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Carlisle took a slow, deliberate breath as he made his way out of his room, glass of water in hand. His gaze flickered briefly toward Gerard and Maria as they settled into the living room, their sharp eyes scanning the modest surroundings with a mixture of disdain and superiority. It was a familiar dynamic, one that always left him feeling like an outsider in his own home. But tonight, something felt different.
As he entered the room, he noticed the thin layer of tension that had already begun to settle over the gathering. Maria’s sharp voice cut through the air as she asked about the lack of air conditioning, her gaze flickering to the window, as if she were above the discomfort of the heat. “Why didn’t you install an aircon? Are you all being overly frugal?” Her tone was almost mocking, a thinly veiled criticism disguised as casual inquiry.
Gordon, ever the mediator, rushed to provide an answer. “We bought this house for Carl. It’s closer to his school. We’re planning to sell it once he’s off to university,” he said, but his voice held an edge of defensiveness that didn’t go unnoticed.
Maria pursed her lips, her gaze still scanning the room, as though judging its very existence. “A Santana worth 200 thousand dollars, but you couldn’t afford a better house?” she remarked, her voice dripping with condescension.
Gerard, standing beside his wife, was engrossed in his phone, occasionally glancing up but offering little more than a dismissive grunt in response. His white T-shirt and expensive watch told a story of his own success, one that he clearly expected others to envy. But Carlisle wasn’t interested in that kind of success—the kind that relied on putting others down to lift oneself up.
The exchange quickly grew more uncomfortable as Gerard’s sharp eyes finally met Carlisle’s. “Carl, do you not recognize me?” Gerard asked, his voice laced with thinly veiled irritation.
“I do,” Carlisle answered, his voice steady but unamused. “You’re Uncle Gerard.”
Gerard’s brow furrowed as he continued, “Then why didn’t you greet me and your aunt properly?”
Carlisle, who had always been taught to respect his elders, felt the pressure to keep things cordial. But the taunting tone from Gerard, followed by Maria’s mocking comment about his lack of manners, left him with little patience. “I’m just stating a fact,” Carlisle replied, his voice calm but unwavering. “Aren’t your children receiving special education in the city? Why are they so rude then?”
The words hung in the air for a moment, as if they had taken everyone by surprise. Gerard’s face flushed slightly, but he said nothing. Maria, on the other hand, fumed. “You brat, are you trying to talk back to me?” she spat, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
Carlisle didn’t flinch. “I don’t dare to do such a thing. I’m just pointing out the obvious,” he continued, his calmness making the barb even sharper. “Are you trying to tell me that your children, who were so quick to mock me earlier, deserve to be treated with respect while you’re doing nothing but belittling us?”
Hilda, who had been standing in the kitchen doorway, suddenly slammed a knife onto the cutting board, the sound echoing through the room like a warning. Gerard glanced toward her, his expression turning from surprise to something close to frustration. But Hilda was unyielding. “Maria, you’re a guest in our house. We’ll welcome you, but if you’re here to fight, we’ll have no choice but to ask you to leave.”
The room stilled for a moment. Maria’s eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing, perhaps realizing that she had crossed a line. Gerard, always quick to play the peacemaker, waved his hand dismissively. “That’s enough. Everyone, calm down. Let’s not escalate this,” he muttered, but his voice lacked the confidence it had earlier.
Maria, fuming but clearly holding back, shot a glance at Gordon. “It’s a father’s responsibility to educate his children,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “But it seems like you didn’t do a very good job.”
Gordon, who had been silently observing the exchange, forced a chuckle. “I’ll discipline him later,” he said weakly, attempting to defuse the situation. But his tone didn’t carry the same confidence it had at the beginning of the evening.
Carlisle’s eyes narrowed, the memory of past humiliations surfacing in his mind like a flash of lightning. He remembered how, in a previous life, Gerard and Maria had humiliated him and his family. He recalled how Gerard had refused to help when his father had fallen ill, even when Gordon had begged him for assistance. Instead, Gerard had beaten Gordon. The scars of those memories still stung, but now, Carlisle was no longer the passive victim.
“Did you educate your children properly?” Carlisle asked, his voice low and deliberate. “Did Kelly and Xander greet my parents when they came in?”
Maria, always quick to retaliate, shot back, “You brat, are you trying to talk back to me?”
Carlisle’s eyes were steady. “I don’t dare to do such a thing. I’m just stating a fact. You brag about your children’s education, but they can’t even show basic respect when they enter someone else’s home.”
At this, Gerard’s face tightened with anger, and Maria’s grip on her glass of water tightened as well. “You think you can compare your family to mine?” Maria hissed. “My daughter is top of her class. She’ll be in Riverland University soon. As for you, I’ve heard your results are nothing to be proud of. You won’t even make it into a Tier 3 university. People like you are the ones holding society back.”
Her words were a blow, and the room seemed to hold its breath. Gordon’s face flushed red with anger, but he didn’t speak. It was Hilda who responded, her voice cold as ice. “Maria, we’re doing our best with what we have. And you, well, if you continue to belittle my son, we’ll have no choice but to ask you to leave.”
Maria, sensing the growing hostility, finally fell silent. Gerard, too, backed down, offering a weak chuckle. “Alright, alright, let’s just focus on the dinner,” he said, trying to smooth things over.
But the mood had already shifted. The family sat down to dinner, but the atmosphere was strained. Maria, who had been so vocal earlier, was now quiet, her pride wounded. Gerard, though still attempting to maintain control, could do little to ease the tension.
As the conversation shifted to university applications, Kelly Zahn couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of Carlisle applying to Riverland University. “It’s rare for people from outside the city to get in. I’ve never even heard of someone with your grades applying to a school like that,” she said, her laughter ringing out through the room.
Carlisle remained calm, his gaze steady as he placed his utensils down. “You’ll find a hotel if you turn left downstairs. I suggest you head over there to eat,” he said dryly, his words dripping with unspoken disdain.
Gerard’s laugh was forced, but there was a flicker of unease in his eyes. “Your dad hasn’t said a word, yet here you are, chasing us out?” he commented, but the words felt hollow in the thickening air.
Carlisle sighed, his voice dripping with a mixture of exasperation and clarity. “Uncle Gerard, do you really think there’s any point in sitting here? You’ve only come to gloat about your small fortune, haven’t you? Or is there another reason you’ve come here?”
Gerard froze. His face shifted from smugness to surprise, his grip tightening around his glass. “What do you mean by that?” he asked, his voice defensive.
Carlisle’s gaze never wavered. “You haven’t even told Gordon about your money, have you? How did I know? Simple. Your behavior gives you away. You came here to mock us, but you also have something to prove. And we both know that.”
The silence that followed was deafening, each word sinking in like a stone thrown into still water. Gerard’s expression was unreadable as he glanced at Gordon, who quickly stood up to offer him a drink. Gordon tried to break the tension, his voice a little too cheerful. “Gerard, did you earn some money recently?”
Gerard’s eyes flickered, a flash of realization dawning on him. “Well, yeah,” he muttered, his tone unconvincing. “It’s just… nothing worth mentioning.”
Carlisle, however, was done playing games. “Don’t lie. It’s clear you’ve been hiding it. But it’s not your fortune I’m concerned with. It’s your need to belittle others that bothers me.”
The room seemed to hold its breath once more, and this time, Gerard said nothing in response.
