For a long moment he said nothing. Then he spoke.
"Mom, none of those messages I posted in the group chat were real. How could I ever bear to cut ties with you? I just saw you ignoring me, and I wanted to get your attention, that's all!"
"I called to apologize, actually."
"These past few days, I've really regretted it—"
I knew perfectly well these words came from somewhere other than his heart, so I cut him off.
"Enough. Spare me the useless talk, I don't want to hear it, and I don't believe a single word of it. Just say it. What did you call for?"
Karl had no choice. He stammered it out.
"The hotel's pushing for the remaining wedding balance today. When are you going to pay it?"
I let out a cold laugh. So it was about money.
"A wedding banquet I never even attended, a stranger's wedding banquet. Why on earth should I be the one paying for it?"
Karl didn't know what to say.
Then, from the other end of the line, came the sound of a door opening again. A moment later, Gwendolen's voice carried through the phone.
"Layla Black, are you done making a scene?"
"Take a good look at what you've done. How could I ever call you 'Mom' and mean it?"
"At the wedding, I was only testing you, seeing what kind of character and morals you had. And lo and behold, one little test was all it took to show your true colors!"
I only let out a flat, sarcastic "Oh."
"Well, aren't you something. Then stop contacting me, this demon, this monster, so I don't drag you down!"
Gwendolen got even angrier.
She drew several deep breaths.
"Layla Black, I'm giving you one last chance!"
"If you really keep this up, I really will cut ties with you. From now on you'll be all alone in this world, and even when you drop dead, I won't let Karl go collect your body!"
"Is that really what you want to happen?"
I said nothing.
Gwendolen called out "hello?" several times, and when I didn't answer, she assumed I'd already hung up. Flustered and furious, she said,
"The little bitch actually dared to hang up on me."
"I've already got it figured out. She's only got you for a son. If she's willing to apologize to me properly, I'm still willing to treat her like your mother and show her respect."
"But if she won't, then I'll go post about her online and expose her. I'll ruin her name until everyone's screaming for her head, and I'll drive her straight into her grave. Once she's dead, her money's ours anyway!"
Karl didn't answer.
But after the sound of several slaps, Karl finally spoke up, meek and groveling.
"My wife's right."
The two of them started scheming it out in detail, planning to start by spreading sexual slander about me, step by step, until everyone was cursing my name.
Hearing this much.
I hung up the phone in silence, and half an hour later I sent Karl a message.
"I'll come over tomorrow!"
"Let's have a proper talk."
The next day, at the agreed-upon time, I arrived at Karl and Gwendolen's home. Just as I'd guessed, the two of them had called in Quinton and Tamara, along with a few relatives, to give themselves a bit more backbone.
The moment they saw me.
Karl, eyes brimming with tears, called out, "Mom."
"I was wrong."
"And it's not just me who was wrong. Gwendolen knows she was wrong too."
The whole crowd of relatives, along with Quinton and Tamara, started smoothing things over, going on and on about how the most important thing was that the kids could recognize their mistakes and change, urging me to give them a chance. They tugged Gwendolen forward, pressing her to apologize.
Gwendolen looked reluctant, but she furrowed her brow and put on a pitiful, wronged expression as she spoke.
"The truth is, it's not that I'm unwilling to call you 'Mom.'"
"It's mainly that I have no sense of belonging in this family. I always feel like I'm living under someone else's roof, like I have no say in anything."
"So, here's what I've decided. I can call you Mom. But I want you to make sure I never feel that way again, starting with... starting with you signing this house over to me!"
"The day you pay off this house and transfer it into my name is the day I call you Mom!"
I waved a hand, smiling sweetly.
"No need."
Karl and Gwendolen exchanged a glance, as if they hadn't expected me to be so agreeable.
But then it seemed to make sense to them. In their eyes, I could never survive without them, which was exactly why I'd jumped at the chance to meet the moment they reminded me there'd be no one to bury me when I got old.
So the two of them got a little smug, immediately bustling about to arrange the transfer, and bustling about to get me to pay the remaining balance at the hotel.
But I didn't move.
"No rush."
"I'm not refusing to call you Mom because I'm stupid, or because I've forgiven you. It's because I never intended to be your mother in the first place."
Karl froze.
"Then what did you come here for?"
My gaze drifted from Karl to the house.
"What did I come here for?"
"To throw the strangers out of my house, obviously."
