Chapter Twelve — Pride & Stupidity

Emerald

I never expected myself to say this but ever since I arrived back home after the crazy events that happened earlier this afternoon with Brian's mother, I haven't stopped thinking about him and the way he reacted to the situation.

I'm still a little surprised by how things turned out because I didn't expect to be outrightly called a gold digger or disrespected by his mother and judging by how Brian had reacted, I realised that he was expecting his mother to say something like that and that was probably why he mentioned earlier that he wasn't going to get involved but surprisingly, he still ended up getting involved and defending me even when he wasn't obligated to.

Even though I didn't have to appreciate the fact that he came to my defence since I shouldn't be responsible for his ill-mannered mother, who thinks her status in society gives her the right to speak to anyone however she pleased, I was still kind of grateful that he did it anyways because if he did not chime in at that moment, I would have responded to her in a way that would make her hate me for the rest of her life.

A knock on my bedroom door distracted me from my thoughts and I turned my attention to who it was that was disturbing me even after I had specifically instructed that I didn't want to see anyone for the rest of the evening.

"Who is that?!" I asked.

"It's your mother," mom's familiar voice responded and I unconsciously let out a displeased groan.

'I should have pretended that I was already asleep.' I thought to myself, frustrated at the thought of having to deal with my mother.

"If it's not important, can whatever you want to say to me wait till tomorrow? I was just about to get some sleep!" I yelled, hoping she would just understand that I didn't want to talk to her and leave me alone.

"I know you're trying to avoid me, Emerald but you and I need to talk. It's important!" she responded and after sighing for like the tenth time since she knocked, I finally managed to drag myself out of bed and walk to the door.

"What is it, mom?" I asked as soon I opened the door.

"Step aside," she instructed and without bothering to argue, I moved aside and she walked straight into my room and plopped down on my bed without permission.

I didn't like the fact that she had suddenly sat on my bed because that could only mean that whatever conversation she was about to have right now was something she considered serious and what my mother considered a serious conversation is exactly what I considered an irritating and unnecessary conversation.

"I'm not trying to be rude mom but why exactly are you here by this time of the night and why are you sitting on my bed?" I asked, trying not to sound unpleasant or rude, even though I already knew that she was going to take my question as a rude question.

"Sweetie, this is my house and I have every right to walk into your room and sit wherever I like. Like I said, you and I need to talk and I would not be here by this time of the night, missing out on my beauty sleep if it wasn't important," she chided and I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Okay mom, get to it. What brings you here?" I asked.

"Brian called me a while ago to talk to me about how the meeting with his mother went. He asked me to apologise to you on behalf of his mother and he also apologised to me, thinking that you had maybe spoken about whatever went down with me but sadly, he's not aware that my daughter doesn't talk about the important things with me because she likes to disconnect herself from her own family," she mentioned and I'm taken aback briefly.

I didn't expect that Brian would speak to my mother about it because I didn't think it was that important to him and the fact that he even went as far as apologising to her and also asking my mother to apologise to me was something that I didn't expect to happen at all.

"No offence mom but, am I obligated to tell you everything that happens in my life? Is there like a rule book that specifies that I need to talk to you about things that happen that concern me?" I asked, genuinely curious to understand why she thinks she has any right to know everything about me.

"Are you even listening to yourself, Emerald? You met with your mother-in-law and you did not think that information was something you should have told me as soon as you got back?" she asked.

I sighed.

"Well, I wasn't told that I needed to inform you about everything that I do and I also didn't think you needed to find out. It's not like the meeting was planned anyways but if it makes you happy, yes, I did meet her and it didn't go well so that's about it," I shrugged nonchalantly, not interested in going on with this conversation.

"That's about it? How can you be so nonchalant about something so important? Do you have any idea how important the lady you met is? Didn't you think that you may have needed a piece of advice or two from your mother so that you could have avoided whatever went down with her today?" she asked and I shook my head in disbelief.

I would be lying if I said I was surprised because I honestly wasn't. It's nothing new that instead of my mother being concerned about what happened and why it happened, she's more concerned that she didn't get to prep me on how to behave like an ideal daughter-in-law just so that I can get on my mother-in-law's good side by wholeheartedly swallowing her insulting remarks.

"Aww, mommy dearest, I'm sorry that I didn't need you to give me advice on how to shove my self-respect and dignity up my ass and kiss another woman's ass just to gain stupid favour. Next time I visit and she starts to look down on me and my family, I'll make sure to agree with everything she says and I'll even wash her feet as a bonus. Does that sound better?" I responded sarcastically and my mother scoffed.

"You're just like your father, you stupid girl. Do you think you're in the right condition to be proud? Haven't you thought to yourself that there is a reason why you have to marry their son and because of that reason, we can't afford to step on their toes? Listen, Emerald, it's a good thing that you like to keep your pride and self-respect but sometimes, that pride only gets you in serious trouble and you should know when and when not to be proud," she stated.

"I'm very sure that woman invited you to test you and because you didn't call to inform me, you ended up messing things up and now, she's not going to have you in her good books. Do you have any idea how serious your mistake is? Do you think you have what it takes to deal with the consequences of your actions? Or wait, don't tell me you think she's not going to do anything to you because you're married to her son?" mom continued and I uninterestedly kept listening to her.

I really couldn't understand why she was trying to make me fear the lady like she was some god but I refused to be influenced by my mother's thoughts. I'm pretty sure that the only thing my mother's concerned about is that she can't kiss up to her high class in law because I already fell out with her and she hates that since she wanted nothing more than to brag about her relationship with her wealthy in-laws.

"Mom, I don't care if that woman doesn't like me because she's really not any of my business. She disrespected me and my family and I just couldn't sit there and listen to her go on and on about how classless I am, in her book. Mind you, I didn't even get to say anything to her 'cause her son did most of the talking so you can relax," I explained.

"Also, if your definition of respecting my mother-in-law means that I have to listen to her refer to me as a gold digger over a marriage that I didn't even know anything about up until a few days ago, then you can forget it, mother. I'll never let that woman disrespect me. I'm not interested in their money or status so I won't be kissing ass or acting stupid like you intend to," I responded and I could tell that my mom didn't like what I just said to her.

"I allow you to disrespect me despite the fact that I'm your mother because I can take it but you better not take that nasty attitude of yours out there if you don't want things to get very difficult for you. Don't say I didn't warn you, you brat!" she snapped, getting up from the bed and walking out of the room before suddenly halting in her tracks.

"By the way, kissing ass and being stupid is the only way to keep our family from sinking. If you think I enjoy being stupid, you've got it all wrong," she added, confusing me even more because I still don't understand why exactly our family would sink.