Chapter 8

• Dexie, you misunderstood me. I didn't mean that. I'm so happy you're back. If I had known earlier, I would have asked the servants to prepare some of your favorite foods.
• Dexie was upset that Sarry referred to herself as "Mom."
• She ignored Sarry's words and entered the hallway. There, she noticed a girl sitting on the couch and stared at her.
• The girl was emaciated, with sickly pale cheeks and colorless lips. She was Roxane Domino, Rodel and Sarry's illegitimate daughter. She resulted from Dexie's father's infidelity towards his mother.
• When Dexie was a child, she had a soft spot for little Roxane, treating her like a sister because the poor girl had lost her father.
• However, Roxane was not as pitiful as Dexie had thought. She was only a few months younger than Dexie. She was now wearing a snow-white woollen sweater over a knitted light brown dress. Her long black hair covered her shoulders, and her sickly face gave a deceptively delicate impression.
• Roxane noticed Dexie looking at her. Dexie's bright appearance, clear eyes, and pearly white teeth contrasted with Roxane's sickly face, making her deeply envious. She was jealous of Dexie's nobility and incomparable beauty, which were beyond her reach. Despite being a member of the Dominos like Dexie, she was illegitimate, seen as a burden to the family. Why?
• Just because Dexie's mother was Rodel's first wife? Feeling helpless and overwhelmed by a sense of inferiority, jealousy, and hatred, Roxane no longer pretended to be close to Dexie. Her voice was crisp as she spoke.
• "Why are you looking?"
• Dexie's tone was falsely light. "Nothing. I just thought you seemed uglier than the last time I came back."
• Her words hurt Roxane's feelings, and her expression reflected it. However, it was fHuxley Dawsonting.
• Dexie's indifferent attitude and flat tone were harsher than her words; sarcastic and deliberately hurtful. It seemed like every word she had said was an indisputable fact.
• Roxane's already bloodless face became even more frighteningly pale with anger. Rodel and Sarry's expressions also changed when they heard what she said.
• They were angry at Dexie.
• "Dexie, how can you talk to your poor little sister like that? You are being inconsiderate!" Rodel looked at Dexie sternly. As her father, he was more qualified to criticize her than Sarry.
• Rodel's reprimand did not affect Dexie. Her face did not turn apologetic. She responded to Rodel with a voice that was mixed with false innocence.
• "Dad, I'm just telling the truth. Did it sound like sarcasm? It's said that a father becomes less fond of his daughter when he marries a new wife. I thought little about it before, but now the aphorism is correct."
• She looked at Sarry, who was also angry, and said it with disdain. "After marrying my father, they criticized me for telling the truth. Dexie, how can you say that? Sarry felt so bad that her eyes turned red immediately. I have treated you well since your childhood. I have never abused you or denied you anything you wanted.”
• Dexie looked at her out of the corner of her eye and said, "Would you dare to do that?"
• Sarry was speechless.
• Since Dexie's birth, she has been waiting for her death.
• However, Rodel still trusted the Hansley family. Although Wendy had died, her father had always protected her daughter, so Sarry couldn't dare lay a finger on Dexie even when she became Dexie's stepmother.
• Dexie was spoiled by her father and her grandfather, so she had always been willful. But she had accepted her stepmother and had always listened to her. Sometimes, she even looked at her stepmother with admiration.
• Sarry suspected she had been craving maternal love ever since her mother passed away when she was a young girl.
• She treated Roxane, her "stepsister," as if she were her biological sister, always showering her with kindness.
• Sarry couldn't understand why she was feeling so irritable today. The moment she arrived home, she became touchy and sensitive to every sarcastic remark.
• She pondered, "Could it be that she knows?"
• The mere thought of it made her anxious, and she glanced at Rodel.
• She noticed the same perplexity on Rodel's face but refrained from saying anything to him in Dexie's presence. Rodel looked at Dexie and tentatively asked, "Dexie, what's bothering you today? Did something happen to your mother?"
• "Why were you so rude when you came home?" Rodel couldn't fathom that Dexie knew Roxane was his illegitimate daughter.
• Otherwise, given Dexie's temperament, he wouldn't have tolerated their presence at all.
• Sarry interjected, "Dexie, if I upset you, please let me know. You don't have to hurt me."
• She glanced at Roxane, who had turned pale, and added, "Your sister has been fragile since childhood, and you're aware of that."
• "What did you just say... That's hurtful?" Dexie feigned indifference and shrugged. "I have a twisted sense of humor."
• She strolled over to the sofa and took a seat. "When I'm feeling low, I need to release my anger at someone. You and your daughter have done very little in our household. Now that I'm in a foul mood, you can let me take it out on you as recompense for the past twelve years, so you can finally be of some use."
• Rodel could no longer bear to hear these harsh words and reproached Dexie, "Have I not told you that you have been pampered too much since you were a child? When did you become so disrespectful? Are you talking to your stepmother like that? Don't you have respect for your elders? Have you forgotten your manners?"
• Rodel's anger provided some relief to Sarry and Roxane. Dexie's foul language needed to be addressed, and it was time to teach her a lesson. Sarry inwardly scoffed but maintained a facade of affection as she persuaded Rodel, "Let it go, Rodel. Dexie mentioned she was in a bad mood. Let's just eat."
• Despite her words, tears welled up in her eyes, and her complaint was conveyed to Rodel.
• Observing his gentle, caring wife and his defiant daughter, Rodel's anger intensified, and he scolded Dexie even more severely.