Chapter 134 Mocking in Secret
Holly’s face went red at the retort, and she couldn’t say anything for a long while.
George sighed and patted her softly. “That’s enough, Holly. I know you love Katie, but you have to be reasonable. Crimes must meet their due punishment. Katie did something wrong, so she should accept her punishment. She did it to herself, and she had to pay for what she did. You cannot save her.”
“No, Uncle George, please…” Katie sobbed as she shook her head. “Uncle George, please, I beg of you, please save me. I didn’t know better, and Isabel and Angie forced me to do it. It’s too cruel to ruin my life for a single thing I did wrong. Uncle George, save me, please save me…”
“No one is trying to ruin your life,” George said. “It was definitely you who did the false accusations and framing. Now the police want to take you away, and that’s simply because you should take responsibility for what you’ve done. That’s just the consequences of your actions; you did it to yourself. No one forced it on you.”
“She can save me, though…” Katie sobbed. “If she lets me go, she could change my entire life… The incident happened so long ago, so why should I be forced to take responsibility now? I know I’ve done wrong, and I’m willing to make it up to her. I will compensate her with anything as long as it’s not getting jailed!”
“How would you expect to repay kindness with evil?” Madeline curved her lips coldly. “I almost died because of you that day, but you never let me off the hook. In these six years, you also never admitted your wrongdoings or apologized to me of your own accord. It’s obvious that you have not really repented or come to your senses. Now, you’re wailing because I found evidence. You say you were wrong and begged me to forgive you, but if there was no evidence at all, I would be branded a thief all my life and you would never reveal the truth. If that’s the case, why should I forgive you?”
“I know my mistakes now, I really do…” Katie cried as she crawled over to Madeline’s feet and bowed her head in apology. “Maddie, please be merciful and forgive me just this once. I was also forced to do it; Angie and Isabel threatened me, so I had no choice… Madeline, you’re only one year younger than me. You know how important reputation is for girls like us. If I really go to jail, my life would be over. Maddie, please take pity on me and let me go just this once. I’ll be forever indebted to you. I swear that I’ll remember your kindness all my life, and I’ll do whatever you tell me to do in the future. I swear, I swear!”
“Yes, reputation is very important to a girl. If her reputation gets ruined, her whole life would be ruined as well…” Madeline smiled an ironic smile as she spoke. “Look, you know it so well! You know that, but you still wanted to frame me and ruin my reputation. Why should I forgive you if you’re so evil?”
Cedric couldn’t stand it anymore as he interrupted, “Maddie, why are you so unforgiving? Katie has already admitted to her mistakes, so why would you break Aunt Holly’s heart because of her? I think—”
“Shut up, Cedric!” Crystal was furious. Her face was flushed, and she had a piercing glare as she reprimanded, “Get out right now. Get lost!”
Michael was taken aback by her outburst and hastily patted her comfortingly on the back. “Crystal, don’t get so worked up now. He’s an imbecile, so don’t stoop to his level. I’ll kick him out right now!”
Joseph, who was standing nearest to Cedric, gave Cedric a forceful kick on the thigh. “How dumb are you? Cedric, if you’re so compassionate, why don’t you try getting called a thief and then get beaten to near-death? If you were the one being called a thief and getting beaten almost to death six years ago, only then would you have the right to talk about forgiveness. If not, then shut your damn mouth! You’re just a hypocrite!”
“He’s right.” Jonathan glared at Cedric. “Cedric, half a year ago, you got into a conflict with someone at the bar. They were many in number, but only a few were on your side. You were at a disadvantage, but since they were in the wrong, they had to take responsibility. After that, you called the police and got them all arrested, but they pulled some strings and asked you to let them go. What did you say back then?”
Cedric immediately went red in the face.
What did he say?
He said that revenge was inevitable.
That was the only time he had been mistreated in all his life. He was furious, and even when the other side asked his dad’s business partner to beg for mercy, he didn’t let up. In the end, all of them were sent to jail.
Even though they were only in jail for six months, it didn’t matter. His wrath was quelled.
They had begged for forgiveness then, and they had asked a very important business partner of Wendel Corporation.
His dad went against the pressure and made the decision for him. That business partner’s plea was ignored, and justice was served.
Of course, he also insisted that the other party pay for their crimes.
He felt like he had actually turned into a hypocrite like his brother said.
At that thought, he blushed in embarrassment and admitted his mistakes as he lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Dad, Mom, Jonathan, Joseph, and Maddie. I was wrong. I won’t do that again…”
Madeline was speechless.
She had to admit that everyone was a contradicting individual, and they had many sides to them.
Take Cedric for example—he was an especially complex person.
He was always so bold and unafraid, and he was especially wild and proud. He looked like someone who would never bow his head and apologize to anyone.
In truth, he was really lacking in the intelligence department. However, he wouldn’t get too stubborn. He would apologize sincerely once he knew his faults, and he wasn’t even mad at his brother Joseph for kicking him. His apology was especially sincere.
She was truly mad when he offended her, so mad that she wanted to dice him up and ignore him for the rest of her life.
However, when he lowered his head and apologized, she couldn’t bring herself to get mad.
Why would she get mad at an imbecile?
If he kept being like this, he would learn to improve soon enough when he stepped into the outside world.
Someday, he might get unfortunate enough that his lack of smarts would be the death of him.
She wasn’t obliged to teach him, after all.
Hence, she ignored Cedric and comforted Crystal. “Mom, it’s okay. I’m not mad, so you don’t have to be mad either. Joseph had kicked him just now, so that counts as punishment for him. Do calm down.”
Joseph not only kicked Cedric, he also gave Cedric a lesson.
Those words weren’t meant only for Cedric; they were meant for Holly as well.
Would she want to be a hypocrite?
When Holly asked for mercy on Katie’s behalf, she was already one.
Everyone there weren’t fools, and they understood perfectly what Joseph secretly meant.
No matter how unwilling Holly was to let Katie go, she could no longer ask for mercy on Katie’s behalf.
