Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Geneva’s voice was calm, almost flat–but it was enough to make everyone lower their heads in shame,
She couldn’t understand how they had the nerve to assume that time alone would wipe away the damage they’d done.
She gave a cold smile. “Why would I waste my time teaching someone with talent but no conscience, whose parents have no shame? So he can stab me in the back, huh? So you can all laugh at me for helping you after everything you did, huh?”
Then she turned to Tabitha. “You couldn’t even raise your own son right. What makes you think it’s someone else’s job to fix your mess? Do you think it’s still twenty years ago, when people would clean up after you no matter what?”
Raising a kid was no small task. If she messed it up, she should deal with the consequences. Nobody else owed her anything
Tabitha shook her head. “That’s not true. I really tried to raise him well. I did everything I could, but it just didn’t work out. We’re sisters–why is it so wrong to ask for your help?”
Geneva let out a short laugh. Tabitha’s idea of “raising him well” was planting the idea in his head that he had to become someone important–and then sitting back, doing nothing, just waiting for him to succeed and take care of her.
But the son she raised turned out to be selfish, someone who never lived up to those hopes and ended up being a drain on society instead.
And now, after all that, Tabitha still thought Geneva was the one who should take responsibility.
Tabitha kept pleading, “Geneva, look at me. I’m already at rock bottom-”
In her mind, if Geneva hadn’t run away from that marriage, if everything hadn’t changed after that, Geneva wouldn’t have ended up like this. Part of her actually believed Geneva owed her for the way things turned out.
However, Geneva was ungrateful, and she had cut ties and gone on to live a good life, completely ignoring her own sister. To Tabitha, that felt like
betrayal.
She even blamed Geneva for Barclay’s troubles. If Geneva hadn’t held that grudge, if she hadn’t ruined Barclay’s record and saddled him with a tracking
bracelet, he wouldn’t be stuck living under constant scrutiny.
In Tabitha’s eyes, Geneva was the one who owed her–and now she couldn’t believe Geneva was standing there mocking her, acting like she had no responsibility at all. Her eyes filled with quiet resentment.
Geneva scoffed, “You think your misery is my fault, huh? You were the one who wanted Stan. I stepped aside. I made it happen. And now that your life didn’t turn out how you hoped, you’re blaming me again.”
Her words were harsh, but her face stayed completely still, like she wasn’t even part of the drama unfolding in front of her.
Salena said quietly, “Geneva, does that mean you won’t forgive your father and me either?”
Tears welled in her eyes. “We’re old now. We’ve waited twenty years, just hoping you’d forgive us. Are we really going to die still waiting? If you don’t forgive us, we’ll never be at peace.”
Salena really had aged. Her voice and her frail figure made her look heartbreakingly small.
But Geneva didn’t flinch. “So I should forgive you just so you can rest in peace, huh? What about me? Why should I keep bending over backwards just to make you feel better?
“Did you ever love me like a real parent? Did you protect me when I was depressed and forced to marry a man with a bad reputation?
“When Tabitha came back, didn’t you expect me to just step aside and hand everything over?
“When Barclay pulled those cruel stunts, when I was kidnapped–did you step in? Did you offer a ransom? Did you even try to comfort me?
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13:28 Fr, 23 May
Chapter 36
“When Stan wanted to throw me into a mental hospital, did either of you speak up? When I disappeared and might’ve been dead, did you even bother to
look for me?“.
Geneva and Tabitha were both their daughters, but the best was always reserved for Tabitha. If Tabitha didn’t want something, they handed it off to Geneva. But if Tabitha changed her mind later, they’d take it right back—no hesitation.
No one was born cold. The Original Host had suffered deeply. That pain couldn’t now old and frail.
t be undone by a
half–hearted apology or the fact that her parents were
And clearly, Rocky and Salena still hadn’t learned anything. If they had, they wouldn’t be trying to run Geneva’s life like it was theirs to manage,
Geneva’s calm but cutting words left Rocky and Salena full of shame.
Salena sobbed, shaking her head. “We didn’t have a choice. The Wheeler family was too powerful. We couldn’t afford to offend them-
“So because I was the weaker one, it was okay for me to suffer, huh?” Geneva’s voice stayed steady. “Now that I’m not that helpless girl anymore, and you’re the ones struggling, you come to me. Shouldn’t you be the ones enduring hardship now?”
Rocky looked crushed. Before they came, they’d thought that since Geneva had been sending them money for twenty years, she must still care. They figured if they just showed up and asked for forgiveness, she’d let the past go.
In their minds, all elderly parents wanted was family harmony, so they assumed Geneva must want that too.
But now they realized they’d been completely wrong. Geneva wasn’t going to forgive them–not now, not ever.
Rocky’s voice trembled. “Geneva, you really can’t forgive us, huh? We truly regret what we did.”
Geneva let out a cold laugh. “Whether you regret it or not doesn’t matter to me. I don’t have the right to forgive you on behalf of the Geneva who lived through all that.” Their guilt might be real, but so was the pain the Original Host had endured.
“This is the last time we’ll ever meet,” Geneva said flatly. “Listen. Don’t come to me again. If you do, I’ll cut ties for good, including the money I send you. Tabitha’s also your daughter. Let her support you from now on.”
She had only agreed to this meeting because the Original Host still had lingering regrets.
But now, after twenty years, she had finally said it–face to face- that the Original Host would never forgive them.
With that, the weight she’d carried for so long could finally be laid to rest. She had fulfilled the Original Host’s last wish.
Rocky stared blankly. He understood that Geneva was just doing the bare minimum a daughter was expected to do. Just like they had once done the bare minimum as parents.
They had never treated her like a real daughter. Now she returned the favor–no warmth, no affection.
As soon as the thirty minutes were up, the Motley family was escorted out.
Barclay, who had come full of hope, left with nothing. And Tabitha, still sobbing like she’d been wronged, trailed behind.
Irritated, Barclay snapped, “Stop it! What are you even crying about?”
At that moment, he couldn’t help but think that if someone like him had been born as Geneva’s son, he would’ve turned out incredible.
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