Chapter 236: AGAINST
Erika made sure to study Mary’s expression to be sure that the old woman bought her lie before she continued. And when a tear slipped out of Mary’s eyes, she was confirmed that she’d hit her soft spot.
"Now I strongly believe that they are indeed working together because what kind of daughter wouldn’t defend their mother once they find out that she had been insulted by someone?" She asked Mary. Looking at Mary’s palm that was folded right in front of her, Erika reached for it and held it with hers and she patted it slightly. "I want you to know that I’m not your enemy, Mary. I don’t think I have anything against you anymore because right now, I think we only have each other at the moment. After all, those two women are out to get us. Your daughter wants you back in jail and so does your daughter-in-law. The time that I wanted you to be in jail was a long time ago and I’m sure that I don’t want that anymore. I hope that you can look at me as your friend and not as a foe anymore." She patted Mary’s wrinkled hands one last time before she moved away.
With that, Erika also pushed herself out of the room and gave Mary the chance to feed on her poison. With a soft, pitiful look on her face, Erika closed the door.
As soon as she heard the clicking sound of the door being shot, her soft expression immediately turned into a disgusting one in the blink of an eyelash. Bringing the hand that she used to hold Mary’s hands just earlier, Erika hissed at it.
"My hands are so dirty now," she spat. Pushing herself towards a basin, Erika quickly applied some soap and started washing it until it looked sparkly clean. "Much better," she muttered with a smile as she stared at her hands. She stared at the hallway and couldn’t find Iza anymore. "Maybe she has gone to do something," she concluded.
"Now, it’s time to go to Juliet and then later to Felicia," she mumbled under her breath as a smirk graced her lips.
Erika pushed herself until she saw Juliet sitting by the pool that was in the backyard of the house. She hadn’t even realized yet that there was a pool in the backyard since she mostly stayed inside and hadn’t gone out yet. She studied Juliet as she typed on her phone and the smirk that was already on her lips only grew wider, reaching her cheeks.
"Juliet, I didn’t know that you were here. I’ve been looking for you for a while now," Erika said with a smile. She heard Juliet snort at her before she heard her ask,
"Let me guess. You are here to manipulate me as well?" Juliet dropped her phone by her side and glared at Erika. "That’s not going to work on me at all Erika. I know exactly what you are up to so you’d better quit because all the nonsense you’ve fed my mother won’t work on me," she stated before she grabbed her phone and continued to type whatever.
Erika didn’t reply instantly. Instead, she kept quiet, and somehow, her silence bothered Juliet.
"Will you talk already?" Juliet snapped at her.
Releasing a sigh, Erik turned to look at Juliet and asked,
"Have you not noticed that Felicia has changed? I mean, does the way she talks sometimes not bother you?"
Juliet rolled her eyes in a very disrespectful way before she replied, "I don’t think that Felicia has changed or anything. That woman had been through a lot, that’s what I believe so perhaps, she must be traumatized or something."
’Traumatized my foot,’ Erika thought to herself.
"But so has your mother. She had also been through a lot for the sake of Felicia. She was the one who stayed by Felicia’s side when she had given birth to her son so do you think it’s alright for Felicia to talk to your mother like that? Like she’s some piece of trash?" Erika asked, this time wanting to make Juliet feel pity for her mother.
’I wonder why she doesn’t feel any pity for her mother," Erika thought to herself because Juliet’s attitude towards Mary was indeed strange.
"I know. She told me," said Juliet. "But I’m still not falling for your plan. You came here to manipulate me but I will still repeat what I said earlier, it won’t work on me Erika, so you better stop it," she added, deadpan.
Erika was quite taken aback by Juliet’s words. She had been hoping that manipulating Juliet wouldn’t turn so hard but it seems to be the opposite now. ’This is going to be work,’ Erika thought to herself.
It seems as if Juliet had known that she was coming for her next and had prepared herself.
Erika nearly hissed out loud but held it in. The last thing that she wanted at that moment was to lose the chance to manipulate Juliet and she knew that she would succeed no matter what. Juliet might seem art right now, but after she sees Felicia acting rudely toward Mary, she realizes that Erika is telling her the truth.
"I’m not trying to manipulate you or anything," Erika tried to convince her for the nth time."
"Well, you don’t have to because you are never going to succeed in it," Juliet remarked.
Erika pretended to release a hopeless sigh. "I hope that you come to see who Felicia is because she is only trying to care for you but in fact, she is trying to use you and then throw you away after she has gotten what she wants from you. That was the same thing that she did with Mary. Your mother was the one who helped her in jail but look at how she is being treated by her now. I do hope that you get to open your eyes to see that Felicia has changed for the worst before it’s too late," Erika concluded.
