Lady Matilda felt a sudden throb in her temple. The headache wasn't just from fatigue, it was from sheer disbelief.
She hadn't known her son-in-law had been waiting outside her home all this while.
Her sharp gaze landed squarely on Jessica. "Are you truly human?" she hissed. "How could you leave your husband out there in the cold, in the dead of night, just waiting for you?"
Jessica blinked, stunned.
"Why didn't you bring him in?" Lady Matilda's voice cracked like a whip.
Jessica's lips parted, desperate to explain herself, but no words came. What excuse could she possibly give? Everything she could think of sounded either pathetic or disrespectful.
With this grandmother, Jessica always seemed to be on the losing end of the battle. Every. Single. Time.
As she scrambled for the right words, Lady Matilda's voice exploded again—louder, fiercer.
"Are you less than any of the Santiagos that you would leave your husband out like a beggar? For no reason at all?"
