Joanna stepped between me and my mother, blinking innocently.
"Just be obedient like a good little pug. Woof, woof."
Jesse patted the top of her head, his touch sickeningly tender. "Play nice, Joanna."
His attitude was on full display. The crowd's gaze shifted from curiosity to open contempt.
"Tessa Matthews is really clinging to the title. How stifling."
"What Mrs. Gilbert? Looks like she's about to be replaced."
"They were the golden couple back then. How things change."
Jesse's eyes locked onto the guest who had whispered "golden couple."
"A golden couple?" He scoffed. "She's just a worn-out shoe someone else broke in. Less of a 'golden girl' and more of a 'tainted woman,' wouldn't you say?"
His words hit the silence like water striking hot oil—an instant, violent reaction.
Even braced for his cruelty, the pain still pierced my chest.
"Nonsense!"
A thunderous roar cut through the room. Patrick Gilbert slammed his cane against the floor.
"Jesse Gilbert, is your brain addled with drink?"
One sentence, and he dismissed his grandson's cruelty as a drunkard's ramblings.