My voice was casual, but my words cut deep.
Bethany looked like she was about to cry, but I
could see the resentment simmering beneath
her fake tears.
“How could I have raised such an ungrateful
child! Apologize right now!” My mom shrieked,
her voice piercing.
I remained silent, my eyes fixed on her and
Bethany, daring them to challenge me.
“It’s okay, Aunt Carol,” Bethany said, tugging on
my mom’s sleeve, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Melissa’s right. Even though you’re helping me,
I’ll never be like her, born with a silver spoon in
my mouth.”
<
“I’m just an outsider in this house, only fit to eat
leftovers.”
To my disgust, Bethany picked up the half-
eaten crab leg and, ignoring my mom’s
protests, stuffed it into her mouth.
She was ruthless, willing to do anything to drive
a wedge between my mom and me, to garner
sympathy. But she was mistaken. My
relationship with my mom didn’t need any
sabotaging. She’d never liked me, not from as
far back as I could remember.
“Bethany!” My mom snatched the crab leg out
of her mouth, her face etched with alarm. She
pulled Bethany into a comforting hug, soothing
her until she calmed down.
Then she remembered me. “You vicious little
witch! Do you think I won’t punish you? Look
what you’ve done to Bethany! I’m going to
teach you a lesson!”
9:28
<
“Try it.” Just as she raised her hand to slap me,
a sharp voice echoed from the hallway.
My mom froze, her hand hovering mid–air.
Bethany’s face paled.
The sound of a cane hitting the floor grew
closer.
“Grandma!” I rushed past Bethany and threw
myself into my grandmother’s arms.
“Grandma, I missed you so much.” I clung to
her, tears streaming down my face. The
memory of my grandmother’s death in my past
life, a death indirectly caused by me, tore at my
heart.
“Oh, my sweet Melissa, why are you crying?”
“Let Grandma see my precious girl. Have you
lost weight?”
“Don’t cry, darling. Grandma’s here! Grandma
<
will protect you. Let’s see who dared to upset
my Melissa!”
Seeing my tears, Grandma’s eyes filled with
distress. She patted my back gently, just like
when I was little.
Once my tears subsided, she cupped my face
lovingly and pulled me behind her, turning to
face Bethany with a sudden change in
demeanor.
“My son’s away, and you think you can run the
show?”
“If Melissa hadn’t called saying she missed me
and I hadn’t decided to drop by, I wouldn’t have
known you were calling the shots in this house!”
Grandma led me to the living room and sat me
down. Bethany, seething with anger yet
terrified, didn’t dare look up.
Seeing her silence, Grandma snorted and
slammed her cane on the marble floor, making
Bethany visibly tremble.
“Mom, it was Melissa’s fault. I was just giving
her a small lesson-”
“Lesson? You have no right to ‘lesson‘ her!”
Grandma roared.
She’d always looked down on my mom,
disapproving of her constant public
appearances despite being married into a
prominent family. One day it was a dinner with
some CEO, the next day paparazzi photos of
her with some young actor. She was a constant
source of gossip in our social circle.
In my past life, I knew Grandma disliked
Bethany, so I’d always tried to smooth things
over between them, making up stories about
Bethany’s good qualities. It was a thankless
task.
9:28
8802
forget how you got your current position and
