She paused, then added thoughtfully, "After all, some gaps are quite obvious. When a child suddenly moves from an ordinary environment into this kind of luxury, the adjustment must take time."
My hands involuntarily clenched into fists. I knew exactly what she was implying. She was suggesting I came from nothing, that I didn't belong in this life.
"Sofia is adapting just fine," I said, trying to stay calm.
"Of course, of course," Tatyana nodded. "Everyone's upbringing is different. Sofia is so lucky to now enjoy all these things she never had the chance to experience before. Designer toys, a private manor, expensive educational resources... these are luxuries for most people, aren't they?"
Her words were like little knives, gentle on the surface but slowly cutting away at my dignity. She was implying my financial situation, suggesting that Sofia and I were both living off Alexander's charity.
"What exactly are you trying to say? Don't talk about this stuff in front of my daughter!" I finally couldn't hold back, standing up with anger in my voice.
Tatyana immediately looked innocent, even hurt. "Anna, I was just showing concern for the child, praising how lucky she is. I don't understand why you're reacting so strongly."
She paused, then continued in what seemed like a confused tone. "Alexander has always valued our family deeply. We have a longhistory together. I just wanted to show some kindness to the people important to him, but somehow Anna, you..."
"Enough!" My voice rose without my control. "Don't pretend I can't hear what you're really saying!"
Sofia was getting scared by our increasingly heated exchange, clutching the doll tightly as tears began welling up in her eyes.
Just then, I heard familiar footsteps. Alexander walked over from the study, frowning deeply, obviously drawn by our argument.
Tatyana immediately became natural again, as if nothing had happened, gracefully tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Alexander, I... I just wanted to give Sofia a little gift to show how much I care about her. But for some reason, Anna got so angry..."
"She was deliberately provoking me!" I urgently tried to explain to Alexander. "She was saying that Sofia and I are only here because of your charity—"
"Anna," Tatyana interrupted me with an aggrieved tone, "I really was just trying to express my care for Sofia. Isn't that the truth? I completely don't understand how I offended you..."
Tears began flowing down her cheeks, making her look like an innocent victim being unreasonably accused.
Alexander frowned as he listened to both our stories. He looked exhausted, and I could see an impatience in his eyes that I didn't want to see.
"Enough," he said in a tired voice. "I still have important matters to handle. Anna, could you take Sofia back to the room?"
His tone revealed impatience with my emotional reaction, as if I were some unreasonable child throwing a tantrum in front of adults.
My heart broke watching this scene. He believed Tatyana, or at least, he thought I was being unreasonable. In his eyes, I was just an oversensitive woman picking fights with his important business partner.
"Come on, Sofia," I said, holding back tears as I led my confused daughter away.
Before leaving, I heard Tatyana say softly to Alexander, "Maybe she's just not used to these kinds of complex socialrelationships."
Back in the room, I helped Sofia wash up and put her down for a nap. But I couldn't sleep myself, just sat by the bed staring into space. Everything that had just happened replayed in my mind, every detail making me feel humiliated and angry.
My phone suddenly chimed with a message.
"Anna, heard you've been having some trouble lately. You okay? If you need help, call me anytime."
The message was from Jeff, my former colleague. He was a talented photographer who'd pursued me before, but I'd always kept things friendly between us.
Normally, I would have sent a brief reply and ended the conversation. But right now I had all this anger bottled up inside and needed someone to listen.
"Thanks for caring. I'm fine. Life's just complicated," I replied.
"Complicated? Let me guess - you ran into one of those women who's sweet on the surface but totally scheming underneath?" Jeff quickly replied with an eye-roll emoji.
His response made me smile despite myself. Jeff was always like this, able to defuse tension with humor.
"How did you know?" I texted back.
