Nobody heard what Matilda told Sophia earlier, but Old Mrs. Constance asked her after that. Matilda might be a flawed person, but at least she was honest. Even though she knew she made a mistake, Matilda repeated what she told Sophia in all detail. Old Mrs. Constance almost flung her tea set away in her fury. As she pointed at Matilda angrily, she was unable to say anything out of her anger. She grew up in a famous family, and she was a cultured person, so smears like these were sanctimonious to her, for no well-educated person would say that. She told John about this, and John thought this was too much too.
John nodded. “Of course. I’ll tell my mother about it. I regret what she said to you.”
Sophia snorted. “Sure. I’ll wait until your mother apologizes to me.”
John looked at her and apologized in the end. Leaning back on the sofa, Sophia looked away from him, but then she teared up. “John, I endured every suffering possible when I was married to you, but I said nothing about it.” John stiffened up, but he couldn’t say anything.
After he had left, she cleaned up the table and went to the kitchen. When the dishes were done, she sat cross-legged on the yoga mat and looked outside. The weather was nice, so she thought it would be a good day. Sophia won this little battle, but for some reason, she felt hollow.
Nobody heard what Matilda told Sophia earlier, but Old Mrs. Constance asked her after that. Matilda might be a flawed person, but at least she was honest. Even though she knew she made a mistake, Matilda repeated what she told Sophia in all detail. Old Mrs. Constance almost flung her tea set away in her fury. As she pointed at Matilda angrily, she was unable to say anything out of her anger. She grew up in a famous family, and she was a cultured person, so smears like these were sanctimonious to her, for no well-educated person would say that. She told John about this, and John thought this was too much too.
Back at the residence, after Old Mrs. Constance listened to John’s explanation, she calmed down. Matilda’s eyes were red, obviously from her crying earlier. Then, Old Mrs. Constance put her phone down and looked at Matilda, who seemed to be at her wits’ end as she looked back at Old Mrs. Constance. The latter heaved a sigh of relief. “Sophia agreed not to take this further.”
Matilda was surprised, but she relaxed too. “Really? That’s great.”
“But there is a condition,” Old Mrs. Constance added.
Matilda froze. “What is it? Does she want money? We can give it to her.”
Old Mrs. Constance thought she was an idiot, so she shook her head. “It’s not about money. Sophia wants you to go to her home and apologize for what you said.”
Matilda stiffened completely. “She wants me to apologize to her at her place?”
“Yes. Don’t you think you should?” Old Mrs. Constance raised her voice.
Shocked, Matilda quickly said, “No, of course not. That’s not what I mean. I should apologize to her, yes.” She did insult her out of anger back then, and she didn’t think about it. However, she did feel humiliated by this request to apologize. Indeed, she used to look down on her and bullied her all she wanted, but now, Sophia wanted her to apologize, so Matilda felt humiliated. What was worst—none of her family mentioned her getting kicked by Sophia earlier! That Sophia sure didn’t hold back; even until now, her belly throbbed.
Matilda was plump and fair from her life in grace. When she went to the bathroom, she saw that her belly was red from the kick. Nobody talks about that! I insulted her, but she kicked me! I’m her elder! Not asking her to apologize should make it up for what I said, but they ignored this! Matilda didn’t dare mention this though, for she was almost a hated person in the household now, so complaining would be a death sentence.
Old Mrs. Constance didn’t want to drag this out, so she said, “Go to her home this afternoon, and remember to bring gifts. Make sure you apologize sincerely. This is related to John’s reputation, so remember to be genuine.”
Matilda nodded profusely. “I understand.” After that, she went back to her room and called her son to grumble, for she felt greatly aggrieved.
John sounded resigned when he took the call. “What’s wrong, Mom?”
Matilda sniffled. “John, is it really all my fault? Sophia hit me!”
It took John a while to answer, but when he did, he said, “Mom, haven’t you bullied Sophia long enough already?”
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