Chapter 385 - 381: Rotten Wood Cannot Be Carved

But before Monica Coleman’s words had even landed, and before Cecilia Sterling could respond, Shoshanna Perry slammed her chopsticks on the table with a CLACK.

"Mom!"

She stood up, her face a mask of petulant anger as she stared at her mother. "Is this how you entertain guests? By humiliating your own daughter?" she said resentfully. "I’m your own flesh and blood, aren’t I? How could you say that about me in front of outsiders? Right to my face! Do you think I have no pride?"

"’You are the company you keep,’ really? What do you take me for?"

"Well, you know what they say about bad company, too! Aren’t you afraid that this perfect daughter of someone else in your eyes will be corrupted by me after we hang out and lose all her ambition?"

"If you like her so much, then why don’t you just adopt her! I’m clearly not good enough to be your daughter!"

Shoshanna Perry’s words became a tearful, irrational shriek. She then spun around and ran upstairs without a backward glance.

"Shoshanna!" Wendy Duncan called out instinctively.

But Monica Coleman said, "Let her go."

Jasmine Sterling was mortified. She had never been in a situation like this and had no idea how to react.

Cecilia Sterling gently patted her mother’s arm, letting her know it was all right.

Wendy Duncan was closest to Monica Coleman, so it fell to her to speak first. "Monica, she’s older now. You can’t just disregard her dignity like that. Say what you will in private, but this really wasn’t the right time or place."

How could Monica Coleman not understand this?

She lowered her head, silent for a long moment, before letting out a sigh. "To all of you, I might seem like a successful career woman. But I’m not successful at everything. When it comes to being a mother, I have to admit I’m a failure."

As she spoke, she slowly raised her head and looked at Jasmine Sterling. "Jasmine, first, I must apologize to you."

Jasmine Sterling grew flustered. "Mon-Monica? Why would you apologize to me?"

Monica Coleman looked at her, then glanced at Cecilia Sterling beside her, and said in a low voice, "When we first met and I learned how outstanding your daughter was, I admit I had an ulterior motive."

"You wanted me to be friends with your daughter, Miss Monica?" Cecilia Sterling interjected.

Monica Coleman looked at her and nodded gently. "She’s been spoiled rotten, but she wasn’t always this way."

"I have my own ideas about how to raise a child. I wanted to raise my daughter to be someone I could be proud of, but how could I when the entire family was working against me?"

She gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Her father spoils her, her grandparents on his side spoil her, and her grandparents on my side dote on her. I’m the only one who ever tries to discipline her, which makes me the bad guy."

"You all saw it. In her eyes, I’m both a mother and an enemy. If I say a single harsh word, she gives me that look. Then, when her father gets home, she runs to him, whining and complaining. She’s a giant baby!"

"So, Jasmine, I truly admire you. Raising three children on your own and having them turn out so wonderfully... When it comes to this, I’m really no match for you."

"Miss Monica, I understand your deep love for your daughter, but you’re really going about this the wrong way." Cecilia Sterling listened to Monica Coleman but offered no polite, comforting platitudes. She could see this was a genuine struggle in the woman’s life—a deep-seated issue for Miss Monica. Therefore, she felt she should state her thoughts honestly.

Cecilia Sterling continued, "Belittling and criticizing her is useless; in fact, it’s counterproductive. You wanted your daughter and me to become friends, but by saying what you just said in front of me, you’ve already put us on completely opposite sides. I’m sure your daughter sees me as an enemy now. We can’t be friends."

"Besides, you can’t force people to be friends. I can be polite and friendly with anyone on the surface, but a true friendship requires a real connection. I don’t know your daughter at all. Did you really expect us to become true friends after meeting just once?"

"Cecilia..." Jasmine Sterling, fearing her daughter was being too harsh, looked at her and shook her head, a silent, soft warning.

But Monica Coleman, who had calmed down, simply nodded. "Cecilia is right. I was at my wit’s end and grew desperate. I made things out to be too simple. But I truly don’t know what else to do."

Her helplessness was plain to see.

Cecilia Sterling understood. ’Neither of us are little kids anymore. A young seedling can be replanted and cultivated, but rotten wood... cannot be carved.’