I looked at my parents innocently. “I’m just saying that Julianne looks healthy. What, I can’t do that now?”
My parents were livid.
“Millicent, when did you become like this?” Mom scolded. “Your sister’s always been nice to you. She was even trying to stop us from calling the police on you.
“But not only did you not appreciate her kindness, you even mocked her! Do you have any conscience left? Why do you always treat Lianne like this?”
She was so angry that she put down the bowl to slap me. “First, you got Lianne kidnapped and refused to apologize. You even told her to kill herself, causing her to end up in the hospital.
“Then, at your grandmother’s birthday celebration, you humiliated her and pushed her into the pond. Don’t you feel at all guilty after doing so many vicious things? Milicent-
Before Mom could continue her tirade, Dad cut her off. “There’s no use talking to her. Call the police and get her arrested. She’s beyond saving. Let the police discipline her for us! She deserves to be locked up for a few years. Then maybe she’ll finally learn her lesson!”
“Dad, don’t. Millie only pushed me into the pond because she was in a bad mood. She didn’t mean to hurt me,” Julianne said.
Hearing this, Dad looked at me with disgust. “Look! Look how kind Julianne is! Even now, she’s speaking up for you. She’s always thinking of you! And what about you? Get on your knees and apologize to her right now, or you can rot in jail!”
I know Dad didn’t really want to send me to jail, and it wasn’t out of some misplaced fatherly love or something. He just didn’t want the embarrassment of having a convicted criminal for a daughter.
Besides, he was also hoping that this whole fiasco would make me feel indebted to Julianne, which he could use as leverage to extract more from me.
