Sanderson furrowed his brows, his voice a mix of anger and disbelief, "That's my girl you're talking about. You lay a finger on her, and you'll regret it."
Kermit recoiled, the memory of the last time Sanderson stormed into his house and gave him a beating for messing with Cordelia still fresh in his mind. His thigh, where Sanderson had hit him, throbbed painfully at the mere thought.
He coughed awkwardly, "Look, I was just talking, you know. A dad's gotta do what a dad's gotta do..."
Only then did Sanderson turn to Cordelia, "Lia, what's going on?"
Cordelia finally had a chance to speak, "I think there's a problem."
Sanderson agreed. There was definitely a problem.
As he pondered, Steward looked at Cordelia, "Step aside, Cordelia. Let Mr. Steve leave first."
Cordelia shook her head, "I can't."
Steward's brows knitted together.
At the party.
Lorna had noticed that Sanderson, Kermit, and Steward were missing, and with Rachel, ever the gossip, noting their absence, it wasn't long before they found Laurinda and hurried over.
Delaney Manor was usually welcoming.
But in the parking lot, tensions were high.
Cordelia's firm "I can't" had barely left her lips when Laurinda's shrill voice cut through, "Who do you think you're talking to? Daring to say 'no'? Looks like you're asking for trouble!"
She then turned her venom towards Sanderson, "You ungrateful son, is this you spoiling your daughter, letting her defy your father's orders?! That man, I've always said this child was rebellious, not cut from the same cloth as the Delaney family. Look, taken away at birth, clearly not meant to be one of us! Bringing her back, what for? She's a jinx, ever since her return, our family's been in turmoil, even led to the family splitting! All her doing!"
With the heads of the household gone from the hall, even the most oblivious guests began to take notice.
Laurinda's voice was loud, and Lorna was immediately worried about the impact on Cordelia's reputation. She quickly interjected, "Mom, how can you say that about Lia?"
Before she could finish, Rachel aggressively cut in, "Elder sister, mom's speaking. How can you interrupt like that? Our family's upbringing doesn’t allow the younger to interject when the elders are speaking. That's really not proper."
Lorna was fuming, feeling it was a mistake to attend Steward's party at the old house.
How could they be so mean?
Even if Cordelia did something wrong, as elders, they should cover for her in such a setting, not eagerly air the dirty laundry...
Lorna's face turned crimson with anger.
Seeing Rachel shut Lorna up, Laurinda smirked, about to continue when Sanderson spoke up, "Lia is my daughter! If she's done something wrong, I, as her father, will handle it. Mom, we've already split the family!"
Laurinda's eyes widened, "Split or not, I'm still her grandmother! I have the right to discipline her!"
Sanderson sighed, "Mom, please..."
Before Laurinda could retort, Steward shouted, "Enough!"
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