“From start to finish, the only one who owes anything is you.”
No sooner had the words left my lips than a furious slap struck me across the face.
“I owe you?! I wasted two years on you! Do you think those cheap things you gave me make up for my youth? Since you know I’m a rich heir, do you even grasp how valuable my time is? Someone like you could never understand!”
His face flushed red with rage, while the woman beside him, Briar, burst into cruel laughter as if watching a twisted spectacle.
“See, Drew? I told you. People like her never repent. You try to treat her with dignity, and she only fights back harder.”
“She still needed a proper lesson, once fear crept in and she realized her mistakes, an apology would follow naturally.”
Briar leaned in close, her voice sharp and deliberate.
“Miss Dutiful Daughter, your apology alone won’t cut it. I want you to drag your lying mother out here, too, and make her apologize to Drew. Don’t wait for me to step in, when things turn ugly, a simple sorry won’t fix a thing.”
Drew sneered coldly.
“That’s right. Since you refuse to show your face, I won’t give you mine either.”
“When you mess up, you own it. Even if it’s your mother, an elder, she’s no exception. I treated her with genuine respect, but who would’ve guessed she was part of your scheme? Like mother, like daughter.”
“Didn’t she teach you that old trick? Using a pregnancy to manipulate me? Thinking I’d be scared of the child you carried, forced to obey your every whim?”
His eyes burned red with anger as he spat the words. “And you still dare say you owe me nothing?”
I was consumed by fury, unable to hold back any longer. Summoning every ounce of strength, I broke free from the bodyguards and grabbed Briar by the collar.
Insults and blows. I could bear them. But trusting the wrong person? That was my deepest regret.
But my mother had done nothing wrong. I wouldn’t let anyone insult her.
My fists flew wildly, barely under my control.
The bodyguards reacted quickly, shoving me hard to the ground.
But they hadn’t expected to topple the cabinet; my mother’s portrait and the urn crashed to the floor.
The photo frame shattered with a sharp crack, and the metal urn’s lid popped off, scattering her ashes like dust across the floor.
Everyone froze, especially Drew.
He stared blankly at the wreckage, muttering in disbelief, “This… this can’t be real… Briar looked into it, your mom wasn’t really sick. How can there be ashes and a memorial photo?”
His hands trembled as he looked at me. “How… how is this possible?”
