Awakened Housewife Ignore Betrayer's Begs (Scarlett) novel Chapter 258

Chapter 258 A Clash at the Dinner Table

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When Scarlett asked the question, Vanessa flinched slightly, but she still didn’t answer.

Seeing no response, Scarlett let out a long, quiet sigh. She tried again, her voice gentle but firm. “Vanessa?”

Vanessa kept her head down, focusing intently on her toys, maintaining her stubborn silence.

Scarlett’s patience wore thin. Her voice rose, sharper this time. “Vanessa Stewart!”

The use of her full name carried a weight of maternal authority, but even that earned no reaction. Vanessa simply tuned her out.

Scarlett stood up, her initial impulse to scold warring with a deeper hurt. Seeing her daughter’s complete refusal to even acknowledge her, the urge to lecture died away.

So a heavy, wordless stalemate settled over the room. Vanessa played in a bubble of quiet defiance. Scarlett stood watching, a silent observer shut out of her child’s world.

When Lily finished cooking and came upstairs, she expected to find some reconciliation. Instead, she was met with a cold, impenetrable silence between mother and daughter.

Standing in the doorway, she knocked softly. “Mrs. Stewart, Ms. Stewart, dinner is ready.”

Scarlett stood. She looked down at the top of Vanessa’s head. “Come on, Vanessa. Time for

dinner.”

Only then did Vanessa set her toys aside. She scooted past Scarlett without a glance and went straight to Lily, taking her hand. “Lily,” she asked, looking up, “what did you make for dinner?”

Lily’s eyes flickered toward Scarlett before she answered. “I made your favorite, honey. Garlic butter shrimp.”

A small, sweet smile touched Vanessa’s lips. “Thank you, Lily. You’re the best.”

Scarlett remained standing in the center of the bedroom, feeling a cold numbness seep through her. Vanessa was affectionate with everyone–except her. And she was her mother.

By the time Scarlett came downstairs, Vanessa and Maria were already seated at the dining table, starting their meal.

As Scarlett took her seat, Maria shot her a sidelong glare and muttered under her breath, “No shame at all.”

Her voice was low, but Scarlett heard it clearly. Right in front of Vanessa, Maria showed no

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Chapter 258 A Clash at the Dinner Table

concern for setting a poor example, speaking her mind freely.

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Scarlett bit back her retort. Not for Maria’s sake, but for Vanessa’s. She refused to start a shouting match or use harsh language in front of her daughter. Children picked things up far too quickly.

Lily had just finished setting the last dish on the table and hadn’t even caught her breath when Maria issued a command. “Lily, sit down and shell the shrimp for Vanessa. You know she loves them but can’t manage the shells.”

Scarlett looked sharply across the table at Vanessa. “Vanessa,” she said, her tone clear and firm. “You know what I’ve taught you. If you want to eat something, you learn to handle it yourself. No one is going to do everything for you forever. You need to learn independence.”

Maria felt Scarlett was deliberately contradicting her. She raised her voice. “Lily! Are you just going to stand there? Get moving.”

Lily froze, caught in the middle, her gaze darting uncomfortably between the two women.

Scarlett did not yield. She kept her eyes on Lily. “Lily, we’ve talked about this. Vanessa is old enough to start doing things for herself. Please, go attend to your other tasks. She can feed herself.”

In the end, Lily quietly obeyed Scarlett and left the dining room.

Seeing that no one was going to shell the shrimp for her, Vanessa’s lower lip trembled, and she began to cry.

Scarlett simply watched, making no move to comfort her.

“Oh, sweetheart, don’t cry,” Maria cooed, immediately turning to Vanessa. “Here, let me do it for you.” She pulled the plate of shrimp toward herself.

Vanessa nodded, her eyes red–rimmed. “Okay. Thank you, Maria.”

As she began peeling a shrimp, Maria said to Vanessa in a carrying voice, “See now, honey? Now you know who really cares about making you happy and who doesn’t, don’t you?”

That was the final straw for Scarlett. Before Vanessa could even respond, Scarlett threw her napkin down on the table and stood up abruptly. “Vanessa, upstairs with me. Now. We need to talk.”

Vanessa continued to ignore her, acting as if Scarlett wasn’t even in the room.

A surge of frustrated anger broke through Scarlett’s restraint. She marched around the table, scooped a startled Vanessa up from her chair, and carried her toward the staircase.

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Vanessa kicked and squirmed in her arms, but she was no match for her mother’s determined strength.

A moment later, Scarlett deposited her onto the sofa in the upstairs bedroom.

“Do you have any idea what you did wrong?” Scarlett demanded, her voice loud and strained.

Vanessa didn’t answer. Instead, she unleashed a fresh wave of loud, dramatic sobs.

Scarlett didn’t offer a hug or a soothing word. She didn’t yell again either. She simply sat down in a nearby armchair and waited, her expression unyielding, for the storm to pass.

Vanessa cried, expecting the tears to bring fear or pity. But after several long minutes, Scarlett remained silent and unmoved.

Seeing that her tears weren’t working, Vanessa changed tactics. She clutched her stomach, curling into a ball on the sofa. “Oww! My stomach hurts!” she wailed, contorting her face into an exaggerated mask of pain.

Scarlett still didn’t react. She simply watched, letting the performance run its course.

Downstairs, when Scarlett had carried Vanessa away, Maria had jumped up to follow. But Lily quickly caught her arm.

“Mrs. Monroe,” Lily said quietly but firmly, “that is her mother. A mother disciplining her own child is only natural. It’s best if you and I don’t interfere.”

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