Chapter 127: Stain on her life
"Why am I suddenly being ignored?" Orabela demanded, looking at her mother and grandmother. "You two saw me as your daughter and granddaughter always. Did the love you both carry for me suddenly disappeared?" she asked angrily with a hurtful tone.
"It was a mistake your mother made. Not mistake, but a crime," Lady Agatha said.
"Mother, stop acting like that. I repeat if in this house such a discrimination exists, I’m sending you away," Darius said as he came to the dining hall. Pulling the chair, he sat on it and continued, "Layla and Orabela have my blood. The mistakes that happened years of ago shouldn’t be repeated again."
Miriam’s eyes were full of anguish as she turned to him. "And what about the injustice my daughter suffered?" she cried, her voice quivering. "Seraphina poisoned my heart, made me despise Layla, and instead showered love on her own child. Why didn’t you ask me see Layla with love, Darius? This agony eats away at me every single minute!" Her voice rose, raw and desperate, unable to contain the hurt that had festered for years.
"You seem to forget, Miriam," Darius spoke with an edge in his voice, "how I once begged you not to let your anger spill over onto Layla when she was just a child. But you? You shackled me with endless promises, expectations, and demands. I’m tired of it all."
Miriam’s face hardened, and she rose from her seat, her voice trembling but resolute. "I want a divorce, Darius. I can’t live with you any longer."
"Miriam!" Lady Agatha’s voice cracked like a whip as she struck her cane against the floor. "We do not speak of divorce in this family!"
Miriam whirled around, her composure cracking as tears began to well up in her eyes. "And why not? This man ruined me, ruined us. If it hadn’t been for his... mistress—none of this would’ve happened!" She buried her face in her hands, her sobs echoing in the tense silence.
Orabela rushed to her side, a look of concern in her eyes. "Mother, please, try to calm down—"