They were disgusted by my response, convinced I didn't know when to be grateful.
After the banquet ended, Diana couldn't wait to gloat.
"If I were you, I wouldn't have come back. Coming back just means more humiliation."
"This is my home. Or did you forget you're just a cuckoo in someone else's nest?"
Nothing enraged her more than being called a fake heiress. She'd worked too hard, for too many years, to make everyone remember—the Henson family had only one daughter, and it was her.
"So what? In this family, I'll always matter more than you. You're nothing but a spare part."
"Get out. This is my room."
"Ah—!"
Her scream brought all three of them running. They rushed straight to her.
The slap came without warning. I stared at the woman in front of me in disbelief. I hadn't said a single word, and she'd already decided I was guilty. My voice cracked.
"Mom!"
"Don't call me that. I don't have a daughter as vicious as you. You've caused chaos all day. This morning you lied about being kidnapped, but when we checked, you'd been out shopping the whole time. We let it go as one of your tantrums. Now you're bullying Diana again. What will it take to make you stop?"
"I wasn't shopping—"