Chapter 47: Chapter 47

Carol found it difficult to sleep that night as sleep practically eluded her. She tossed and turned on the bed, trying to get some shuteye, but it just wasn’t happening, no matter how much she forced herself. So, she got up and padded out of her room, trying to be as silent as possible so as not to wake anybody up. The house was quiet, which was not a surprise, considering that it was already past two in the morning. Normally, she rarely found it difficult to sleep, but her mother never failed to bring out the worst in her and annoy her to no end.

The light was off in the dining room, so she turned it on, got some orange juice from the fridge, and just sat there sipping it and staring into space. She was about to go and put on the television as there was no point just sitting there without doing anything when she heard the sound of footsteps. She froze where she was sitting, wishing that she did not put the light on as she was in no mood to speak to anybody about anything. However, there was nothing that she could do about it now, so she just sat there and listened as the footsteps drew nearer, wondering who it was.

A few moments later, her father came into view as he entered the dining room too. Carol heaved a sigh of relief. She was in no mood to deal with her mother or Aunt Alice at this time of the morning. Her father paused when he saw her, but he did not show any surprise at finding her there.

“Hey, Carol. Why are you not in bed?” He asked.

“I could ask you the same. I couldn’t sleep so I just stopped trying to force myself to do so and came out here t get something to drink. Why are you awake?”

“I could not sleep too. What is the matter? Is something wrong?”

Carol shrugged and answered, “Nothing is wrong.”

“Okay. I’m glad to hear that. Listen, I’m really sorry that we came all this way without informing you first. Your mother insisted.”

“And she put a gun to your head to do it, right? Anyway, it’s okay. You guys are already here, so nothing can be done about it now.” Carol said.

“Yeah. I also wanted to apologize for what your mother said earlier. You know how she can be sometimes…”

“Try all the time, and I don’t get why you’re apologizing on her behalf when you did nothing to stop her from saying all that rubbish earlier.”

“Don’t say that your mother is saying rubbish.”

“Why not, if I may ask? She was indeed saying rubbish.”

“She is still your mother,” Donald said warningly, his tone warning that he would not tolerate any slander about his wife.

“That doesn’t give her the right to do whatever the fuck she wants. I would not have it.” Carol said, more harshly and louder than she had planned, so she quickly slammed her mouth shut.

“I know your mother can be annoying sometimes, but you have to take it easy on her.”

“Why do I have to do that? You always take her side. You always take their sides, no matter what they do. I hate this family and wish that I wasn’t born into it.” Carol cried, and stood up to walk back to her room, feeling far worse than she had when she first went downstairs. She should have just stayed in her room. Once she got to her room, she flung herself on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

***

The next day, Carol was awoken at eight in the morning by a loud pounding on her door. Bleary-eyed, she opened the door to find her mother standing there impatiently. She was fully dressed too, with makeup on, and gestured impatiently at Carol.

“Why are you still sleeping by this time of the day?”

“Mom! It’s just eight in the morning. I slept late last…”

“And this is exactly why I came here. Do you have any idea what you’re doing at all?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You don’t understand what I mean? What I mean is that you do not take care of your husband. You were not even there when he went to work this morning. We’ll thrash out the issue of why you guys have separate bedrooms later at dinner, but how do you expect him not to divorce you after the contract ends if you keep acting like this?”

“Look, mom. I’ve got a headache. I’m going back to sleep, and no, we’re not going to thrash out anything at dinner. Whatever Sebastian and I do is our business and nobody else’s.” Carol retorted angrily. What was with her mom and trying to control everything and everyone’s life until they bent to her damn wishes?

“We’ll sort out all that when I get back,” Belinda repeated firmly, as though she was talking to a petulant child and could not be bothered to care about her irrationality. “I’m going shopping. Sebastian gave me a huge chunk of money for that, so stop feeling so important, thinking I’m going to ask you for shit.” She finished and flounced away, calling out to aunt Alice that they had to leave.

Carol shook her head and locked her door before going back to sleep immediately. She did not have the strength to face anyone yet.

***

Dinner that evening was a loud affair, with everyone, especially Belinda and Alice talking over themselves. Carol was quiet and subdued, not adding much to the conversation. Sebastian politely answered whenever the conversation was directed to him but was mostly focused on his food. Alice and Belinda regaled them with stories about their shopping and the tons of things that they bought with the money that Sebastian gave to them.

“Oh, that reminds me, Sebastian honey. The money is finished. It remains only one thousand two hundred dollars, and we still need to get some things tom…”

“Mom!” Carol shouted in anger and embarrassment. If not that this was her mother, she would have gotten up and slapped the living daylights out of her.

“What is it? I was only informing him, or are you going to give me the money as stingy as you are? I remember how I had to grovel and beg for you to give me that twenty thousand you gave me before, but now someone is willingly giving me money and you are complaining?”

What she had done was to threaten and curse, but Carol did not say anything. Her mother had also purposely forgotten that Carol sent her twenty thousand dollars every month now, even without her asking for it.

“Just stop. You keep embarrassing me and I’m fed up with it. Did you ask Sebastian for the money before he gave it to you? Or is he under any obligation to give you any money?”

“How dare you? You ungrateful bitch!”

“Belinda, that’s enough. We do not have to wash our dirty linen in public.” Her father put in, patting his wife’s hand and trying to placate her in a bid to stop her from talking, but he should have known better than to try that with Belinda.

“In case you have forgotten, you’re a visitor here, so you can’t just come here and insult me,” Carol told her mother hotly.

“Carol, it's okay. I don’t mind, honestly.” Sebastian put in, seeing that this was getting out of hand.

“No, let her insult me. Let her insult me all she wants, forgetting all that I’ve done for her when I didn’t have to do shit!” Belinda spat hotly.

“Mom, I didn’t insult you. I was only…”

“Don’t call me mom! Don’t you ever call me that again, you imbecile. I’m not your mother!”

“Belinda!” Aunt Alice and Donald cried out simultaneously in shock, while Carol went numb, and Sebastian wished that he wasn’t here at all.

“Excuse me?” Carol asked slowly, dropping her fork and facing her mother fully.

“You heard me clearly,” Belinda said, her face showing that she was spoiling for a fight.

“Belinda, please,” Donald said in a tortured voice, but she paid him no heed.