“I was busy.”
Kayla gave a small, derisive laugh. “Of course you were. Cleaning up the mess Coral made. And blaming Matilda for your mess. What is wrong with you?”
No mention of what Matilda had done. Or any concern for her only granddaughter.
Fern inhaled slowly, barely holding on to control, while wondering if she was likely to go to prison for running this repulsive woman over. “Say what you came to say, Kayla. I have somewhere else I need to be.”
Kayla’s expression turned confuse. Fern never talked back to her. “Fine. I’ll be honest, since no one else seems willing to be.” She stepped closer, lowering her voice as if sharing something intimate. “You were never good enough for Connor. And just because he is starting to favour Matilda, you take her son away from her? Shame on you.”
Fern took a moment to wonder what she was smoking.
“You don’t have the upbringing, the polish… the intelligence. The daughter of a truck driver… hmph… ” Kayla’s lips curled faintly. “Matilda always was perfect. She is prettier. Smarter. And you just can’t let go, can you.”
“Say what you want to say,mother. Don’t hold back—”
“Oh, I knew it all along,” Kayla raged on, voice rising slightly. “Everyone does. They’ve always belonged together. You just took advantage of Connor. Baby-trapped him, didn’t you?”
Fern let out a short, disbelieving laugh at the audacity.
“Can you hear yourself?” she asked quietly, a stark contrast to Kayla’s loss of control. “But then birds of a feather, right? Homewreckers stick together?”
Kayla blinked, thrown off for half a second before recovering. “What do you mean, you little… I’m trying to make you understand—”
“Your act is not fooling anyone. Everyone knows about you and Matilda’s dad.” Fern shook her head, stepping closer now, making Kayla back up a step. “You know what I think? I think you’ve lost your mind. You believe getting Connor and Matilda makes up for the horrible, horrible things you did to both families, don’t you? Will it make up for how you let your own son down?”
Kayla ‘s face was turning an alarming shade of red. “Mind your tone—”
“My tone?” Fern’s voice was incredulous. “My tone? After the way you endangered your own granddaughter?”
Her hands trembled, but she didn’t back down. Her eyes burned with icy fury.
“What about Coral, Kayla? Not once have you asked me how she was doing. Not once!”
For a moment regret seemed to flicker in her eyes before she waved a hand with irritation clear on her face. “That was unfortunate, yes, but—”
“Unfortunate?” Fern echoed, ignoring the curious passers-by. “Your granddaughter was nearly scarred for life. She was in a hospital bed because of what you did. Oh, let me think, how about the ways you try to ruin your own son’s marriage.”
Kayla’s expression hardened, her mutinous expression betraying no remorse. “Connor owes Matilda,” she snapped.
Fern stared at her.
“What?”
Kayla’s eyes gleamed now, unhinged in a way Fern had never quite seen so clearly before. “After everything that girl went through—after her father died—Connor was all she had. If she couldn’t have the life she deserved… ” her voice rose, fervent, “then at least if they ended up together, it would mean something. It would make it all worth it.”
Fern couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“You left your granddaughter,” she said slowly, each word precise, “with a woman who was completely unfit to take care of a child… because of that?”
Kayla’s lips pressed thin. “Don’t twist my words—”
“I’m not twisting anything!” Fern smiled, shaking her head. “Listening to the garbage that comes out of your mouth-my mind is blown, Kayla.”
Kayla scoffed, crossing her arms. “You’re overreacting over a small burn—”
Fern laughed again. This time there was nothing controlled about it.
“God, you’re unbelievable. I can almost forgive Connor for being so fucked-up”
