Sadie even changed her surname.Rita decided to wait until the next day before going back to her father's place; there were some questions she needed to ask Karen in person.She did not plan on telling her father about this for the time being. With so much happening lately, coupled with the fact that Karen was pregnant with a baby boy, telling him would not likely make any difference. She needed to hold onto this leverage and use it to her advantage at the right moment.Despite all the troubles, life went on as usual. Rita focused on her work, and she planned to think about her future once she wrapped up the case. Over the years, she had received invitations to join the entertainment industry, but she always declined. She disliked that industry at the time, and as a heiress, she did not need to compete with others for a living.However, things had changed. She had her own things to do; she could no longer rely on the allowances her father gave her.'It might not be so bad to work
Vince found it intolerable for the money to be a loan. After all, that money rightfully belonged to him, so why should Rita want to repay Sherman?Rita refused to tell her father why. She could not let him ruin her plan since she had decided to repay the money.At that moment, Karen—visibly pregnant—came downstairs."What are you doing coming down?" asked Vince."Rita rarely comes home for a visit. Why do you insist on driving her away? Can't we all sit and talk as a family?" replied Karen.Rita could not help but roll her eyes inwardly at the sight of Karen. However, she had questions for her, so she forced herself to remain calm.Vince turned to face Karen with disgust. "Do you know what Rita's saying? She wants to pay back the money the Parr family gave us! Can you believe it? If I didn't know her any better, I'd think she's crazy! That amount of money is like chump change to them, whereas it can set us up for life!"Rita, even if you don't think about yourself, you should th
Rita took a deep breath. It seemed that Karen had come prepared, and Rita wondered what surprises Sadie had in store for her upstairs. Nevertheless, since she was there, she had to make the best of it. At least that was what she told herself.Knock, knock, knock!"Sadie, Dad wants you to come downstairs for lunch. Your mother is hungry," Rita called out.Sadie became visibly irritated upon hearing Rita's voice. "Alright, got it. You can go downstairs now."Rita did not care whether Sadie actually came down. After receiving a response, she immediately headed downstairs.Karen looked surprised to see Rita entering the dining room alone. "Rita, I asked you to call Sadie. Why hasn't she come down yet?""I did call her, and she asked me to come down first, so I did.""Oh... Is that so?" Karen continued to glance upstairs, but there was no sign of movement. Even Rita took a quick look."Are you sure you called Sadie? Why isn't she coming down yet?" asked Vince.Rita was speechless.
"Must you be so rude and harsh? I guess you can never expect nice words from a despicable person." Sadie crossed her arms and glanced condescendingly at Rita. She could not stand how Rita treated the marriage to the Parrs as elevating her to a higher social class.Rita chuckled. "Only a bumpkin like you would think that way."Sadie's expression then changed abruptly, for she detested being called a country bumpkin, especially by Rita."Who are you calling a bumpkin?""I'm merely stating the truth. You are a country bumpkin, aren't you? Your entire being screams 'village girl'.""What did you just say?!" Sadie seethed. "You don't know anything! I'm the most fashionable person in school. The girls in school take cues from me all the time when choosing which clothes to buy. You're the 'village girl' here! Just look at how you dress! Who are you to call me unfashionable when you're not even fashionable yourself?"Sadie was arguing incoherently, while Rita found herself growing calmer
Vince nodded in agreement.Rita and Sadie soon took their places at opposite ends of the table. As soon as Sadie sat down, she lowered her head in dejection.Vince asked casually, "What's wrong? Did you have a bad night's sleep?"Tears welled in Sadie's eyes as she lifted her head.Rita could only marvel at Sadie and Karen's increasingly dramatic performances. She felt that they ought to dabble in an acting career, as Sadie would be able to make a name for herself and have an outlet to put those acting skills to good use.Having to deal with their charades was exhausting. There were times when Rita had to put up an act too if she wanted to escape swiftly from a particular predicament.Rita struggled to contain her laughter as she thought of all that while reaching for her favorite dish."It's nothing, Dad. Rita doesn't come back often, so let's not dwell on it any longer. Let's eat. You said you were hungry, didn't you, Mom? Go ahead and have more of your favorite dish."Vince
Rita never knew that she had become such a troublemaker in her father's eyes. "Fine. If you say I'm in the wrong, then please enlighten us on what exactly I've done to offend you, and why that somehow made you decide to put on this act in front of my father," Rita retorted. She leaned back in her chair and smirked at Sadie.Sadie frantically waved. "I'm not accusing you of anything! This is just a misunderstanding on Dad's part." She turned to Vince and tried explaining, "Rita didn't do anything. It's all my fault! I was just upset when I woke up. It has nothing to do with Rita. Don't take all this the wrong way. I miss Rita a lot now that she doesn't come back often."Rita's smirk only fueled Vince's anger. "Unbelievable! Show some respect, Rita. Now that I've seen you threaten Sadie right before my eyes without even the slightest hesitation, I can't imagine what you've done to her when I'm not around. Apologize to Sadie right now, and promise me you'll never behave this way again."
Vince then reflected pensively. "That's good. I hope you don't let me catch wind of you contacting anyone you shouldn't have. You know how much resolve it took for me to bring you out of that place, and you've also promised me you'd never look back to your past. I can safely say that I've fulfilled all my responsibilities to both of you over the years, and I've been able to give you whatever you wanted. I don't want any of you dredging up the past, and that goes for Rita too."He then turned to Rita and said, "Just because you're my daughter doesn't mean you can act however you want. You haven't even apologized for what happened earlier. Who taught you to throw your cutlery like that? You used to be so well-behaved at home, but your attitude changed completely as soon as you married the Parrs. How do you expect to set a good example for your sister?""Are you getting senile? When did I have a sister? You're not seriously going to tell me that you're raising someone else's daughter as
Rita could no longer contain herself when Vince brought that up. She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet before addressing her father condescendingly, "I've never asked you for anything, and this will be the only time I'll ever make a request with you."Please stop begging Sherman for money. I'll provide you with whatever you need, and it's not like the company needs financial assistance after the recent injection of capital. Why are you asking him for more? Can't you at least let me have some dignity?"Vince immediately stood up and slapped her to silence her. "I can't believe I ever raised such a heartless daughter! Are you going to tell me you've fallen for Sherman? You mean nothing to him, so stop pretending! Whatever monetary request I ask from him is between him and me. You just need to keep quiet and cherish your time with him while he's still interested in you. You'll come crawling back home anyway when he gets tired of you and divorces you. That's when you'll begin to