Tainted

Kanalaa took her time getting ready and driving to her grandmother's house to meet her mother. She could've actually just meet her in her house but she chose her grandmother's because she knows they are at odds. Her grandmother was not happy when everything went downhill. She bet her grandmother said something hurtful.

As soon as she entered the house, her mother was waiting for her. She didn't know what happened between her mother and grandmother when they met but it's good that her grandmother is not around.

As soon as Karolina saw Kanalaa entered the house, her face lit up in excitement. She didn't what went wrong with their relationship. When she left their house, their relationship was maintained but as time goes by, she felt Kanalaa's aloofness with her and it grew to hostility.

"Let's get through this, shall we?" Kanalaa welcomed, eyes narrowed, her arms folded tightly across her chest as she stared at her mother, her jaw clenched with determination.

"Darling–" Her mother's voice wavered as she reached out tentatively, her hand hovering in the air before dropping back to her side, her expression a mix of sadness and longing.

"Stop calling me that. Call me by my name, just like everybody else," Kanalaa's tone was sharp, her gaze unwavering as she met her mother's eyes.

"Don't be like that, Kanalaa. I'm still your mother. I love you, okay? You just arrived, let's just talk calmly first." Karolina offered a sweet and gentle smile even with her voice trembled with emotion, her eyes pleading for understanding.

"You gave birth to me and were a mother at my early age, and that's it. That ends there. Tell me, what is it that you really want?" Kanalaa's voice was firm, her stance resolute as she stood her ground.

"I honestly just want to spend time with you. You are my beloved daughter, therefore it is only normal for me to want to have some time with you regardless of your father's and my separation. We separated, but it doesn't mean our ties as a mother and daughter are severed," her mother explained, her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture.

Kanalaa shook her head. "You made your choice years ago, didn't you? You chose your now-husband and your children," Kanalaa's eyes flickered with a hint of resentment, her shoulders tensing with suppressed emotion.

"They are still your siblings, Kanalaa," her mother insisted, hoping for Kanalaa to acknowledge them in her life.

"Stop pushing things on me. To be honest, I don't want to have anything to do with you. It's best we cut ties here. This way, at least we could still preserve some good memories," Kanalaa's voice quivered with unshed tears, her fists clenched at her sides.

"I don't want that. I love you, okay? I have equal love for all my children. That didn't change when your father and I separated," her mother's voice cracked with sorrow, her eyes glistening with tears.

"No, I don't want to hear any of that. Please, just go. Forget that you have a child with my father," Kanalaa pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.

"How can I even do that? You are asking me for an impossible thing," her mother sighed heavily, a tear rolling down her cheek as she struggled to maintain her composure.

"Then you should have thought it through before going to your now-husband," Kanalaa's voice was tinged with bitterness, her gaze hardened as she met her mother's eyes.

"I've been trying to mend our relationship. I am trying my best to be by your side, but you keep rejecting and pushing me away," her mother's voice cracked with desperation, her hands trembling at her sides.

Remembering how many times did she reach out to Karl for Kanalaa's presence but her daughter rejects her every time. She even knew how her gifts for were thrown away by her. Kanalaa also did not want her to contact her directly.

"And you still don't understand that I no longer want nor need you in my life. You could have just stopped trying when I told you no. You could also have spared angering me even more," Kanalaa's voice rose with frustration, her fists clenched tightly as she fought to control her emotions, losing patience for their circling exchange. She could burst anytime. Despite they are at odds, she wants to avoid screaming at her.

"I see, you're still mad at me. Is it wrong for me to love? I didn't forget you, Kanala. I tried to be by your side so I wouldn't miss so much in your life, but each time you pushed me away," her mother's voice was filled with sorrow, her shoulders slumping with defeat.

Karolina's words triggered Kanalaa. "Goddamn love! Will you not stop? I asked you to stop, didn't I?! Do you really want to end our relationship on a bad note?! Don't get me started!" Kanalaa's frustration boiled over, her voice echoing through the room as she paced back and forth, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"Kanalaa, do not scream, hmm? I'm just trying to talk to you, to mend our relationship," her mother pleaded, her voice soft and pleading as she took a step closer, her hands outstretched in a gesture of reconciliation.

"No, you can't even take accountability for your decisions in life. You even tried to gaslight me using love, for goodness sake!" Kanalaa paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself, her chest heaving with emotion. "I'm not a child, can you hear me? I'm old enough. If you really want to save this relationship, stop contacting me and disappear from my life," she said, her voice cold and final, her gaze unwavering as she met her mother's eyes with a steely resolve.

"Don't do this to me, Kanalaa. Please, I'm begging you. Don't remove me from your life."

"You fucking cheated!" Kanalaa's scream at her mother. Finally releasing the truth that ignites her anger towards her mother.

"You fucking cheated on my father! You cheated with someone you once called friend! My father took a hit because of that! But who wouldn't when he trusted you wholeheartedly? Didn't my father satisfy you enough? Di–"

Kanalaa was cut off with a thundering voice intervening full of warning, "Kanalaa!"

"Watch your word with your mother," Karl stated, being aware of what Kanalaa have said earlier before his interjection.

"No! Fucking no!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, not minding how it hurt her throat.

Kanalaa threw her bag with so much force on the floor with her bursting anger. With a very strong emotion coming out of her, her tears trickled down her face, her breathing in abnormal pace.

"She cheated on you and you all kept it from me! I didn't speak about it for years, understanding your decision! I kept it all inside!" She beamed, hitting her chest hoping the pain and heaviness on the inside will lessen.

"I only asked her one thing, one thing and still cannot respect it!" She continued, hysterical with the situation.

"Calm down, darling. Huh?" Karl tried to sooth her, hoping for her emotions to subside somehow. He tried to hold her in his arms offering a comfort but Kanalaa strongly resisted his hold and struggled against.

Karolina watched how her daughter is in hysterical beacuse of the matter. She never knew that her daughter is in pain. Not only her eyes reflecting pain and misery with her Kanalaa's situation but also her heart and mind that are tearing. She can't do anything for her daughter as she knew it will only fuel Kanalaa even more, letting Karl to deal with it.

Karl, who treated his daughter preciously is breaking seeing how mess she became. Regardless how old is she, the result of their decision didn't lessen on his daughter's part.

"No! It's now or never! Let's finish this! You, dad, I never said it to you, respecting you. I even asked you to ask her to stop pushing herself in my life but you kept taking her side for insisting to meet her each time," her accuse to Karl. It pained him even more and felt like he is tearing apart, thinking Kanalaa could be spared from misery, they chose to keep it from her.

Kanalaa's attention averted to her grandmother, "You there, granny, did you know any of it? How about grandy?" Kanalaa asked her grandparents who are now standing beside Karl. Her grandparents denial is her saving grace at this point. She'll break into smithereens if she will ever say she knew. She looked at her, eye to eye, wishing.