Chapter Three: The confrontation

Elena slammed the door loudly so they could hear her come in. Both women froze where they stood, then turned to look her way. “Look who is back. The child is throwing a tantrum. You actually dared talk back to me when I called you. Look at the time you'll be returning. You should have been here from the beginning to help me cook and prepare!” Cecile scolded. Elena looked around the room to see that a lot of guests were coming from the preparations. “Auntie, don’t talk like that; if Elena prepared all this herself, she would be tired. Why don’t I help?” Melanie said. “You are just too nice for your own good. There is no need for you to help; you are a guest. You should relax and let others do it,” Cecile said. Elena glanced at both of them and turned to walk away. “Hey, I am talking to you; where are you going?” Cecile hurriedly blocked Elena’s path, “Hurry up and enter that kitchen!” Cecile scolded. “Why should I do that? It looks like old age has taken away your common sense, or at least your hearing. Did I not already say that I am divorcing your son? We just signed the papers. Have your new daughter-in-law do it instead and stop blocking my path!” Elena said she was pushing Cecile out of her way. Cecile tumbled slightly, and Melanie went to catch her; they both fell to the floor. This was what Daniel saw the moment he walked into the house. He had only returned, and his mother and Melanie were on the floor, while his ex-wife was staring at them coldly from the first step of the staircase. “What have you done? Are you crazy?” Daniel hurried over to help Melanie up, ignoring his mother, which made the older woman furious. “You crazy son, you should at least help your mother up first, right? Look how much she enjoyed making people suffer for your sake, and you ran to help your mistress up,” Elena said, and Daniel realized that his mother was still on the floor. Melanie saw the resentful look on Cecile’s face and hurriedly tried to help her up. “Don’t try to sow discord between mother and son!” Melanie said it righteously. This statement, even though it did not calm Cecile’s anger, made her see Elena as an enemy. “You crazy woman! You dare push me down? Why did you not step up to help me up?” Cecile said. “It is your lot that is crazy. I am no longer a member of your family. I don’t think I ever was. You better educate your mother and mistress on what divorce means before they embarrass themselves outside. “Elena, I have never tried to come in between you and Daniel; there is no need for you to call me a mistress!” Melanie said it righteously. “Be careful; even angels would run from your righteousness. You are a woman who crawled into a married man’s bed; what were you doing there? Looking for bed bugs? Are you a priest or an exterminator? Which is it?” Elena spoke, and Daniel paused. It was the first time he'd actually heard Elena this way. Her words were poisonous. He realized he had never heard her in this manner before. “Do not slander me!” Melanie’s eyes filled with tears, making Daniel frown. “You are the one who was found by the marital bed naked, but I am slandering you. Even if your part-time job is to check for bedbugs in people’s husbands’s beds at night, you should have known to wear your priest robes so that we can recognize your holiness and not slander you,” Elena said and turned to leave. The moment she turned around. Daniel recalled why he rushed home so quickly. “Were you the one that revealed Melanie’s pictures to the press?” he asked, and she paused. “What pictures?” she asked, and Melanie hurriedly took out her phone and searched for her name. Her intimate pictures with Daniel had become widely popular. The comments online were scathing. The revelation that the man in the picture, who has been the subject of several rumors over the years, was married, left the Netizens wanting to eat her raw. Elena had also pulled out her phone to see the chaos. When she saw it, she laughed. “So, you are the one!” Daniel said, “Those pictures are very similar to the ones you showed me!’ “No, but is it a lie? Is she not a mistress? Do you all need a dictionary to help you with the meaning of the word mistress?” Elena asked. “You better retract those words now, or else...” Daniel started to speak. “Or else what? I said I did not do it. You are the only one who thinks this snake is an angel. You probably do not know how many enemies she has already,” Elena said. “You still deny it?” Daniel asked. “Are you crazy? I will not admit to something I did not do. It doesn’t matter if your mistress is in trouble or not; why should I be held accountable for it? Do not worry; when I leave, I will stop by a church to pray for the long health of the person who did this,” she said, and Cecile fumed. “You witch! Since you are already leaving this house, why don’t you leave quietly? Why cause trouble on your way out?” Cecile screamed. “I will not take the blame for something I did not do, and you lot better be careful about what you say. Old woman, if you cannot prove that I released these photos, I do not mind suing.” Elena responded. “Old woman?” “So, old woman, you better not raise your voice at me again. I am not your daughter-in-law anymore; I do not mind slapping some senses into you,” Elena said, and Cecile shrank back under her cold stare. She had never seen Elena this way, and neither had Daniel. He suddenly realized that she was not playing some game. She was really ending things. “You should be more interested in who this will help. I am already leaving your family, and in our divorce papers, we made it clear to not speak about each other, so why would I say anything? The person who would benefit the most is the one who will take my place now that I am going,” Elena said, and they all turned to look at Melanie with a frown. Seeing that everyone was suspicious of her, Melanie quickly defended herself. “I would not destroy my image that I have worked for all these years in the media this way,” she said, but her mother and son were both suspicious. They knew that Melanie’s career was already fizzling out, and she had always wanted to marry Daniel. Now that everyone was aware of her relationship with him, she was once again in the spotlight, and most importantly, Daniel would need to wed her. When Melanie saw that they did not believe her, she turned and ran, oddly, into a wall. Daniel tried to catch her, Elena held back the urge to roll her eyes, and Melanie, who barely touched the wall, fainted in Daniel’s arms.