Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 246: Mother and Child

“Why are you here?” I asked before I could stop myself.

I glanced nervously in Dahlia’s direction just to find that she had already closed her eyes. Because I knew that she was just awake not so long ago, I knew that she was just pretending to be asleep and that was probably because she didn’t want to deal with the unknown visitor.

Other people might have thought that what Dahlia did was completely rude; however, it worked well in my favor. I stared at the woman who just entered the room and felt thankful that Dahlia had decided not to pay her any attention.

Why is my mother here of all people?

It was rare for my mother to attend any kind of parties or events hosted by the Vulkan family and that was because she wasn’t allowed to do so without explicit permission from Alfred. However, there must have been a good reason why she was standing in the same room with me while I was still actively acting as Anthony. The grim looked on her face and the cold way that she was staring at me told me that I had done something to displeased her. Given what had just happened, it would be more accurate to say that I had done something to displease Alfred and that he had probably gotten my mother involved.

“What have you done?” she asked as if she didn’t already know what had happened.

Her voice shook with anger and I figured that my father must have said many mean words to her. It wasn’t the first time that my actions led to dark or even severe consequences for my mother. I could tell that she was angry, but above everything else I could sense her fear. The fear of being abandoned by my father. The fear of being cast aside and the fear that she would be labeled once again as someone inferior and useless to the Vulkan family.

“I didn’t do anything. As you can see here, Diana felt sick and she fainted,” I replied calmly.

“I get that she fainted, but why are you still here? Why aren’t you out there taking part in the riding competition just as your father had planned?” she asked accusingly.

I had already realized that this was all about ruining Alfred’s plan of putting on a show to entertain the guests and making him lose face must have felt like the biggest issue ever for the Vulkan family.

“There was a lot of commotion when Diana fainted. Everyone was worried about her and wasn’t really paying any attention to the contest. Isn’t it supposed to be natural to take care of the sick before worrying about the ongoing event?” I asked her return as I felt a stubborn streak form in my mind.

“You still don’t get it, do you? You still don’t see what you’ve done wrong. You’ve made a fool out of your father, and you’ve tainted the name of the Vulkan family! I keep telling you that this isn’t about you. This is about something much bigger than you!” my mother raised her voice and I figured that she must have forgotten that we weren’t the only ones in the room.

I would have feared that her loud voice would wake up Dahlia had she truly been sleeping; instead I dreaded that she had to hear everything that my mother was saying. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“Let’s talk about this outside. Diana is resting and we shouldn’t disturb her,” I suggested as I turned and headed for the door.

“Don’t you dare run away from me! Why do you have to be such a troublesome child? Why can’t you just do what you are told? You do you have to always cause so much trouble for your father and also from me? And now you’re just going to run away?” my mother asked accusingly as a deep frown formed between her brows.

I truly disliked the way she that she blamed me for everything whenever her relationship with my father became strained. Not once in my life had my mother taken my side or protected me from my father’s wrath. She never acted like the stereotypical loving mother that would always put her child first. She never defended me or listened to any of the explanations or justifications that I had to tell her. How she operated was extremely simple: If I did anything that displeased Alfred and caused him to blame her, then I was the one to blame.

“Calm down. I’m not trying to run away. All I’m saying is that we should talk about this somewhere else where we can be alone and not disturb Diana while she is resting,” I repeated my suggestion slowly and calmly.

“This is driving me crazy! I’m always taking the blame for you! You have no idea how angry your father is right now and what that is going to do to me. I feel so crushed. I feel so frustrated, and even after all that I’ve said you’re still not apologizing? Don’t you feel sorry for all that you’ve done? Don’t you realize this is all your fault?” my mother went on a long rant again as her voice got louder and louder.

“You should head back now. Follow me outside, right now,” I said as I tried to reach out for her hand.

A loud slapping sound rang out when she slapped my hand away with a look of pure disgust on her face as if she couldn’t bear for me to touch her. The look in her eyes were somewhat resembled hatred and that sent a cold shiver down my spine. The situation was truly getting out of hand and I started to fear that I was risky blowing my cover. I glanced over at Dahlia to see that she still had her eyes closed as she continued playing Sleeping Beauty.

My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to deal with my mother and what kind of explanation I should tell Dahlia when she woke up.

–To be continued...

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