Chapter 18: Quilty feeling
"Is today my unlucky day? Tell me, why do you keep following me around?" kathe asked as she rolled her eyes.
"Follow you around?" Rhea chuckled. "What makes you think I would love to follow you around?"
"Your injury seems to be healing pretty quick for you to walk out." Kathe didn’t forget to rub salt into Rhea’s injury.
"Whether my wounds heal or not has nothing to do with you. What are you doing here?"
"I didn’t see a sign outside the door that says, ’Watch out’ or ’Beware of poisonous snake.’"
"How dare you refer to me as a snake?"
"I never did, but if you feel like you’re one, you can feel free to use the name," Kathe replied as she took a seat on one of the most comfortable armchairs.
"I never asked you to sit down. How dare you sit down here?" Rhea rushed to Kathe, dragging her out of the chair.
"I don’t get it. The last time I checked, there is no restricted area around here, so why can’t I stay here?" Kathe asked, looking around.
"If only you were a member of this family, you would know that this is my private space. No one comes in here without my permission."
"No wonder the room had a weird feeling the moment I stepped in. I thought it was hubby who had it. I was like, poor guy has poor taste. I didn’t know that it was from you. It’s so terrible," Kathe spat her words out.
Those words really hit Rhea’s sore spot. ’This is making the second time that Kathe has stepped on me in a day. I wouldn’t let her get away with her words this time,’ Rhea thought as she ran after Kathe, who was about to walk out of the room, grabbing her arm.
"What did you just say now? Repeat those words," Rhea gritted her teeth.
"You could have just asked respectfully. I would have just repeated my words again, but you heard what you heard," Kathe replied, raising her eyebrow.
"Don’t think that you won because of what happened earlier. She won’t be here to protect you always," Rhea sneered at her.
"I’ve always wondered, where are your parents? Because you lack manners. You know what your problem is... dead ego..."
Smack!
Before Kathe could complete her statement, she was slapped by Rhea.
"Rhea!" the old lady screamed her name.
Unfortunately for Rhea, the old lady was looking for her with medicine to apply to her burns. Since she couldn’t find her in her room, she decided to go there, but on getting there, she witnessed Rhea’s action.
"Grandma, you won’t imagine what Kathe..."
Smack!
The sound of the slap resonated around the house. Even Kathe herself didn’t expect that from the old lady.
"Grandma..." Rhea exclaimed, tears already pooling in her eyes. She seemed to be facing more injustice.
"That is me correcting you. How can you be so ungrateful? If it wasn’t for her, you would have turned to a pile of ashes by now."
"Grandma, please... You don’t need to scold her. I actually didn’t know that this is her private space, and I went inside by mistake. I should have avoided it. I didn’t know that she doesn’t allow anyone into her space," Kathe said, feeling half guilty.
"No space in this mansion is private without my permission. Rhea, go to your room and reflect on your actions," the old lady said as she turned her back on Rhea, facing the sunlight.
"Grandma, this isn’t fair. You didn’t listen to my own explanation."
"Go reflect in your room," the old lady said, her voice sounding like a law.
Kathe couldn’t help but feel a little fear. She raised her eyes slightly to look at Rhea. Seeing the burns still on her hands, Kathe couldn’t help but shake her head in pity.
Rhea’s eyes were fixed on Kathe, reflecting the deep hatred that was already running through her veins. On getting to where Kathe was standing, she stopped and whispered, only for her hearing, "Don’t think you’ve won today, because I won’t let you get away with this. Never."
Then she stomped out of the room.
The old lady closed her eyes briefly before sighing. She had heard Rhea’s words to Kathe.
"Who informed Rhea that Kathe was in this room?"
"Grandma, what are you..." Kathe asked as she looked around, seeing that it was only the two of them in the room.
But she was silenced by the old lady, who raised her hand, stopping her further question.
"Come out."
Just as the old lady finished speaking, a young girl in her mid-twenties stepped out, dressed in the maid’s clothes, shivering. On getting to where the old lady was, she quickly dropped to her knees.
"Please forgive me, madam. She had asked me to inform her of anyone who stepped into this room, especially Mrs... Kathe." She raised her head slightly, looking at Kathe through the corner of her eyes.
Kathe wasn’t surprised when she heard her name being mentioned, but she was surprised at how the old lady was able to figure out that someone had informed Rhea. She made a mental note.
’Indeed, the older you get, the wiser you are.’
"From now on, stay in the kitchen department. I don’t want you being anyone’s spy, and if you are caught again, you will lose your job permanently."
"Thank you, madam," the maid replied, feeling relieved. She understood what the old lady meant by permanently, meaning that she had lost her previous job. She hurriedly left the room.
Kathe watched the maid leave before turning back to look at the old lady.
"Grandma, what’s that in your hand?" She had noticed the bottle in the old lady’s hand for a long time.
"Oh, this. I brought it for Rhea. It works on scars."
"You didn’t give it to her earlier."
She nodded at Kathe.
"I don’t think she needs it."
There was a trace of disappointment in the old lady’s voice.
"I will go rest in my room now."
"Okay, I will walk you down," Kathe suggested, seeing that the old lady’s mood was down.
The old lady just nodded at her as Kathe helped walk her to her room. She couldn’t help but feel guilty about Rhea’s burns.
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