Bianca turned and pinched Cecily right after Samuel left. "Are you out of your mind? Our company's situation is bad enough as it is, and here you are, making things worse! Why did you offend those people?"
Gasping in pain, Cecily looked at her mother pitifully. "I didn't do anything to offend them!"
"Why did he show up at our house if you didn't do anything?"
Cecily stammered, hesitant to tell the truth. It wasn't until Bianca slapped her gently as a warning that she explained the ins and outs. "W-When I went to the auction last night, I saw Sophia and Samuel there, so I told Xena and the rest about this. I've already warned them that this information should be kept between us! I didn't expect them to spread the rumors!"
Bianca looked at Cecily with mixed feelings of disappointment and frustration as she hit the latter. "There's no point trying to explain anything now. Mr. Schild has made himself clear. Go get ready. We need to apologize to Sophia."
Cecily was reluctant to do so. Sophia had caught Cecily and her friend badmouthing her yesterday noon, and now that something similar happened, Cecily was naturally unwilling to meet Sophia. Besides, Sophia had already warned her yesterday. Hence, the consequences would be dire if the former found out that Cecily was the culprit behind this rumor.
Bianca was enraged when she didn't receive a response from her daughter. "What are you waiting for? Do you think Mr. Schild is joking?"
Seeing that her mother was about to strike her again, Cecily dodged quickly. "It's not that I don't want to apologize to Sophia, but I was gossiping with Xena and the others while we were having lunch yesterday and Sophia caught us red-handed..."
Bianca's face flushed bright red with rage. "I can't believe you! I've already told you to be mindful of your words! Oh, you brats are so ignorant! I swear you're going to be the death of our family sooner or later!"
Cecily was aware that she had made a mistake, so she didn't dare say anything in retort. Both Samuel and Sophia weren't people that the Young family could afford to offend.
She glanced at Bianca. "What should we do now, Mom?"
"Oh, so you're looking to me to solve your problem now? You're pissing me to death!"
Although Bianca was livid, she was always rational when it came to such crises.
Cecily was foolish enough to badmouth others and spread rumors. What's worse, she got caught red-handed, and the subject of her gossip found out about everything. This matter is tricky. Samuel even showed up personally to demand an explanation, so an apology is inevitable. We'll see what happens after we apologize and act accordingly.
"Post an apology statement on Instagram first. Tell Xena to disseminate your apology statement the same way she spread the rumors about Samuel and Sophia."
Bianca paused before continuing with a frown, "Meanwhile, let me think of a gift for Sophia to express our apologies."
If this had happened five years ago, they could've gifted Sophia money, a handbag, or a car because nobody knew she was secretly loaded. Everyone thought she married Alexander merely because she wanted to climb the social ladder. But now, things were different. Sophia was not short of money, so it would be difficult to find her a suitable apology gift. Besides, she wouldn't appreciate the gift no matter how expensive or precious it was, for she was never a materialistic woman.
Bianca continued to consider their options. A good gift must be something that suits the liking of the recipient, but now, it's difficult for us to ask around about what she likes because she doesn't have many friends in the circle. We don't know where that celebrity friend of hers is right now, and neither are we worthy of talking to Charlize Johnson.
Noticing that Bianca was having a headache trying to come up with a solution, Cecily hesitated before saying, "Mom, why don't we give her a handbag as an apology gift?"
"Does she like to collect handbags?"
"Remember the bag I got last night at the auction? Samuel wanted to give it to her before I won the bid. I didn't know at first but found out when I was paying for it. Besides, all women like handbags."
Bianca almost passed out when she heard Cecily's words. She staggered and slumped on the couch while the housekeeper hurriedly brought her medicine over to her.
Bianca swallowed the pill before shooting her daughter a cold glare. "Why are you still standing there? Go get that handbag and bring it to Sophia as an apology gift."
Cecily's expression changed drastically. "Mom, are you asking me to give that bag to Sophia?"
"Of course. You snatched that bag from her and badmouthed her behind her back. Do you think you have a better solution other than giving that bag to her?"
"But... I spent more than three million to purchase that limited edition bag. There are only three of them all around the globe!"
"Oh, is that a no? Okay then. I'll get your dad to cancel all your credit cards tomorrow!"
Without a doubt, Bianca had grasped Cecily's weakness. The younger woman dared not say anything further and ran upstairs to grab the handbag she had just received. She then placed it back into its packaging before returning downstairs with it.
Bianca's grim expression eased as she said, "Take out your phone and post an apology online."
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