She continued, smirking, “Honestly, the only decent one in the Wilson family was your grandpa. Years ago, I resented him for pushing a good son-in-law onto you, but now I see he was looking out for you. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be living so well. He should’ve lived longer, and your grandma should’ve gone sooner! Good people die young, while disasters live forever!”
Elaine, always quick to vent, found exhilaration in her unrestrained tirades. For years, she’d offset any outside frustrations by unloading at home.
Sometimes, she’d deliberately pick fights.
Like now, her initial jabs at Old Lady Wilson were casual, but with Jacob Wilson and Claire Wilson chastising her, she grew irritated. It sparked a defiance, “Oh, I curse that old hag to vent, and you two dare oppose me? Well, I’ll curse her to death!”
Her words poured out like machine-gun fire, “That old hag bullied me for years, even broke my leg! If she dies one day, I’ll buy twenty thousand pounds’ worth of firecrackers to celebrate! Even if the city bans them, I’ll set them off! Lock me up for days, I don’t care, I’ll make sure that old hag has no peace even in death!”
The usually gentle Claire Wilson suddenly stood, slamming the table, shouting, “Enough!!!”
Her outburst startled not only Jacob Wilson and Elaine but also nearby guests.
Losing control, Claire Wilson ignored the stunned gazes, storming out.
Charlie wade hurried after her, while Elaine muttered stubbornly, “This kid, always siding with outsiders, never with me…”
As Claire Wilson burst through the door, tears streamed uncontrollably.
Charlie wade caught up, seeing her tear-streaked face, and asked with concern, “Darling, what’s wrong?”
Claire Wilson shook her head, stubbornly saying, “Nothing, I’m fine…”
Charlie wade sensed something amiss, pressing, “Why are you crying? Your mum’s always like this, honestly, I’m used to it. You’ve lived with her for thirty years, you should be too.”
Claire Wilson broke down, sobbing, “I just don’t want her to be like this forever! I just want her to improve, to get better, to stop breaking everything! Why can’t she do it?!”
“For nearly thirty years, she’s been the same! She’s suffered so many losses, but never learned a single lesson!”
“All these years, she’s never fixed her flaws or problems! It’s always someone else’s fault, always someone wronging her!”
“Do you know the only progress I’ve ever seen in her all these years?”
Charlie wade shook his head awkwardly, asking, “What is it?”
Claire Wilson cried out, “Her attitude towards you! The only thing she’s improved on in all these years is how she treats you. Nothing else has changed or improved at all!”
Charlie wade comforted, “Even if it’s just that bit of progress, it’s still something, right? You can’t say she’s made no progress at all.”
Claire Wilson sobbed uncontrollably, choking, “Yes… there’s that tiny bit of progress… but… but I know it’s not her getting better! It’s you getting better!”
She looked up, red eyes fixed on Charlie wade, tears streaming as she choked, “It’s because your abilities have grown stronger, your connections wider, your wealth greater, that she calls you her good son-in-law, no longer mocking or insulting you like before! At the end of the day, she’s still the same, the same unchanging her!!!”
At that moment, Claire Wilson’s emotions collapsed entirely. She sank to the ground, burying her face in her arms, trembling with sobs.
Charlie wade didn’t understand. He felt Claire Wilson shouldn’t be so sensitive. They say you stop feeling lice after too many bites—he’d endured Elaine’s jabs for five or six years and was immune, so why had Claire Wilson, after thirty years, suddenly lost her composure? He suspected her state wasn’t entirely about Elaine, but he couldn’t pinpoint what else was wrong.
Some things in life are like a maths problem missing a key condition—you know something’s off, but you can’t work out what or find the right solution.
Claire Wilson’s pain was a culmination of years of suppressed frustration, unspoken bitterness, and anguish with nowhere to go.
The thought that in a month she’d vanish from Charlie wade’s world made her heart ache even more.
In that moment, she was the loneliest person in the world.
