Tessa rolled her eyes at Yolanda and snapped, "You ugly freak, mind your own business and get lost!"
"Tessa! How can you talk like that?" Selena was shocked by her crude language.
"Aunt Selena, I've known all along you don't consider us family. Now, you're even taking an outsider's side over ours!" Tessa sneered and said, "What would Uncle Kieran think of that?"
"I—" Yolanda started to speak, but Selena cut in, "Yolanda is not an outsider! She's our goddaughter, which makes her your cousin. And you need to apologize to her right now!"
Selena was really angry. After everything Yolanda had done for her and Kieran, she could not let her be bullied for no reason.
Yolanda was startled. Seeing the usually soft-spoken Selena so angry made her understand why the original Yolanda had been so grateful to Kieran. Here was Selena, who barely knew her, standing up to her husband's family to defend her.
Meanwhile, the original Yolanda's own parents had tried to grind her into the dirt in front of outsiders at every opportunity. Yet even in death, she had still yearned for her mother Diana's love. Even Yolanda was not sure how to evaluate such persistence.
As Yolanda sensed the lingering emotions of the original Yolanda, Shane's family erupted. "You won't give us money, but you're supporting some stray?"
"Goddaughter? More like your secret love child!"
"No wonder you claim you're broke. You're spending it all on this brat!"
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