Chapter 4

Gemma snapped, "Who the hell do you think you are? You're nothing but a woman who used cheap tricks to climb your way up—"

"I used cheap tricks?" I interrupted.

I then raised my voice and shot daggers at everyone in the room. "I've done nothing to be ashamed of! Meanwhile, the lot of you have allowed scum like her to make lewd remarks about the bride in her own bedroom. Is this how your noble household conducts itself?"

The room descended into total pandemonium.

Several came forward to break up the fight, while others accused me of going too far. Gemma, on the other hand, wailed at the top of her lungs and threw a fit.

"Morgiana, what on earth are you doing?" Kenneth wove through the crowd when he heard the commotion.

His face was ghastly pale as he seized my wrist. He lowered his voice and chided, "Can you stop making a scene in front of all my relatives? Aunt Gemma has had too much to drink. I'll ask her to apologize to you!"

"Apologize to me?" I sneered, looking at him. The cold, disdainful, calculating face he had shown me in my previous life flashed through my mind.

I yanked my hand out of his grasp. "So this is how your family sees me? I've just married into your family, and I'm already being dragged through the mud. How am I supposed to live like this?"

As the wedding descended into chaos, Kenneth's parents, Sam Sterling and Margaret Sterling, hurried over to defuse the tension.

Gemma glared at me with bloodshot eyes and jeered. "That's easy for you to say. If you've got the guts, why don't you just divorce him then? Let's see if you're really willing to give him up!"

Divorce him? That would be far too easy on them.

If I simply left, I'd be doing my past self a disservice. The suffering I'd endured, the tears I'd shed, and the child I'd lost... I was going to make them pay for it all with my own eyes!

Sam and Margaret dismissed the guests. Whispering among themselves, the crowd dispersed until only the Sterlings and a few relatives remained.

Still, the atmosphere had plummeted to absolute zero.

Margaret immediately walked up to me with a stern expression. "Morgiana, I don't mean to criticize you, but what on earth possessed you just now? It's your wedding day. How could you slap someone in front of so many relatives?"

Sam stood beside her and chimed in with an equally stern face. "We're a family that values tradition and etiquette. The first thing a new bride needs to learn when she joins our family is to know her place.

"After what you did, you must apologize to Gemma and kneel before the cross for an entire night to reflect on your actions!"

He wanted me to get on my knees? I let out a derisive chuckle. "Kneel, my ass!"

Margaret's expression instantly changed, and she instantly flew off the handle. "What did you just say?"

I wasn't wrong, though. I blinked, feigning innocence. "Am I wrong? Didn't you ask me to kneel before the cross? What, do you not have it in your back room?"

Her face turned beet red, but she was so furious that she couldn't utter a single word.

I curled my lips into a smirk and continued, "I'm not worthy of kneeling before God. However, when you and Sam kick the bucket, I'll happily get on my knees."

What could I say? I was a dutiful daughter-in-law. I wouldn't bend my knees for anyone but Sam and Margaret.

The moment the words left my mouth, her expression hardened, and she jabbed her finger in my face. "How dare you talk to me like that? Have you lost your mind? Look at the wonderful wife you've married, Kenneth!"

Kenneth looked troubled as he was caught in the middle. He looked at me. "You've gone too far, Morgiana."

Then, he turned to Margaret. "Mom, Dad... Morg was wronged today."

"She was wronged?" Margaret raised her voice. "I think she needs to be taught a lesson. Like it or not, you're going to the back room today!"

Having said her piece, she reached out to grab me.

The instant her hand came toward me, I swung my arm, sweeping several coffee mugs off the table beside me. The sound of shattering glass was excruciatingly harsh on the ears as shards of glass flew everywhere.

The very next second, a little girl cried out. I whipped my head around and spotted little Kendall. I had no idea when she'd hidden in the corner.

A stray shard of glass had grazed her arm, and tiny beads of blood were beginning to seep from the wound. Kendall immediately burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.