Tiffany was smug, certain she had successfully painted Claire as the villain.
Ophelia and Karla immediately walked over.
They had heard Tiffany's loud accusation, and if left unchecked, the family might actually start thinking Claire was a disrespectful brat.
"Watch your words, Tiffany. Shouting at a younger relative like that... are you deliberately trying to ruin Claire's reputation?"
Unlike Ophelia, Karla had zero qualms about offending people; her tone was icy and sharp.
Tiffany shrank back slightly under Karla's glare, but her stubbornness won out.
She kept her chin high. "I wasn't trying to scold her, but she literally told me to divorce my husband! Is that something a junior should ever say?"
"I always knew you people looked down on me, but if even a kid thinks she can order me to divorce, how am I supposed to live in this house?"
Karla glanced at Claire. She knew the girl wasn't one to cross the line without reason.
What exactly had Tiffany said to provoke her?
Claire knew that if she stayed silent, Tiffany's theatrical victim act would drag her name through the mud.
She let out a light laugh. "Why don't you tell everyone the whole story, Tiffany? Why leave out the part where you complained about your miserable life in the Churchill family, and how desperately jealous you are of Victoria and Eleanor's wealth?"
"I merely suggested that since your husband clearly can't satisfy your immense greed, you should seek better prospects elsewhere."
"With your outstanding ambition, maybe you should just marry royalty."
"You're lying! I never said that!" Tiffany shrieked, defaulting to flat denial.
Before Claire could respond, Yolande stepped forward.
"She did say it. Claire was only standing up for me."
As soon as Yolande corroborated the story, Tiffany turned livid.
She never imagined her own daughter would publicly betray her.
She shot Yolande a venomous glare.
Seeing Yolande expose her own mother's toxicity, Claire saw no reason to hold back.
She explained to the gathering
crowd that Tiffany had been trying to force Yolande into a blind date -with a divorced man who already had kids:
She had only spoken out of line because she was completely disgusted by it.
"Perhaps it wasn't my place as a
junior to suggest divorce," Claire said calmly. "But if you weren't trying
to sell Yolande off while whining
about your own miserable life
Wouldn't have said a word
"A blind date? Didn't you explicitly warn your wife about this?" Padgett's booming
voice cut through the chatter.
He glared at Owen Churchill.
Owen Churchill's face drained of color, cycling from pale to a furious red.
He thought he had made himself perfectly clear to Tiffany.
She had sworn she would drop the matchmaking scheme.
He had no idea she possessed the audacity to bring it up at a family gathering.
"Tiffany, have you lost your mind? Setting Yolande up with a divorced man who already has children?"
Pandora was the first to step forward, her finger pointed sharply at Tiffany.
"She is a daughter of the Churchill family! Marrying her off to someone like that are you trying to trample
the Churchill name into the ple
"Just because you're inadequate doesn't mean you have the right to throw your daughter into the fire!"
"What kind of mother acts like this?"
If anyone else had said it, Tiffany might have fought back, but Pandora was a senior elder.
Tiffany had just tried to use her 'elder' status to silence Claire; now, a true elder was publicly tearing her apart. There was no way out.
"Exactly. Yolande is our blood, yet you, her biological mother, don't want what's best for her."
"Look how upset she is. What on earth is wrong with you?"
A chorus of condemnation erupted from the crowd.
Tiffany's face burned with humiliation.