11 Sister, Forgive Me.

Jean still had no response. She was waiting for her father to speak.

"Dear..." After a long wait, her father finally spoke.

It was this word that nearly made Jean burst into laughter.

Dear? Dear? Dear?

That was the funniest joke that Jean had ever heard. Jean raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled sardonically.

"Ha!"

Jean's father was stupefied. He had no idea why she was smiling at him like that.

"Sister, father and I have come here to apologize for our mistakes. We are your family. Why are you behaving like this?"

'What a family!

Did you consider me as a member of the family when you beat me with the broom?' These thoughts ran through Jean's mind. She glared at Shirley. Surprised by Jean's odd behavior, Shirley fidgeted. She didn't know what else to say to Jean.

"What am I doing? What have I done?"

"Jean Wen!"

The tone of her father's voice was a clear indicator of how he truly felt. Jean lifted her chin in defiance.

'Ha, he couldn't pretend any longer, could he? Didn't you call me dear just now? How quickly he reveals his true nature!'

Jean looked at Shirley before glancing at her father. The expression in her eyes was so cold.

It was a sunny day but somehow, Jean's father felt a shiver travel through his body. It was almost as though someone had poured a basin of ice-cold water over him.

"So, why are you here?"

Since her father had lost his patience, Jean felt there was no need to be civil either.

Although Jean was fully aware of their intentions, she didn't plan on letting them know.

However, her father was burning with anger. It was beneath him to humiliate himself before Jean like this. He would have slapped her for her disrespectful behavior had it not been for that land.

"I..."

After another long pause, that was all that Henry could bring himself to say to Jean. Jean knew that her father was having a difficult time expressing himself because he could notswallow his pride. He scolded her on the phone. He called her unfilial. He had said that she wasn't his family anymore. And now, he had to apologize. Knowing her father, Jean wondered if he would ever be able to admit that he was wrong.

Henry was over fifty years old. Jean studied his face. The only indicator of his age was the graying hair at his temples. In all his years, and with all his wisdom, this was how her father behaved? This was the first time that Jean felt that the man standing in front of her was pretty pathetic.

Despite her resolution not to forgive her family for all the hurt they had caused over the years, Jean's heart quivered.

She seemed to be a little hesitant.

When Henry refused to speak, Jean decided she had wasted enough of her time. And so, she spoke first, "Since there is nothing to talk about, I shall leave."

Jean nodded and took a step back. As she swung the door close, Shirley quickly stepped forward and stopped the door. She was aware of why her father couldn't bring himself to apologize. However, they had a plan to manipulate Zed into completing the land transfer process. It was imperative that they make peace with Jean. And so she smiled and held Jean's arm. With a sweet smile she said, "Sister, don't be angry.You see, our father has come to apologize. Besides, there cannot be any hatred between a father and his daughter, can there? After all, he is still our father even though he made a mistake, right?" 'So, as per Shirley's explanation, I'm to blame for everything?'

Jean was a little puzzled. She looked at Shirley and then glanced at Shirley's hand that was holding her.

She was in no mood to forgive her sister who had framed her yesterday and gave an insincere apology today. On top of everything, Shirley was still lying about Jean hitting her with the broom!

"Since when has our relationship been so close?" The disgusted look on Jean's face and her cold words were a clear indication that their plot had failed.

Jean removed Shirley's grip on her arm as she spoke.

Shirley was too embarrassed to keep smiling. She wondered why Jean was behaving so differently. This person was not her sister. At least, Jean wasn't a forgiving, meek person as before.

Her father was very displeased with Jean's attitude toward Shirley, but he was helpless. He could not afford to get angry with Jean.

They were in this mess because he let his anger get the better of him. Now, he had to wait.He would take care of this bitch after he got the land.

He forced himself to smile despite what he was thinking.

"Dear daughter, I know you are still upset with me. After Shirley told me what happened and I understood that she was at fault, I realized that you were right to teach her a lesson. You are her elder sister and she didn't show you any respect."

Jean supposed that these two hypocritical people would go away after she had made her feelings clear. But she had underestimated their impudicity.

"Yeah, I know I was wrong, sister. Forgive me, please!" Shirley repeated after Henry hadstopped speaking. "Would you forgive me if I stab you with a knife and then apologize?"

Jean's expression was sour and both, Shirley and her father had nothing to say to her hypothetical question.

Although Henry and Shirley could see from Jean's expressions that she was cold and unforgiving, what they didn't know was that her heart was breaking. It had taken an immense amount of courage to stand up to her family.

Not far away, a man sat in a fancy car. He watched this whole sordid exchange between Jean, Shirley, and their father. He smiled at how Jean stood her ground and refused to her family manipulate her. This woman seems to have changed!