I was too fast for her to react, so she just took it.
But then Alex slapped me back, harder. Even without a mirror, I felt my cheek puff up.
"What right do you have to hit Cecelia?"
Alex was unapologetic and grilled me, "Do you realize how much your mom crossed the line? Using my name, claiming she was my mother-in-law on a live stream. It's messed up our business. Suppliers and clients think I'm playing both sides. Now we're losing advertisers and facing returns left and right."
He shoved his phone at me, showing a live stream of a middle-aged woman, anime effects and all. Looked a bit like Mom, but her face was hidden.
She was selling what Alex sold, but at prices way lower than they were on Alex's livestream channel.
She said as Alex's mother-in-law, she didn't want customers to be taken advantage of by big streamers, claiming she was cutting out the middleman to give folks a fair deal.
Cecelia chimed in, all fake concern for Alex, "You haven't worked for years. It's been tough on Alex alone. If you needed money, why not just talk to him? Why pull a stunt that hurts everyone?"
Alex backed her up, "Your mom's been hustling at that stall forever, could only see the small gains."
His tone now, just like those girls back then, slagging my mom... It felt unreal, like déjà vu.
For a second, I wondered if the brave guy who stood up for me and my mom was just a figment of my imagination.
Cecelia, all high and mighty. "Get your mom out here, let her clear the air. Say she did it to cash in on Alex's fame. None of this mess is on us."
My heart sank watching them tag-team like this.
My husband, my supposed lifelong partner, here accusing me and my mom without a shred of proof.
He'd written off my mom without even checking the facts.
Mom always treated him like her own. Felt bad for him losing his folks young, sometimes put him first before me.
She'd say we were all he had. "If we don't love him, who will? Poor guy."
Ha, guess he didn't see us as his only family after all.
Before I could get a word in, Cecelia was rifling through the dressing room, throwing Mom's stuff around like she'd uncovered a crime. "Your mom's clothes are all here, and you still claim she's gone?"
"Hands off my mom's things!" I lunged to grab the stuff from her.
Alex grabbed me firmly. "Tell me where your mom is, or I'm not letting you go."