A Pearl In The Oyster ☑️

12. La madame - The madam

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Beaumont. I'm Lizette Fontaine, the girl who's about to marry your son."

The woman sitting in front of me squinted her eyes even more, and I got worried that if she continued this, her eyes would be no more. If she thought this action would tell me how much she hated me, she was wrong.

I was probably one of the most stubborn women she must have seen in her entire life. Once I made my mind to do something, nothing in this world could deter me from my goal.

She eyed me up and down, her lips curling in distaste. I was suddenly extremely conscious of the night suit I'd worn, and I considered going upstairs and changing for a second. She was the third person in New York, who had judged me by the clothes I was wearing. She was one of those people, who thought wearing designer brands made them a different species of humans, and honestly, I felt pity for her.

If I had to live my entire life in this pretentious environment, I would rather die and my body shrivel up in its grave. Just one year was giving me a headache, a lifetime would surely kill me.

"Honey, are you... are you sure she's the woman you picked? She's uglier than most of our maids, honey!" Jolene Beaumont finally spoke up, introducing me to her incredibly screeched voice, that made me want to run myself over with a car.

Her voice scratched against my eardrum, a horrible sound that probably sounded very stylish and elegant to her. But, to me, it was just nails scratching on a wooden desk.

"Jolene, don't be rude to your guest. Liz, come sit here. Don't mind her words, she's just too tired from her trip." Florian tried to bandage the situation, and I sat down in my seat quietly.

What was the point of arguing when the truth was this crystal clear?

"But, honey–" Jolene started again, but was cut off with a firm glance from Florian.

"Don't push it, Jolene. Drop this topic." Then, he turned to Cathy, "Cathy, go bring the food. I'm hungry."

I noticed how the only person who could control this unruly brat was Florian. His power and dominance over the household wasn't a joke, yet, he was a slave of his love for André. Something big must be the apple of discord between these two, for his son to be so shameless and rebellious.

Since I was here now, I would find it out sometime. My gut was telling me that this vital piece of information would tell me why André was the way he was, because he wasn't as much of an idiot as he posed. As irresponsible or supercilious he might be, André wasn't a fool.

His mother was silent all the while the maids brought our food, though her dirty glare was continuously directed towards me. Even with all the delicacies in front of her, this woman wasn't happy. If my mama saw her like that, she would disapprove of it so strongly.

Mama had always taught me to appreciate food on the table, no matter how scarce it was. It had been a rule in our house since day one, and I never dared to break it. Even on days when we barely had anything, my mama was happy with her dried bread and vegetables. Seeing this ungrateful woman disregard her food like that was so annoying for me to watch.

Silence successfully prevailed for almost ten minutes, and everyone ate the food on their plates. It should have come as a relief, but the silence was like a time bomb, waiting for the seconds to time out, so that it could burst.

Exactly a minute later, Jolene started again, this time, towards her right. "André dear, have you heard your dad? You don't wanna get married, do you now?"

Surprisingly, André had been extremely quiet ever since his mother had returned. Even tonight, he didn't even spare a glance at me, let alone speaking to me. Even now, as Jolene asked him a question, he ignored it as if he hadn't listened anything, and kept on fiddling with his food mindlessly.

Her son was obviously on edge because of something, but it seemed that Jolene didn't know that. Either she just didn't know how to read her own son, or she was too desperate to get his negative reply.

"Son, I'm asking you something. Do you, or do you not know about this? Since when has she been here? What the hell is going on dear?" She kept pestering her son, while I scoffed internally.

It was as if she couldn't even digest the fact that I was a living human being. Or that people like me lived along with her on this planet. Even then, I thought this bomb would burst because of me. I wasn't aware that it wasn't me, but André.

The peace of the room was shattered as André threw his utensils on his plate, resulting in a loud clang sound. My ears didn't welcome the unpleasant sound, and I pinched my nose. Florian seemed to be surprised as well, while Jolene flew from her seat, and returned a split second later.

Why did she have to egg him on, if she was so afraid of her own son? I realized I couldn't understand this woman and her strange actions, but I could one similarity in the mother and son – their habit of blowing hot and cold. It was absolutely bemusing and annoying, and had the ability to make a person mad.

I suddenly felt really, really bad for Florian.

"Dad, I have to go now. See you later," André said as he stood up. He totally ignored me and his mother, and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

The loud noise startled Jolene again, or maybe it was her son's cold behavior towards her. She didn't seem to be accustomed to seeing this side of him, but somehow, I could make out that it was a regular thing.

And even though I didn't really like the woman, I felt bad how she had to deal with such a brat on a daily basis. No mother should have to go through that, at least.

Seemingly hurt, Jolene stood up from her seat as well. She gave me one last dirty look, and stepped out of the room. I felt all the tension in my body dissipating in their absence, feeling fresh air entering my lungs again.

I lifted my head to look at Florian, and he smiled sadly at me. "Are you okay, dear?"

I nodded. "As good as I could ever be."

I didn't say much at the moment, because no matter how strong he looked, I knew it was hard to live in such a house. I'd understood Florian's hardships in just my second dinner, and out of pity, I stayed silent.

Finally, that steak looked as delicious as it tasted.

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