I gritted my teeth and kept silent as she continued whipping me with the feather duster. She refused to stop even when she was exhausted, and all I could do was stand there helplessly with tears welled up in my eyes.
Later on, someone walked over and took the feather duster away from Mom; it was Lucas. He shielded me and yelled at her, “Aunt Isabelle, this is way out of line. Are you trying to kill her?”
Isabelle threw the feather duster away. Noticing that I was still refusing to say a word, she sneered. “Yvonne, that’s all I have to say for today. If you still insist to be with Christopher, I’ll disown you.”
“Aunt Isabelle, please don’t get angry.” Crystal finally spoke up after watching silently from the sidelines. She walked to Isabelle and took her hand before smiling smugly at me. “Yvonne, why don’t you apologize to Aunt Isabelle already? Stop being so stubborn. You should know that Christopher is our enemy, and you shouldn’t be choosing the enemy over your mother.”
“You don’t have to do this. I’m sure she never respected me as her mother. If she loves the Lane family so much, she can choose to be their daughter instead,” Isabelle said coldly.
“Aunt Isabelle, Yvonne just needs more time to process this. After all, the Lane family is so influential here in Avenport. Her status will skyrocket after she marries into their family. After all, Yvonne suffered so much in the past. It’s only normal for her to be reluctant to let go of this golden opportunity. Just give her a few more days, and I’m sure she would be able to think more rationally. Am I right, Yvonne?”
Crystal winked at me, gesturing for me to just play along. However, her words were full of sarcasm and mockery. I could even see the smugness hidden in her eyes as though she found this amusing.
“Yvonne, you should know that you’re now the eldest daughter of the Goldstein family. Men will be lining up for you. Why do you have to be so obsessed with Christopher? Anyway, why don’t you consider Mr. Osborn instead? He’s a capable guy, and I know there’s a lot of women interested in him. Aunt Isabelle took a lot of effort to pick the right guy for you, so you should be more appreciative.”
“Crystal, I think you shouldn’t be interfering with our family matters,” Lucas interrupted Crystal’s words as he helped me up.
“I-I was trying to help!” Crystal pursed her lips with a pitiful look.
“Lucas! Who are you to interfere when I’m lecturing my daughter? Is this how you treat a guest? Where are your manners?” Isabelle scolded in a low voice.
“Aunt Isabelle, isn’t it obvious that I’m more polite than Ms. Yates? At least, I’m not as shameless as she is…”
I tugged Lucas’ arm lightly, gesturing for him to stop. At that moment, I felt pain all over my body, especially my back. However, the pain was overwhelmed by the numb feeling in my heart. What did I do to deserve this?
If what I did was wrong, what is the right thing to do?
“Aunt Isabelle, I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind me interfering. I just didn’t want to see you and Yvonne fighting.” Crystal put on a piteous look.
“You did the right thing, Crystal. If only she’s as understanding and considerate as you are. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.” Isabelle sighed as she took Crystal’s hand. Her expression softened a little as she continued, “I’ll try to pick someone for you too. Just tell me if you have anyone in mind.”
Almost immediately, Isabelle turned around and shot me a cold glare. “You should learn from Crystal. Also, you’re grounded from now on. You can’t leave the house until you’ve thought things through.”
“Yvonne, just take this time to process what Aunt Isabelle said to you. I hope you won’t make her angry again. Everything Aunt Isabelle did was for your good.” Crystal raised her chin smugly.
Seeing them finishing each other’s sentences, I felt like an outsider once again. My sorrow turned into anger in that instant, and I could no longer contain it.
“Mom, you’re so fond of Crystal. I just want to ask you one thing. Do you prefer someone who listens to you and says words of flattery instead of your own daughter?”
