Chapter 508 Putting On An Act
“I am still your mother,” she murmured as she wiped her bloodshot eyes, putting on a brave smile. “We will never be just strangers. It’s okay if you need some time to think about it. I will be patiently waiting for the day you decide to forgive me.”
“I have work to do,” I said curtly. “Please leave now.”
Unable to bear giving in to the impulse of hurting her again, I dismissed her before turning away.
I hated how I always felt conflicted every time I saw Alicia. I would much rather not see her at all than have to deal with those feelings.
When I arrived at my office on the eighth floor, I could still see her from my window.
I watched her until she got into her car and drove off after standing still for a very long time. I felt that my words had finally done the trick.
The fact that I could feel the sincerity and love with which she sought my forgiveness made the guilt in my stomach bubble all the more ferociously. Perhaps she truly felt remorse for abandoning me. The moment at which I would find myself ready to forgive her remained a mystery even to myself.
When I sat before my cluttered desk in a valiant attempt to shift my focus onto work, I realized that I had, for personal reasons, fallen very far behind. Though the boss did not say anything, I was aware that I had overstepped the line as a manager by setting a poor example.
Just when I was beginning to gather my focus for work, my door was suddenly thrown open with a bang. Janette stormed in, followed by my secretary who was looking thoroughly nervous.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Garcia. I tried my best to stop her but she insisted on having a word with you.”
The girl glanced at me sheepishly as she announced the intruder’s arrival, fearing that I might lose my temper with her for her failure at doing her job.
After a glance at Janette, my attention shifted to the timid figure behind her. “I’ll take it from here. You may leave.”
The secretary heaved a sigh of relief before scurrying out and shutting the door behind her.
“Ms. Campbell, don’t you find it rude to barge into my office?” I said, employing the same stiff tone with which I addressed her mother earlier that day. “This isn’t the first time you have done that. Unlike you, I have work to do. If you don’t mind, kindly get the hell out of my office.”
Janette glared at me with unbridled hostility. Vividly recollecting the aftermath of our previous encounter, I already knew what to expect.
“Do you think I want to be here?” Janette responded arrogantly. “I think you’re aware that I despise you.”
“If the sight of me sickens you so much, why have you come to my office?” I answered, with a grim attempt at humoring her.
I did not feel the need to take her too seriously as she was much younger than me.
“I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for my mother! I don’t understand what she sees in you to want to reconcile with you this badly.”
Janette’s eyes blazed with jealousy as she revealed the intention of her visit.
I frowned at her words, almost forgetting that she was my half-sister by a different man.
My heart blazed with jealousy at the realization that the girl before me was a product of all of my mother’s love and affection that I was deprived of.
Despite both of us being Alicia’s daughters, Janette was the one born with the privilege of growing up under her love and protection while I was forced to fend for myself.
“I know that you despise me and hope that I won’t reconcile with your mother. You may put your mind at ease. It’s something I’m never going to do.”
I had a pretty good idea of Janette’s attitude toward this entire situation from our previous conversation. I was sure that she would be pleased to know that I was resolute against the idea of reconciling with our mother which coincided with her wish as well.
“In all honesty, you look like a sweet and emphatic woman,” she said angrily. “Why do you feel the need to be cold and cruel to our mother? Do you know how much sleep she’d lost over the years for you? All she could talk about is meeting you again. You should feel honored instead of throwing your weight around.”
“Who are you to judge me?” I demanded, my temper flaring up from her accusatory tone. “You have never been in my shoes!”
Janette did not seem capable of placing blame on anybody else but me.
I was the one who had been abandoned all those years ago. My mother had abandoned me when I needed her most. The way she thought that I would be ready to forgive her and pick our relationship where we had left off made me feel like an instrument for companionship as opposed to a human being.
“I don’t care what you think of me, but let me warn you. Don’t you dare hurt my mother again! I’ll come after you if you do.”
Janette would never understand the pain I had been through. In her eyes, I was nothing more than the woman who had hurt her mother. Everything was my fault.
“If you’d come all the way up here just to tell me that, you may leave now. I’m sure you’ve said everything that had to be said.”
As she was incapable of understanding how I felt, I’d given up on trying to rationalize with her from my point of view. It would be a complete waste of my time.
“I’ll leave, but not without you.”
Janette folded her arms and stood stubbornly on the spot. Her commanding tone made it clear that she was not in the mood to negotiate.
I gazed back at her stonily. “And why the hell should I do that?”
I hated her bossy rich girl persona as it constantly reminded me of how much Alicia had spoiled her. Only an upbringing of unconditional love and accommodation from a mother who had never left was capable of shaping a child like her.
“Because our mother hasn’t been eating and sleeping well lately. As her daughter, it’s your duty to pay her a visit!”
Janette spoke again, with a bite of impatience in her voice this time.
“She’s not my mother,” I said flatly. “This is the last time we will be discussing this. Be a dutiful daughter for all you want. Just don’t get me involved.”
As spoiled as Janette was, she really did care for her mother to have come to my office despite her reluctance for her mother’s sake.
“Anna, you ungrateful b*tch. I’ve humbled myself to come to you and you’re still putting on a show! Who the hell do you think you are to treat me this way? I wouldn’t be looking at you, much less invite you to my home, if it weren’t for my mother’s sake!”
My patience with Janette had finally worn out and likewise. The glare that she regarded me with was no longer of mere disdain. Her eyes grew wide as she struggled to find the right expletives potent enough to convey her fury.
