The words had barely left her mouth before the crowd erupted in cheers and agreement.
"School is a place for proper education! We can't let someone like her ruin it! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and I won't have my child corrupted!"
Maria's face spread into a satisfied, self-assured smile as she basked in every last syllable of flattery.
I stood there, and the scene before me felt like something from a fever dream.
She truly believed her husband was some powerful, untouchable figure, worth parading around like a trophy for all to see.
What she didn't know was that without me, that brilliant husband of hers would still be groveling at someone else's feet, begging for scraps.
I was the one who'd lifted him to the top. And I could just as easily crush him back down to nothing.
I reached out and pushed the villa door wide open.
Someone spotted me. The roaring, festive atmosphere died in an instant, snuffed out like a candle.
Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto me, loaded with disgust and contempt, the kind of look people reserved for garbage.
The loudest voices from moments ago were the first to screech:
"Well, well. The mistress actually dared to show her face!"
"Do you have no shame? You know what you did, and you still have the gall to bring your little bastard to our doorstep?"
I was about to respond when I felt the small hand in mine tremble. Carly shrank behind me, pressing herself against my back.
I reached down immediately and covered her ears with my hands, then lifted my gaze to the crowd.
"Every single word you've said today, you'd better have chosen carefully. Because when the day comes that you're begging me for forgiveness, it'll be too late for regret."
The crowd burst out laughing, as if I'd lost my mind.
Maria stepped out from behind them, unhurried, chin lifted, eyes dripping with contempt. She looked at me the way someone looks at an insect beneath their shoe.
"You really think warming a man's bed for a few nights and popping out a kid gives you the right to run your mouth at me? Get on your knees. Right now. Bow your head to the floor and beg my forgiveness, and maybe I'll have my husband toss you a few scraps. Otherwise, the consequences won't be something you or your daughter can afford."
The crowd erupted.