Chapter 512 A Stinging Lesson
Janette sounded painfully awkward as she asked me for Ronan’s contact information. She probably remembered her poor treatment of me earlier.
I responded, “I have his contact information, but I won’t give it to you.”
While I most definitely had Ronan’s contact information, I was hardly going to give it to Janette just because she asked. I did not know if Ronan liked her, and I worried that she would pester him to no end after getting his number.
Janette’s eyes lit up when I replied in the affirmative regarding my possession of Ronan’s contact information. However, her face fell a second later when I expressed my refusal to give it to her.
“What the heck are you doing, Anna? Are you playing a prank on me? Why would you refuse to give me his contact information if you have it?”
The spoiled girl leaped to her feet and glared daggers at me, her tone thick with anger.
My expression turned cold, and I returned her furious glare with one of my own. I retorted, “Why should l give it to you? Do I owe you anything?”
Her prima donna attitude vexed me to no end. She behaved as though everyone owed her anything she desired.
I may have Ronan’s number, but sharing it is my prerogative! How is it my fault when I’m acting within my rights? The gall!
Meanwhile, Janette pointed her finger accusatorily at me and screeched, “Don’t be outrageous, Anna!”
Before I could reply to her, Alicia intervened. She berated Janette, “What on earth are you doing, Janette?”
Alicia followed this up with a cross look at her daughter.
I chalked her involvement up to concern over our already-precarious relationship. Alicia probably feared that my impression of her would fall from any association with Janette’s ill-treatment of me, causing our relationship to fall apart.
To no one’s surprise, the spoiled princess pointed at me and bellowed, “Mom, you saw what she did! She was rude to me first! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“I don’t think your sister did anything wrong. She merely refused to give you that man’s contact information. How could you yell at her over that?”
Alicia stared at Janette angrily. I could tell that my mother could no longer bear her spoiled daughter’s selfish behavior.
“Mom, you never treated me like this. Everything changed after you discovered her. Do you not love me anymore? You only have eyes for your illegitimate daughter!” Janette spat viciously with no regard for my feelings.
The hurtful words had barely left her mouth when a slap landed right smack on her cheek.
Janette froze, utterly stunned. Frankly, I shared her surprise. I never thought Alicia could bear to strike the precious daughter she had spoiled for the past twenty or so years.
Alicia reprimanded, “You’ve gone too far, Janette. Did I teach you to talk like this?”
A moment later, she glanced at her hand after absorbing the magnitude of her actions. She appeared regretful of her actions.
“How could you hit me, Mom? You’ve never ever struck me, and now you’ve slapped me for her. I’m disappointed in you!”
After her wails, Janette burst into sobs and ran out of the ward.
“Janette!”
Alicia tried to halt her to no avail. Instead, she watched Janette run out of the ward with guilt written in her gaze. Her slap had evidently been impulsive, and she now deeply regretted her actions.
I remained silent the entire time. The regret on Alicia’s face upset me. How could she feel sorry for slapping Janette when Janette deserved it? She loves Janette to the point of forgiving her impudent behavior.
Alicia continued to stare at the ward door in concern. I peeled an apple and passed it to her, muttering, “Don’t be angry. Have some fruit.”
My birth mother shot me a remorseful stare and hastily replied, “Don’t take your younger sister’s behavior to heart, Anna. It’s my fault for spoiling her. She’s not a mean person.”
Here she was defending Janette again.
Flatly, I returned, “It’s fine.”
I did not like Janette at all. Consequently, I did not wish to talk about her with Alicia. Janette was nothing but a selfish, ill-mannered princess. She had been raised in a comfortable environment as the apple of everyone’s eye, which turned her into the prima donna she was today.
Alicia received the apple from my hands, looking at me as though she had more to say.
Sensing that our situation had grown awkward, I piped up, “I’ll make you some soup once I’m home. Do you need anything else? I’ll bring them over when I drop by with the soup.”
I made a move to leave.
“I don’t need anything else. I’m already counting my blessings that you’re willing to visit me.”
She spoke cautiously despite her joy at my hours-long visit. I supposed it would take some time before we could get over our aloofness around each other.
“Well, I’m leaving then. Have a good rest. I’ll come by at night.”
I bid her farewell with an expressionless face. Then, I promptly got up and left the ward.
Actually, I would have loved to stay in Alicia’s ward and continue taking care of her. Witnessing her coddling of Janette, however, was both stifling and upsetting. I knew it was only natural for Alicia to love Janette as a daughter, but I could not dispel the feeling that I had somehow lost my mother’s favor.
When I returned to the Shaw residence, I saw Josephine and the housekeeper bustling about the kitchen. In contrast, I looked utterly dispirited.
Josephine saw me, and she walked toward me, asking lightly, “Anna, you’re home?”
“Why are you in the kitchen, Mom? Did you make something delicious for me again?”
My mood was poor, but I refused to take it out on others. I managed to muster a weak smile for Josephine when I met her gaze.
“I was cooking chicken soup. I heard about Mrs. Campbell’s hospitalization from Michael, so I guessed that you would come home to prepare something nourishing for her. That’s why I went ahead and prepared something with the housekeeper to save you some time.”
Josephine met my gaze, and she did not beat around the bush as she explained her actions.
Her considerate gestures regarding even the smallest things moved me. I said gratefully, “Thank you for being so thoughtful, Mom.”
Ever since Josephine woke up from her coma, I had strongly suspected that she was my biological mother instead of Michael’s.
“You don’t need to stand on ceremony around me, you silly girl. I asked the housekeeper to prepare extra soup for you too. You’ve lost a lot of weight recently, so I want you to drink some soup later too. All right?”
