"Edward, don't listen to Daisy's nonsense. She's ruthless. Back then, she was the one who did everything to leave the Ouyang family. We had nothing to do with it." Seeing that Edward cared for Daisy a lot, Mary was quite unhappy. She didn't find anything wrong with what she said.
"Miss Ouyang, according to you, my wife is the one to blame. But who had been treating her like a servant for so long? I don't think I need to remind you of that! What do you say, Mrs. Ouyang?" Edward intentionally prolonged the "Mrs. Ouyang" at the end of his question. Judging from Mary's past actions, he didn't think that she was smart enough to undermine Daisy. The most probable suspect would be Mrs. Ouyang who was sitting before him.
"Mr. Mu, what's that supposed to mean? When did we ever treat her like a servant? We raised her in an excellent environment and sent her abroad to study. Can you imagine a servant enjoying these privileges?" Yakira's face turned cold and dark. In the face of Edward's accusations, she became a little agitated. She didn't care that Edward was the object of Mary's affections and started to argue with him.
Edward chuckled darkly. "Mrs. Ouyang, if letting her sleep in the servant's quarters and having her toil harder than the servants made up your so-called excellent environment, then how do you explain that she only got to study abroad after she acquiesced to being kicked out of the Ouyang family? Don't tell me that didn't happen. If I haven't done my investigation, I wouldn't be making these accusations."
Following Edward's humourless laughter, the atmosphere became more oppressive. In that moment, he realized how manipulative the pair was. They knew how to blame their heinous acts on someone else.
"Mr. Mu, don't you think you're going a little too far? I don't think I ever mistreated her. I don't care if you believe it or not, but I have a clear conscience. You can't simply observe some things on the surface and neglect the truth behind them. That girl is rotten to the core. In all those years, she had never accepted us. She always acted high and mighty, and was merciless as could be."
In some way, Yakira was just like Mary. The thing they hated most about Daisy was her innate noble aura. It was as if everyone had to submit to her stern and proud existence. Whenever Yakira saw that, she wanted nothing but to destroy her. That way, Daisy would no longer have such a commanding presence.
"Mrs. Ouyang, are you saying that Daisy is ungrateful? I'm not sure that argument holds. I remember witnessing what happened that night. How would you explain that, Mrs. Ouyang?"
Edward always thought that he met Daisy for the first time at Maple Night. But when he saw Yakira's face grimacing in anger just now, a memory immediately came to mind.
It was a beautiful dusk with a picturesque evening glow. He was forced to attend a banquet at the Ouyang's on behalf of his parents. It was his first time attending an event like this, so he arrived a little early. He decided to sit alone in the garden for some quiet time, but an unexpected commotion broke the tranquility. Slightly annoyed, the bored Edward found his way to the source of the noise and witnessed something he wished he hadn't.
A poor young girl was shoved to the ground, silently enduring the beating and cursing of an angry woman and another viciously laughing girl. The girl hadn't voiced a single protest throughout the abuse. She just bit her lip, unyielding. Her eyes were filled with indifference.
From the two women's cursing, it wasn't difficult for Edward to realize that the young girl was a servant in the mansion. She was being severely punished because she damaged the lady's clothes in laundry. Edward furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. It was just a piece of clothing. They could just buy another one. Why would they abuse the young girl over something so trivial? In that moment, Edward realized that Miss Ouyang and Mrs. Ouyang had a cruel side. If he wasn't there to witness the scene, he would never believe that people still abused their servants in this society.
He watched silently and didn't come forward. Edward didn't make a sound until the two women left. When the young girl started crying in anguish, he came out and coldly said, "I hate crybabies the most. All they know is to cry when something happens. I despise useless women."
He didn't know why he said those things. When he saw the girl's red and swollen face that Miss Ouyang had just slapped, he felt a little pity. Suddenly, he did something he never felt the need to do, that is caring about someone else. It was foreign to him, but he did it anyway.
But he didn't expect that his sudden appearance would cause the girl to react so strongly. She looked up at him, her teary eyes staring straight into his. Edward hated it when others stared dumbly at him, so he flew into rage and called her "a nympho" before quickly walking away.
Edward never remembered this moment until today. But everything came back to him just now. He finally understood what Belinda meant when she told him that Daisy chose to go to military school because of what he said. Apparently, he mistook the other Miss Ouyang for a servant in the Ouyang household.
He was surprised that his fate had long intertwined with Daisy's. It was as if they were destined to be together. He never remembered that evening until now, but recalling Daisy's aggrieved face in his memory made his heart ache.
"Mr. Mu, I think you must've remembered i wrong. Daisy has been the precious jewel of the Ouyang family. She only severed her ties with us after she married you. I want to asked if Mr. Mu has blocked us from contacting her in any way. Do you deliberately separate Daisy from Ouyang family? So you can enjoy other woman's company?
Yakira was an expert in deflecting accusations and turning the tables when her enemies got the upper hand. If Edward Mu wants to get justice for that little bitch, I'll let him have it. Let's see who's truly the guilty one here! She thought furiously.