Chapter 166

"How is this possible? That room gets the best sunlight in the whole house. It's the biggest and the most comfortable! Joyce has always stayed there," Katrina protested.

"I think it's high time we fix that mistake," Daniela said without missing a beat.

"But..." Katrina paused, fists clenched, "Joyce just had a baby! What do you expect her to do now?"

Daniela's tone stayed calm. "She can share a room with the baby. What's the problem with that?"

Katrina quickly shook her head. "That's out of the question! Joyce has always had everything she wanted.She can't stay in that small room with bad airflow. The baby is still so young, he can put up with it. And once the child gets older, we'll need more space. Joyce simply can't stay there."

Daniela just smiled lightly.

Just then, Cedric came out of another room, dragged a chair over, and took a seat next to Daniela.His calm presence felt like a shield of reassurance.

Katrina's usual confidence seemed to wither under his piercing gaze. She glanced at Cedric, then forced a stiff smile. "Mr. Phillips, this is a family matter."

Cedric returned her look with a playful grin.′′|sthat so?" He didn't even move, staying completely still.

Feeling uncomfortable, Katrina turned to Caiden with a look that begged for help.

Caiden was about to ask Cedric to leave when Daniela interrupted in a cool, collected tone. "This house was part of my mother's inheritance, and I'm her only child.In my mother's house, I can invite whoever I want. If )some people aren't happy with that, they're welcome to leave."

Her words hit hard, and Caiden's face twisted in anger.

Daniela, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to his reaction. Katrina, irritated but trying to maintain composure in front of their guest, forced another smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Alright, Daniela, if you're so determined. But Joyce can't move out of the room just yet. How about this?There's a nice guest room downstairs. You can stay there for now. Once the baby's a bit older,we can switch. Surely, you wouldn't take a room from a newborn and her mother, right?"

Her suggestion was cleverly made.

Joyce clapped her hands in approval.

After all, who needed more protection than a new mother and her baby?

Katrina had a plan in mind.

Daniela would settle into the guest room for now, and later, whether she moved back or not would be entirely her choice.

If she found the guest room uncomfortable and chose to leave, that would be ideal.

Daniela wasn't one to make a fuss over things.

She had always accepted the smallest, stuffy room upstairs without a word of protest.

Katrina was sure this time would be no different.

She believed that as long as she offered Daniela a half-hearted excuse, she'd quietly comply.

"Alright, let's leave it here," Caiden said, clearly agreeing. At least, in his eyes, Daniela never stirred up trouble. "Now, everyone go get cleaned up for dinner."

Caiden stood up, and everyone thought the matter was done.

But then Daniela spoke again, her tone cold and composed. "Feel free to eat if you want, but I'll be clearing out that room this afternoon."

Her words took them by surprise, quickly erasing the smug expressions from their faces. Joyce blinked, staring at Danielá in shock. "What did you just say?"

"I used to stay silent," Daniela said, her lips curling into à cold half-smile. "But I've realized there are fights worth engaging in. Otherwise, some people around here might start thinking they have control."

The disdain in her voice was unmistakable.

Caiden's face turned bright red with fury. He hissed, "You're such an ungrateful daughter!"

"Ungrateful?" Daniela's eyes narrowed as she turned to Caiden, her expression sharp and unwavering. "If l were truly ungrateful, would you have ever married Katrina? When my mother passed,who swore he'd never marry again? Were those tears of yours ever genuine? And who, in the dead of night, staged a dramatic display of sorrow, saying the senior shareholders didn't value you and your shares were too small? Who manipulated me into signing that share transfer agreement? And after that, what happened? Just days after my mother's funeral, you married Katrina. Do you have any idea what people were saying about my mother at the time? They claimed she was too controlling, that you'd drifted apart from her long before. They said her strong personality wastoo much, and if she'd stayed alive, you'd never have achieved anything. You heard it all, didn't you? But you never said a word in her defense. Not once. So what do you really have to show for yourself? Everything you have now came from my mother. I tried to be the bigger person, tolerated your new family, and never caused any trouble here. And what did I get for it? A cramped, windowless room.And I couldn't eat at the table. I was given threadbare blankets in winter and had to walk in the rain without a ride.Joyce, on the other hand, always had a driver ready. But me? | couldn't even get someone to hold an umbrella for me."

Her voice dropped to a frigid tone. "You call me ungrateful, but l've given up enough for your second chance at happiness. From now on, I won't be making any more sacrifices."