Chapter 148
Third–person POV
Th
Amber and Mary sat across from each other in an empty restaurant. It was a quiet place, offering a sense of privacy for their conversation. Mary settled into her chair, her posture rigid and a look of disdain etched on her face. She rested her purse on her lap and crossed her legs, ready to address the reason they were there.
Amber, with a calm expression, spoke up first.
“I want to thank you for agreeing to meet with me today, Mary,” Amber said, her
voice dripping with false sincerity. “I know this must be difficult for you, especially with what’s going on with Marlene.”
Mary’s eyes rolled involuntarily at Amber’s words. She had little patience for pleasantries and small talk. “Don’t involve Marlene, and just get to the point, Amber,” Mary replied impatiently. “Why did you want to meet with me?”
*
Amber’s calm demeanor faltered for a moment, but Mary’s directness didn’t catch
her off guard. She took a deep breath before responding, her voice tinged with a hint of forced vulnerability. “Mary, I know this is going to sound strange, but I have to ask, why do you hate me so much?” Amber said, her gaze
unwavering. “I genuinely want to understand what I ever did to make you hate me
this much.”
Mary seemed taken aback by Amber’s question; a mixture of surprise and
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irritation flashed across her face. She scoffed before replying, her voice laced with bitterness. “Isn’t it obvious, Amber?” Mary shot back. “Your existence alone has always been torture for me, because you’re the daughter of the bitch that took everything from me. Need I say more?”
Amber sighed, her eyes searching Mary’s face for any signs of understanding. She honestly didn’t understand what exactly her mother had taken from Mary to make Mary so hateful and resentful, even after twenty years of legally being her mother. “I know you hate my mother, Mary. You’ve made that quite clear over the years,” Amber stated calmly. “But I can’t understand what my mother did so wrong for you to hate her so much. What did she ever do to you? Why do you hate her so much? I honestly can’t comprehend how you could hate your childhood best friend so deeply to the point of taking it out on her daughter.”
Mary’s features hardened as she stared at Amber, her voice low and laced with emotion. “Don’t you get it, Amber?” Mary retorted, her frustration evident. “You remind me of your no–good mother. The pain, the betrayal, and the self–loathing that I experienced because of your mother. I see her in you, and that’s why I hate you.”
Amber felt a growing frustration building in her as Mary’s expected responses continued. The lack of a direct confession only fueled her irritation, but she knew that losing her composure wouldn’t get her the answers she wanted. With a deep breath, she composed herself, maintaining a calm voice as she addressed Mary’s evasiveness.
“Listen, Mary, you’re not telling me what I want to know,” Amber said, her tone steady. “I need to understand why you hate my mother so deeply and why that hatred extended to me even though you raised me as your own. I want to hear vour instification Mary So heln me understand
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her anger rising. She clenched
boiling emotions threatening to consume her. Her
dove deep into her memories from
17
THE M
her mind, unearthing the time when her heart started
the image
of disgust and
to Amber, her
IFE
want to know something, Amber?” Mary sneered, her voice laced
life happened twenty–two
had been run over by a
of my happiness in life.”
evident, her eyes widening
the depth of Mary’s hatred or the genuine satisfaction she
in
me that
cannot begin to describe the joy I felt when I heard the news.
at Mary in disbelief, her mind reeling from the bitter words that had just poured out of Mary’s
that had tal-
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root in Mary’s heart. Slowly regaining
courage to voice her confusion.
ever do to you, Mary?” Amber asked, her voice tinged with both concern
to deserve your
shrugged, her gaze distant and detached. “Elena was just Elena,
nonchalantly replied. “She just existed, and at some point, I realized I was always in her
furrowed as she struggled to comprehend Mary’s vague response. “I still don’t understand,”
bitter chuckle escaped Mary’s lips as she met Amber’s gaze, her eyes filled with a mix of resentment and pain. “What’s so hard to understand, Amber?” Mary retorted, her voice laced with bitterness. “So, Elena and I grew up together, and
until I didn’t.”
to Mary’s words. “But
expression hardened, her voice dripping with anger. “Because Elena was like a witch, sucking all the attention and admiration from
fell for her. I was just the pitiful friend, never chosen, and always
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her stepmother’s bitterness. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea that
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