Chapter 71

Howard said, "Mom, if you'd brought Zinnia back and had a proper talk with her, maybe even let her sweet-talk Grandma a little, wouldn't that have solved the issue just as well? Not only that, but it could've been a chance to fix your relationship with her. Instead, you made this choice, and now you've pushed her further away. You've completely broken her heart, Mom."

Howard felt lightness in his chest as he listened to Maelis’s words, frustration bubbling up inside him. He continued, "And pulling the post down so abruptly will only make the online chatter worse. We should’ve taken a different approach to minimize the damage. Betty could’ve issued a sincere apology, and we could’ve released a statement saying that she’s family in every way that matters. Letting everyone know we’re standing behind her would’ve worked just as well, wouldn’t it? Over time, people would’ve moved on, and this whole mess would’ve blown over. Zinnia isn’t the type to hold grudges forever. So why did you have to make this decision? And another thing—we haven’t even officially acknowledged Zinnia as our daughter. She’s our own child, and we owe her that much."

Howard rubbed his temples, his headache worsened. He couldn’t understand why his mom always seemed to make things harder for everyone. Before coming home, he’d even wondered if Zinnia had exaggerated the situation. But after hearing Maelis’s reasoning, Howard realized with a sinking heart that convincing Zinnia to come back home would now be nearly impossible.

The image of Zinnia’s cold, distant gaze from earlier that afternoon flashed in his mind, and it stung deeply. This was the second time she’d been abandoned. Howard didn’t have a particularly close bond with Zinnia, given how little time they’d spent together. But even with that distance, he had never once thought of giving up on her. He figured their lack of connection was due to the short time she’d been back. He felt that Zinnia might be a bit headstrong, but he never imagined their relationship would deteriorate to this extent.

Maelis opened her mouth to respond, hesitating, "L… Betty has been so upset about the online backlash, Jackson refuses to take down the post, and so many people are attacking Betty. Your father came home and insisted I ask Jackson to remove the post. Your grandmother said if I wanted the post taken down, I had to make a choice. I thought she was just venting her anger at me and Zinnia…."

Maelis spoke with a hint of grievance, her voice trailing off. She really hadn’t thought it through. "Zinnia is my daughter! How could she ever turn her back on me?" Maelis murmured softly. They were mother and daughter by blood. She had reached out to Zinnia multiple times, but Zinnia had never shown her any warmth. Deep down, Maelis felt hurt.

"Mom, Zinnia might not reject you outright, but you’ve broken her heart. And when the heart is wounded, it’s not something that can be easily mended," Howard said, his voice heavy with resignation. Zinnia had only just been brought back to the family after seventeen years apart. She hadn’t grown up with them, didn’t share deep bonds, and now, being treated like this, repairing their relationship in the future would be far from easy. True families aren’t a cure-all. If they were, Zinnia wouldn’t be ignoring him while calling his brother so warmly, again and again. Every time she called his brother, it felt like a jab to Howard’s heart. He was supposed to be her third brother, yet after all their encounters, she hadn’t called him even once. The jealousy and bitterness gnawed at him.

But then, remembering Maelis’s words that Donald asked her to let Sury take down the posts, Howard frowned. He thought, "Mom might not grasp the consequences, but how could Dad not? Why would he make her handle it?"

Maclis stayed quiet, her thoughts tangled in her mind, they were mother and daughter and their relationship couldn’t truly be severed.

"Are you saying all this to blame me for making the wrong choice?" Maelis snapped, frustration bubbling over. She’d comforted Betty, been pressured by Suzy, misunderstood by Zinnia, and now Howard was questioning her too.

"Mom, that’s not what I meant. I just wish you’d talk to us before making such big decisions. We could have worked together to figure something out. Please, don’t be mad," Howard said, his tone softening as he tried to calm her down.

"You all—none of you understand me! You are all busy with your own lives, and I’m left here dealing with everything alone. Only Betty stays by my side. I just wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be so heartbroken. The forum posts had nothing to do with Zinnia and didn’t harm her in any way, so I thought asking Sury to help take them down was the best option."

"And now Zinnia went and complained to you? Betty was right—she’s such a disappointment. When Suzy was making things difficult for me, Zinnia didn’t speak up for me. She just stood there watching. If I hadn’t been pushed to the brink, would I have agreed so quickly?" The more Maelis spoke, the more aggrieved she felt.

"Mom… Zinnia didn’t come to me to complain. We were arguing, and she accidentally let it slip," Howard said, instinctively wanting to defend Zinnia. But hearing Maelis mention that Betty was right, he frowned. He thought, "Did Betty say something to Mom about Zinnia?" The thought left him uneasy.

"Didn’t I already explain this to you?" Maelis snapped, her tone tinged with frustration and blame. She felt hurt that her son wouldn’t take her side or help ease her mood.

"Mom? Howard? What’s going on here?" Yosef’s voice cut through the tension as he entered the living room, his sharp gaze taking in the scene.

"Vasel, you’re back. Howard’s saying I was wrong," Maelis said, walking up to him with a hint of grievance in her voice.

"What happened?" Yosef asked, his piercing gaze locking onto Howard, his tone demanding.

"Zinnia’s upset and won’t come home. Mom’s already reached out to her several times—she’s done more than enough. This time, it wasn’t intentional. Howard, how could you talk to her like that?" Yosef said coldly, his eyes sweeping over Howard.

Yosef believed that a grown man like Howard, coming back to criticize his own mother—no matter what, she’s still their mom. If there were issues, they should handle them themselves instead of troubling her.

"I’m sorry, Mom. I lost my temper earlier," Howard said sincerely, his earlier anger now replaced with calm. He realized he’d gone too far and offered a heartfelt apology.

Maelis dabbed at the corner of her eyes, suppressing the ache in her heart. As a mother, she felt she’d done enough by reaching out to Zinnia multiple times.

"Yosef, you must be exhausted from work. Have you eaten yet? I’ll ask the chef to prepare your favorite dishes," Maelis said, her worried gaze shifting to Yosef.

"Mom, there’s no need. Just have Amy make me a bowl of herbal soup," Yosef replied, shaking his head. His company had been negotiating a partnership with the Perkins Group, which had extremely high standards for details. Yosef had been working overtime for weeks, juggling demanding negotiations with the Perkins Group. Exhausted and reeking of alcohol from a business dinner, all he wanted now was a bowl of soup and some rest. The faint smell of alcohol lingered on him; he had just returned from a business dinner. Right now, all he wanted was a bowl of herbal soup and a chance to finally rest upstairs.

Chapter 72