"What? Natalie offered a mocking smile, her eyes gleaming with wickedness. "Were you expecting me to say that if I fail, I'll give up all my inheritance in the family?"
Sephina was caught off guard as this was what always worked on Natalie- Challenge her, push her to fail, and then take control over her.
Seeing her grandma shocked, memories flashed before Natalie's eyes, memories of past manipulations that had shaped her into the woman she was now.
"Grandma, if I win this competition, will you let me pursue it? I love making perfumes," a younger Natalie had once pleaded.
"Alright, but what if you fail?" Sephina had asked.
"I will give up on it," Natalie had promised, only to have that dream crushed when she inevitably failed or most precisely she was pushed to fail.
"Grandma, my teacher said I'm skilled at piano, and I can win this competition."
"What if you fail?"
"I won't play again."
