“See who we have here,” Sophie said as she saw Darryl and Vanessa walk into the house.
“Come here,” Darryl said as he enveloped Sophie in a warm hug. “I really missed you, Sophie,” his eyes closed as he whispered how much he missed her into her ears.
“I missed you too, big brother,” Sophie replied as she melted into the embrace, holding him tightly before pulling back to smile at him. “I thought I would never see you again.” She added.
Then, she turned to Vanessa, her eyes filled with joy as she opened her arms widely, inviting Vanessa into her arms.
“Welcome back,” she said, her voice laced with affection.
“Thank you,” Vanessa said as she stepped forward, giving Sophie the chance to wrap her in a hug.
“I’m sorry on behalf of my mother. I know we know your family an apology.” Sophie whispered an apology as they hugged.
Vanessa stilled as she heard Sophie’s apologies. She wondered how Sophie knew about what had happened.
“I know about everything, my brother told me,” Sophie said as she noticed Vanessa’s stillness. Vanessa nodded slightly, accepting Sophie’s apologies. “Thank you, Sophie,” she said, her eyes closed as she relaxed into Sophie’s arms.
Darryl watched the heartwarming scene with a smile on his face. He was happy to see his sister and Vanessa connecting in such a way. He could feel the sense of love and bonding between them, and he took it as a sign of a new beginning for him and his loved ones.
As Vanessa and Sophie were entangled in each other’s arms, Sophie led the way into the house, while Darryl followed, his hand clasped around Vanessa’s hand in a gentle but possessive gesture.
As they entered the living room, Mrs. Peter came into view, seated in an armchair with the aura of elegance. Her almost gray hair was styled in a sleek bob, and her slender fingers moved carefully as she sliced an apple with a small knife.
She had heard about Darryl’s presence, but her expression was detached, like she was uninterested. Her eyes remained glued on the apple in her hands, as if it was the only thing worthy of her attention. She didn’t even look up as Darryl and Vanessa approached, her attitude seemed uninterested.
Tension replaced the happiness that they had shared at the entrance of the house. Now, the living room was hot and icy at the same time due to Mrs Peter’s icy behavior. Taking their seats, Darryl’s hand tightened around Vanessa’s hand, creating a sense of peace and warmth in the midst of the tension.
“Nice to see you again, Mrs Peter.” Vanessa’s voice broke the silence as she mustered courage to talk. “We didn’t get the chance to talk properly the last time I was there.”
Immediately, the soft crunch of the apple under Mrs. Peter’s knife stopped as Vanessa spoke. Mrs Peter’s attention finally turned to Vanessa.
Darryl and Sophie exchanged a surprise look as they heard Vanessa speak. Darryl never expected Vanessa to talk with so much courage, but he was glad that she was ready to stand up for herself.
“I can’t say the same thing about you,” Mrs Peter retorted, her tone icy and distant.
“In fact, I’m giving it time before I invite the police here for you..” Mrs Peter said, causing her children’s eyes to widen in shock.
“Mom?” Sophie called with a warning tone.
“Why would you invite the police? What have I done wrong?” Vanessa asked, pretending not to know about Tania’s scheme.
“Are you really asking me that? Have you forgotten what you did to Tania and her unborn child?” Mrs Peter said, her voice louder than earlier.
“About Tania, I hope you give me the chance to explain myself before inviting the police here.” Vanessa said.
“I don’t want to hear your apologies, it won’t move me.” Mrs Peter replied, dismissively.
“You are mistaken if you expect an apology from me, ma’am.” Vanessa said, her tone reserved as she tried not to disrespect her future mother-in-law.
“What are you saying?” She snapped at Vanessa.
“Did you bring her here to run her mouth?” She asked as she turned to Darryl, acknowledging him for the first time since they got to the house.
“Mother, I met Clara.” Darryl said, dropping the bombshell on Mrs Peter.
Mrs Peter became still as her eyes widened in shock. “What did you say?” She asked in disbelief, hoping Darryl would say it was a lie.
“I met Clara, Tanisha’s mother, who is also Vanessa’s mother.” Darryl explained, but his explanation confused Mrs Peter.
“Mom, after you sent Tanisha and her mother away, she started her own family, and she and her husband bore Vanessa.”
“What are you all saying? I don’t want to know about Clara. I’ve done enough to keep her far away from my family. Why did you look for her?” Mrs Peter said, panic gripped her by the neck as the memories of her past flooded her mind.
“All thanks to your favorite, Tania. She dug up your past without doing much.” Darryl retorted, sarcasm and irritation laced in his voice.
“Why are you dragging Tania into this? The poor girl just lost her child.” Mrs Peter fired back at Darryl.
“She was never pregnant, mom. She was lying to you, she deceived you because you are the gullible one.” Sophie interjected, helping her brother explain.
“I can’t believe you are on your brother’s side.” Mrs Peter snared, rolling her eyes at Sophie.
“This is not a matter of taking sides, ma’am. Sophie is telling the truth. Tania lied to you and committed more sins than those lies.” Vanessa said as she found the opportunity to explain herself.
Seeing that she had captured Mrs Peter’s attention, she started her side of the story.
“Tania took advantage of Darryl when he was heartbroken from his break-up. Truly, she was by his side, but it was because of her selfish interest, which is your family’s wealth. Tania came to you with a cooked-up story because she knew Darryl had seen through her lies and ended whatever was between them.” Vanessa explained according to her understanding, hoping Mrs Peter would also understand her.
“But that doesn’t give you the reason to assault her,” Mrs Peter cried out.
“I didn’t assault Tania, it was the other way around. Tania is a cunning woman, and she got you right in her palms. She feeds you with different lies because she wants you to be by her side instead of your son’s side.” Vanessa explained, her tone calm and firm.
“I will always be at his side,” Mrs Peter said, pointing at Darryl. “Everything I did was for my children’s benefit. I did a lot of things because of them.”
“Those that involve Clara?” Darryl asked, his tone icy. “You drove her out of dad’s life, you didn’t even give him the chance to take care of his daughter. You didn’t do that for us, you did that for yourself.” Darryl fired.
“You don’t know half of what happened back then. You were just a child, you had no knowledge.” Mrs Peter said, her tone had changed from being icy to being calm as regret dawned on her.
“What about me? You threatened my position at the company because of a girl that feeds you with lies. I have come here countless times to tell you about my feelings, but you refused to listen. I even told you about Vanessa’s disappearance, and you rejoice because she was gone. How can you act like someone with no empathy?” Darryl said angrily, raising his voice.
“Get out!” Mrs Peter yelled at him.