The atmosphere in the room grew tense, marked by a collective frown as the anticipation of trouble loomed. Oma, in particular, wrestled with a moral dilemma, her face contorted into a deep frown. The ongoing conversation had sparked debate, and she found it highly disrespectful for Maxi to involve Anya’s parents in the matter.
The situation weighed heavily on Oma’s shoulders. Maxi was her son’s fiancée, marking her first visit to their home. Rebuking her in front of everyone felt inherently disrespectful, especially considering the lack of an apology for the incident involving her son’s disrespectful behavior – an incident prompted by Oma’s encouragement for this visit in the first place.
Oma’s hope was to make Maxi feel at ease during her stay and to foster an open relationship with her future daughter-in-law. Simultaneously, Anya was a cherished friend of the family, and her distress, especially concerning her parents, needed to be addressed. Thus, Oma wrestled with finding a suitable solution for the delicate situation.
But Maxi spoke up before Oma did, saying with a blank look, "Excuse me? I’m a bit confused here, what do you mean by insulting your parents?"
At this point, Maxi’s claim of innocence infuriated Anya the more, and she wagged a finger in her direction angrily, "Don’t attempt to play innocent with me; not just me, but everyone heard you correctly."
"In that case, what did I exactly say?" Maxi looked shockingly undisturbed for someone who was supposedly in deep trouble.
"If your idea of safeguarding a youngling involves restricting her freedom, then that’s the epitome of hypocrisy, especially considering you’ve been following Issac for years. Or did your parents also neglect to do what’s genuinely best for you?" Anya quoted her statement word to word while Maxi rolled her eyes inwardly with mock praise for her impressive memory.
Islinda shrugged, "What’s disrespectful about that?"
Anya’s eyes grew wild with shock, about to develop an aneurysm, thanks to her audacity, "What’s wrong with that?" She let out a self-deprecating laugh, "I wonder if you are just plain dumb or arrogant?" She said snidely.
Maxi’s expression darkened, exuding a menacing presence as she justified her words, "You asserted that Kayla is young and might make mistakes, and Issac is genuinely doing what’s best for her by limiting her freedom. How, then, am I being disrespectful to your parents when Issac serves as Kayla’s father figure? If Issac, in his role as Kayla’s guardian, is safeguarding her by restricting interactions with males, why didn’t your own parents employ a similar method?"
Anya opened her mouth to retort, but her lips simply moved without a word. She had not expected Maxi to be able to defend herself. She had assumed Issac’s fiancée would look to Oma for help, and then she —Anya — would pressure Oma into judging the case without preferential treatment. Sadly, Maxi left her flabbergasted.
"By the gods, I think I’m in love," Kayla was so impressed by Maxi’s formidable stance that the words slipped from her mouth unknowingly, and Calan’s head whipped towards her so quickly his neck almost snapped, jealousy written on his face. Kayla at once gave him an assuring smile, albeit a sheepish one. She just couldn’t help it.
It seemed her son had stumbled upon a gem this time; that was what Oma thought as her brilliant eyes looked her over, proudly. While she had been searching for a peaceful alternative to solve the conflict, her young daughter-in-law already had a solution. She knew to choose her battles wisely and to throw her opponents off balance; that alone impressed her.
For the second time that night — the sun has set with the time spent at the table — Issac fought the urge to just burst into laughter. He had been worried over nothing. Maxi had this solid maturity that probably accumulated over the years of her long life and was unfazed by even the largest of tumult. Her ability to handle herself was impressive. Although he did wish she leaned on him for help sometimes; it was still his innate nature to protect his female.
Of course, Anya did not give up.
"Liar!" She accused Maxi, her eyes flashing, "You are speaking out of context and trying to twist your way out of your offense. Just admit it, you insulted my parents!" She spat, clearly worked up.
Unlike Anya whose spittle had clearly landed on everyone in the dining — and the poor food — Maxi was seated down with clear superiority, answering without raising her voice," You are quite bold leveling such an accusation on me when honestly, you should be the one apologizing to Kayla."
"What?!" Anya was dumbfounded while everyone else was curious to know what she was trying to say.
"You claim that Issac is your friend and you trusted a male so much you followed him around since young. What about Kayla? Is Calan not her friend too? Would she date a male she isn’t comfortable with? Most especially Oma...."
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