Chapter 420 Was I Such a Failure as a Mother?
Penny instinctively covered her face with her hand, and her tears immediately rolled down her cheeks as she glared at Lara aggrievedly. Then, she yelled furiously, “How could you hit me just because I refused to obey you on this one matter?! Am I really your daughter?! I’m just your tool! You are a tyrant—domineering, selfish, cruel, and merciless! You’re a modern-day version of Genghis Khan! No, you’re worse than that! You’re the devil himself!”
At first, Lara had felt a twinge of guilt. However, when she heard those words, her temper flared up immediately again. Thus, she struggled to break free and hit Penny again for good measure, but Edward held her back firmly. “That’s enough. Don’t get violent again. Why are you fighting with your child?”
Lara continued to struggle against him. “Let go of me!”
Edward stopped her with all his might whilst saying to Penny, “Penny, why don’t you leave for now? Your mom is too angry right now. Don’t provoke her anymore!”
Meanwhile, Lara pointed at Penny and roared, “If I’m the devil, then you’re the devil’s spawn! How are you any better than me?!”
On the other hand, Penny sneered, “Being born as your daughter is the greatest sorrow of my life! Who else has a mother like you?! Other people have mothers who speak to them gently and lovingly. Moreover, it’s normal for them to receive hugs and kisses from their mothers! But, what about me?! How many times have you ever hugged me in my entire lifetime?!
I can count them with my fingers! I didn’t put in so much effort when I was younger because I liked studying! I did it because I wanted to see you and hear you praise me! When I was sick or having a fever, the only people by my side were the servants! When I didn’t dare to sleep at night, you threw me back into my room without any hesitation at all!
You’re not my mother! You’re more like a slave master to me! Every time I see you, you have a new order for me to carry out. From interfering in my life’s choices to determining the criteria for choosing a spouse—I’ve always obeyed you. I’ve never disobeyed any of your orders before.
But, I realized that no matter how much effort I put in or how obedient I am, you’re never satisfied with me! Every single time, you only consider things from your point of view. You’ve never even considered what I want.” She stopped for a moment. Noticing that Lara was about to say something, she added, “Perhaps I’m wronging you by saying all these.
It’s not that you’ve never cared for me. It’s just that I’m not as important as making money to you. Whether it’s me or dad, your greed comes before any of us. For the sake of your never-ending desires, you’re willing to sacrifice anybody! I will find my own boyfriend myself. If you think those men are so great, you can adopt a goddaughter into the family and marry her to them!”
After saying that, she turned to leave.
“Don’t you dare leave, Penny Nolan!” Lara was so furious that she was seeing red. “You ungrateful child! Is that what I’ve taught you since you were young?! Didn’t I do it all for your sake? The reason you can live so gloriously and enjoy such a respectable career right now; isn’t it because I planned it all out for you?! What else could you possibly want?!”
Penny spun around abruptly. “You taught me?! What have you ever taught me?!”
Edward anxiously said, “Penny, please don’t say anymore. Just leave quickly!”
“Dad, stay out of this. For once, I’m saying what’s always been bottled up inside of me. If she’s mad at me, then she can hit me!” Glaring at Lara, she continued, “Do you think I’m enjoying a respectable career? You don’t know that I actually have hematophobia. Every single time I have to perform surgery, I feel so disgusted that I get chills.
You don’t know what I had to go through just to be able to stand in front of an operating table! Besides, I hate performing surgery on people! Even more than that, I hate watching their painful struggles as they die! You don’t know how long it took for me to get over my boyfriend after you forced me to break up with him!
You don’t know how much work and effort I had to put in to fulfill each one of your orders! It doesn’t matter anymore; I’m an adult now. In the future, I will make my own life choices. You can take my words as the words of an unfilial daughter. No matter what, I’m grateful to you for giving birth to me. I’m leaving now.”
When Penny finished her rant, she turned around and left the villa.
Lara stared at her back as she left. In the end, she did not stop her from leaving again. Instead, her legs gave way under her as Edward helped her over to the sofa to sit down. “Was I such a failure as a mother? I planned everything out for her… Was I not doing it for her sake?”
