"Madam Johnson has two daughters, Sabrina Johnson and Samara. Mother," Sienna Johnson said lightly, "I am only *your* daughter."
Mother Johnson felt as though Sienna had slapped her across the face. To think she actually called her—a woman Mother Johnson considered beneath even her own servants—"Mother"! Angrily, she retorted, "It’s no wonder, not having been raised by my side since childhood! She’s utterly untamable!"
"Madam Johnson, you’re absolutely right about that," Sienna replied smoothly.
Rose Collins clutched her daughter’s hand, turning apologetically to Mother Johnson. "Madam Johnson, please don’t be angry. Sienna has always been stubborn, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. What she just said wasn’t what she truly ant; please don’t hold it against her."
Mother Johnson showed Rose Collins no courtesy whatsoever. Treating her like a household servant, she scolded, "Who do you think you are? I’m speaking with Sienna; what right do you have to interrupt? You’re clearly from the countryside, utterly lacking in manners."
Sienna’s face turned ice-cold. "Madam Johnson, this is my adoptive mother. I suggest you watch your words!"
"Sienna, I am your birth mother!"
Mother Johnson couldn’t tolerate her own daughter treating such an unpresentable woman as her mother.
Sienna didn’t engage further with Mother Johnson. Instead, she turned to her grandmother. "Grandma, since Madam Johnson doesn’t welco my adoptive mother’s family, we won’t impose further. I’ll take them to get settled first, and then I’ll co back to see you tonight."
Rose Collins said helplessly, "There’s no need, Sienna. You stay here; we can leave on our own."
"Mom, you’ve never been to Sileria City. You don’t know your way around; where would you go?" Sienna blocked their path. "I’ll take you to a hotel!"
Mother Johnson showed my adoptive mother no courtesy, so I don’t need to show her any either!
"No one is leaving!" Grandma declared.
"Mother, why did Sienna bring these people here?" Mother Johnson asked her mother-in-law plaintively.
"All who co are guests. Is this the Johnson family’s way of treating them—to bar them at the door?" Grandma’s authority in the Johnson family was paramount, even when Father Johnson had been alive.
Ultimately, under Grandma’s stern gaze, Mother Johnson didn’t dare kick Rose Collins and her family out.
Nevertheless, Mother Johnson didn’t disappoint Sienna’s expectations. Dinner was a Western-style al.
Mother Johnson, resplendent in a purple evening gown, looked as regal as a fairy-tale queen, using her haughty deanor to subtly humiliate Rose Collins.
The array of knives and forks at each setting, the strict rules dictating which to use for which course—how was Rose Collins, who had never eaten Western food before, to understand any of it?
This was Mother Johnson’s calculated attempt to belittle and sha Rose Collins.
Sienna couldn’t help but recall her own arrival at the Johnson estate, how lost and helpless she had felt amidst the countless rules of the wealthy family.
"Pauline, really?" Grandma looked at her temperantal daughter-in-law, unsure what to say.
Pauline Briggs also ca from a prominent family and had been pampered since childhood. She married a good man, Father Johnson, and had never truly suffered any setbacks. Consequently, she had developed a disposition where she wouldn’t tolerate being slighted in the least.
If soone made her unhappy, she would ensure they weren’t happy either.
"Kiki, go get so chopsticks," Sienna ordered.
"Yes."
The Johnson family had many rules, so Kiki wasn’t allowed at the main table; she usually ate with Lucas Robertson. Sienna, anticipating Mother Johnson wouldn’t let matters rest, had specifically kept Kiki nearby to assist during the al.
Mother Johnson ran the household, and Sienna couldn’t order the other servants around, so she had to ask Kiki.
Kiki brought several pairs of chopsticks. Sienna took them, handed a pair each to her adoptive mother and brother, and said with a reassuring smile, "Madam Johnson must have assud you’ve never had Western food, hence this special spread. Actually, once you’ve tried it, you realize it’s nothing extraordinary. It’s not nearly as good as the fish with pickled greens from back ho."
Rose Collins and Marvin Rafael smiled awkwardly and accepted the chopsticks, though they didn’t imdiately begin eating.
"Grandma, my mom is a wonderful cook, especially Northeast dishes. If there’s a chance next ti, I’ll have her cook for you," Sienna said.
"Alright," Grandma smiled kindly.
Rose Collins was flattered and overwheld, unsure how to respond.
From the mont she stepped into the opulent Johnson residence, Rose had been awestruck by its grandeur. Sienna’s birth mother was the epito of a noblewoman; even her frown possessed a certain beauty.
"Mom, this is caviar... you should try it," Sienna offered to Rose.
Eventually, even Grandma began using chopsticks, leaving Mother Johnson as the sole diner wielding a knife and fork. With Grandma joining them, their use of chopsticks no longer seed so out of place.
"Sienna, eat. Don’t worry about ," Rose urged.
"I eat this kind of food every day at ho; I’m tired of it. Mom’s ho-cooked als are much tastier."
"If you like it, I’ll cook for you," Rose Collins gazed at Sienna, her eyes filled with a doting mother’s tender affection.
"Let’s wait until you’re feeling better, Mom."
Sienna barely ate, busying herself with serving her adoptive mother and brother. They were the people she cherished, and she wouldn’t permit anyone to show them the slightest disrespect.
The al was an indigestible affair for most.
Sienna personally escorted her adoptive mother to the hotel, returning after nine o’clock.
Kathryn ntioned that Grandma was still awake, so Sienna knocked on her door.
"Grandma, I’m here to see you."
Grandma’s room was furnished in an antique style, with small leaf rosewood pieces gleaming with a rich patina. The elegant old lady had removed her makeup, her face showing signs of fatigue.
"Are they settled in?" Grandma asked.
"Yes."
Sienna walked over, gently took the horn comb from Grandma’s hand, and began to comb her salt-and-pepper hair. Grandma’s hair was remarkably well-kept, still thick and full despite her age.
"You know your mother’s nature," Grandma advised. "Why must you provoke her? A harmonious family brings prosperity to all. Your father is gone, and there are so few of us left. If our household isn’t at peace, it’s the Johnson family that will ultimately suffer."
"...Madam Johnson has had smooth sailing her entire life; it’s ti she experienced a few setbacks."
"What do you intend to do to your mother?"
"She is, after all, my father’s wife; what could I possibly do to her? It’s just that from now on, I will no longer consider her my mother. To , she will only be Madam Johnson. And as long as I live, she will continue to enjoy the sa honor and luxury she had when Father was alive."
"Sigh..."
"Grandma, my 22nd birthday is in a few days. I want to celebrate it in grand style!"
Their gazes t. Grandma studied Sienna intently for a long mont before asking, "What is it you want to do?"
"I’m just an insignificant person, and one who’s practically returned from the dead at that. I’ll likely frighten quite a few people that day. I’ll need you, Grandma, to lend your presence, and then to help calm so nerves." Her tone was playful, yet tinged with a wicked sort of amusent.
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