed as the head of the family. Even if he never cared there were people plotting behind the scenes, if he ever desired to fight back. Subsequently other faction also felt the threat and made up stories about him so that he would be disliked even more than he already was."

" But that's not what I wanted to talk about, my fate was sealed no matter how much I protested. I was sure that if I held out, Kenneth would see it and choose me. I can't help but laugh thinking about that time."

" Image my surprise when I found out that the man I had crush on was pursuing someone else secretly? When I saw him bring her home after they eloped together was when my world shattered. What's more, it was the older sister of the queen. He fought tooth and nail for her because it was blasphemous at that time to even mingle with the royalty when one didn't have high enough status in the society."

Kate could feel there was no pain in her voice. It's like she was talking about someone else entirely but listening to her details reminded her again that she was talking about her past self.

" What happened next?" Still she couldn't help but ask.

" What else? It was a big celebration. Most of the elders were ecstatic because Kenneth manage to establish connection to the most powerful family in the world. But I can see it in his eyes as he looked at her that it wasn't for any benefit or money. He truly loved her with all his heart so much so that no one girls even caught his eye, including me."

" The laws were not strict at that time coupled with the fact the woman not having much say in the society, it was common for nobles to take on multiple wives. All the previous head of the family indulged themselves but it all changed when he took the helm of the family."

" While I struggled with sadness, he was shaping the direction of Rothschild family with support of younger generation. Do you know why no one from that era remained in the family?"

Kate suddenly realized for such a powerful family, they did have too few known members. She had heard rumours about it that they hid in the shadows busy controlling the world but no concrete proofs were listed anywhere.

" It was because from the start they were nothing but a stepping stone for him. Over the years, the family had became bloated to the point that no one leader could control every aspect of it. He got rid of most of them either buying the outright or slowly kicking them out for the crimes they commited over the years."

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" The already weakened family deteriorated even more, if not for the royal families support and him getting blessed with a great son there was no telling if anyone would even remember the Rothschild's name."