Mollie sensed the tension and quickly urged her to apologize to me.
Joyce's expression wavered, and she was about to speak.
Suddenly, Grayson, who had been silent, coughed violently, pale against the chair, his gaze toward Joyce filled with guilt.
"Joyce, it's all my fault. If I hadn't had the car accident, you wouldn't have argued with Colten over a pet snake."
I let out a cold laugh.
"Grayson, are you hiding behind a woman to stir trouble? Are you Joyce's kept boy?"
Before Grayson could respond, Joyce seemed to hit a nerve and stood up suddenly.
"Colten, what do you mean by that?
"I won't allow you to insult Grayson. Apologize to him!"
She stood protectively in front of Grayson, pointing a finger at me, glaring.
Everyone else in the room looked at me with disapproval, silently forcing me to back down.
I suddenly felt exhausted.
This was my home, yet I ended up feeling like an outsider, threatened by everyone.
Seeing my dark expression, Mollie grabbed Joyce's arm, whispering.
"Joyce, maybe it's better to let this go. After all, you were in the wrong…"
Joyce shrugged off her hand, sneering at me.
"It's just a pet snake. I did nothing wrong!