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Chapter_71
Sadie’s hands gripped the edge of the table tightly, her nails digging into the wood as the weight of their words pressed on her. The suffocating atmosphere around the table made her feel like she was suffocating. Kathleen, the one who should have been supporting her, was the architect of this humiliation, and Leah’s smug little smirk only made everything worse. She had endured all she could.
She stood abruptly, causing the others to fall into an uncomfortable silence. The room’s tension was palpable, everyone waiting for her next move.
“Are you done?” Sadie’s voice was steady, but the fire behind her words was unmistakable. She looked at each one of them—her aunts, uncles, and cousins, all who had chosen to participate in this twisted spectacle. “Do you all really think that I care about your opinions? Do you think that dragging up the past like this will hurt me?”
Her gaze shifted to Kathleen, who sat with a smug expression, as if she had finally cornered Sadie in front of the family. “You think this is what will break me? After all these years, after everything you’ve done—this is your grand plan?”
Kathleen’s smile faltered, just for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. “Sadie, don’t act like you’re the victim here. You’re the one who—”
“Enough!” Sadie snapped, cutting her off. “Don’t you dare talk to me about being a victim. You’re the one who invited me here to try and ruin me, to turn everyone against me. All because you couldn’t stand the idea of me finding my own way. You wanted to tear me down, humiliate me, and for what? So that you can keep control of everything?” Her eyes narrowed. “I see right through you, Kathleen.”
The room fell into a stunned silence. No one had expected Sadie to stand her ground. But now that she had, they didn’t know how to respond.
Sadie turned to the others at the table. “As for you all… Yes, I have children. And yes, they’re mine. My life, my family, is none of your business. If you can’t accept that, then keep talking behind my back. I don’t care anymore.” Her eyes flashed with determination. “And just so we’re clear—nothing I’ve done is any of your concern. Not my marriage, not my children, not my choices. I don’t owe you an explanation.”
Leah’s face twisted with a mixture of disbelief and anger. “You—”
“I’ve had enough of this,” Sadie cut her off. “You can say whatever you want about me, but nothing you say will change who I am, or the life I’ve built. You all might have been family once, but now, you’re just people who think they have a right to judge me. Well, let me tell you something—you don’t. Not anymore.”
With that, she turned and made her way toward the door, her back straight and unwavering. The shock in the room was palpable, but she didn’t care. She had walked this path for too long to be cowed now. If they wanted to keep judging her, they could—just as long as they knew she wouldn’t be backing down.
Leah’s voice came from behind her, sharp and taunting. “You really think you can just walk away from this?”
Sadie paused, her hand on the doorknob, and turned her head slightly. “Yes,” she said coldly. “And if I were you, I’d do the same. Because at the end of the day, I’m the only one who matters in my life now.” Then she opened the door and left, leaving the stunned family behind.
The echoes of her words lingered in the room, and for the first time in years, Sadie felt a sense of freedom she hadn’t realized she’d been missing.
