"You must be happy now, right?"
The words sliced through the air, and Lily looked up from the table, her body going rigid at the cold edge in her mother's voice.
Her mother stood there, arms crossed, her gaze sharp and accusing. "What are you looking at me like that for? Are you upset because I'm ruining your little celebration? Is that it?" Her voice rose, raw and bitter. "Are you even my daughter? How could you stand against your own mother, against your own family? Do you even care what you've done to us? How could you… after all these years?"
Lily felt her pulse racing as each word pierced her, but she could barely open her mouth before her mother's hands gripped her shoulders, squeezing tightly. "Are you satisfied now that your father's decided to leave me?" she shouted, her voice cracking with fury. "We've been together for decades, Lily! Decades! And now look—look at the wreckage you've left behind. Are you happy, Lily? Tell me, are you happy?"
