Tasha, who used to look down on this corner of the house, had come today with a request.
The musty smell of the long-unoccupied room made her uncomfortable.
"Sunny, don't be so cold. We don't have a deep grudge, do we?" Tasha forced a fake smile.
Sunny ignored her, sitting by the chair and taking out her phone to check the news.
Tasha stared at the phone, eyes gleaming with the idea of secretly finding Leo's number.
But then she decided to just ask Sunny for it directly.
Sunny wouldn't reject this.
"Sunny, do you have Leo's phone number? Can you give it to me?" Tasha asked boldly.
Sunny looked up, her gaze cold. "No."
Sunny, who used to lack the confidence, now felt no obligation to easily give her boyfriend's number to another woman.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Tasha's face darkened at Sunny's blunt refusal.
"Sunny, are you just trying to spoil my fun? You eat, live, and use what's ours. Isn't it over the top for you to act so high and mighty?" Tasha angrily shouted, pointing at her.
Sunny, wanting to block out Tasha's words, couldn't escape the familiar script of their arguments.
"My mom is your dad's legal wife. Using his money is legal. And she gave him two sons, making it even more legal," Sunny replied firmly, without the timidity of her youth.
Tasha, rendered speechless, grew even angrier.
"What about you? Why do you get to use our money?"
"Because I'm my mom's daughter. I use what she gives me." Sunny asserted.
Tasha's face turned red with fury. "Your mom, that shameless woman, only uses her sons as an excuse to spend my dad's money on her luxury life. I know her background, that low-class woman from who knows where!"
Tasha's face stung from Sunny's swift slap, red and white marks appearing.
"How dare you hit me?" Tasha, who had never been touched by Sunny before, was shocked.
Sunny glared coldly. "If you insult my mom again, I'll tear your mouth apart today!"
Tasha, intimidated by the threat, was at a loss for words, mouth agape in a mix of tears and anger.
"Do you want Leo's number? Dream on! I won't give it to you. In the past, you could take anything from me, but not him. Got it?" Sunny warned.
Tasha, stunned by Sunny's fierce expression, froze.
Then, clutching her swollen cheek, she ran out crying.
Sunny's head throbbed, anticipating another family conflict.
She just wanted to be with Moira today.
Soon, her stepfather, Eben, Moira, and a tearful Tasha came upstairs.
"Sunny, did you hit Tasha? Apologize now!" Moira demanded, though softly, her anxiety evident.
Sunny replied coolly, "Yes, I hit her for being disrespectful."
"Sunny, what did my daughter do to you? You could have scolded her, not hit her! Look what you've done to her face!" Urban, seeing his daughter's swollen cheek, was heartbroken.
Sunny's taekwondo training had made her punch harder than average.
Tasha's face was numb, her crying making her seem like a victim.
Sunny said coldly, "I'm not good at arguing, so I used my strength."
Everyone knew Sunny trained in taekwondo, which is why Tasha never dared to fight her, knowing she'd lose.
Moira urged anxiously, "Sunny, apologize to Tasha. Hitting someone is wrong."
Sunny's eyes welled up. She couldn't bear to see her mom standing meekly beside Eben.
She wanted to tell her mom the truth, but seeing Moira's apprehensive look, she bit her lip.
She couldn't ask her mom to hate this family as she did.
Moira relied on Eben and had two young sons. Sunny had to suppress her feelings.
Yet, apologizing to Tasha was beyond her. She could leave, but she wouldn't apologize.
"Mom, I did nothing wrong!" Sunny said firmly.