My Wife Wants a Divorce by Red Little Fruit

"Going over the top?" As if hearing a funny joke, Old Mrs. Flint slammed her hand down on the table and sneered, "Mr. McDaniel, do you think Julien and Syd are going over the top by handling the matter this way?"

"Isn't it?" Mr. McDaniel looked displeased. "Erin made a mistake, but it wasn't intentional. Is it necessary for Julien to go so hard on us? We can issue an apology announcement. Isn't that enough?"

"So, this is how you people see this matter." Old Mrs. Flint sneered at the old man. "As I see it, it is necessary. I don't care whether your granddaughter did it intentionally or not. All I know is that she did it. Without verifying the truth, she unilaterally concluded that Syd had cheated on Julien, and she made it public online for what? Wasn't it to make Syd suffer the criticism of netizens? But have you ever thought about what Syd might do if she couldn't bear the cyberbullying?"

"I know." Felicia squinted at Mr. McDaniel. "It's very likely that Ms. Raines would collapse mentally due to cyberbullying and even commit suicide. This kind of thing happens all the time, and many victims end up dead."

"Exactly." Old Mrs. Flint nodded. "In other words, your granddaughter almost caused Syd's death. Julien loves her so much, so why can't he sever ties with you? You almost caused him to lose the love of his life. In a word, I am supportive of their decision."

Mr. McDaniel blanched and turned livid. He was rendered speechless.

After a while, he got his voice back and spoke stiffly, "It's not that serious. Ms. Raines is fine, isn't she?"

"Syd is fine, but that's not the reason that you can disregard your mistake," Old Mrs. Flint snorted.

Mr. McDaniel clenched his fists. "It's our fault, and we are willing to apologize to Ms. Raines and even provide compensation. But she... wouldn't let it go, and Julien is affected by her. He wasn't like this before." "He wasn't like this before, but now he is?" Old Mrs. Flint's expression turned cold. "Are you indicating that Syd has led him astray?"

Mr. McDaniel hurriedly waved his hand. "No, that's not what I meant. I just want to say that Ms. Raines is part of the reason that Julien is unwilling to forgive us. Maybe she disagrees. No offense, Mrs. Flint, I know you like her, but I would advise you to think carefully. Julien is my student, and the Flint and McDaniel families have always had a close relationship. The outside world knows that Julien has always respected me. If it becomes known that Julien severs ties with his mentor just because of a few words from Ms. Raines, what will they think of him? Will they think that Julien abandoned his mentor for a woman? That wouldn't be good for Julien's reputation, would it?"

"Oh?" Old Mrs. Flint lowered her head and chuckled noncommittally, "So, what do you suggest?"

Mr. McDaniel picked up his cup and cleared his throat. "I simply want you to talk to Julien. Persuade him and Ms. Raines to give Erin and our family a chance to make amends. No one will benefit from it if we let such a small matter strain our relationships. This is what brings me here. We're desperate because Julien refuses to answer our calls and meet us. So, we want to seek help from you. What do you think?" "In short, you came to me because you want me to mediate and help reconcile your family with Julien and Syd, correct? Or to be more precise, you want me to command them to forgive and make peace with you. Am I right?" Old Mrs. Flint cut him short, sneering at him.

Mr. McDaniel stopped beating around the bush as the old lady had laid it bare. Rubbing his hands, he said with a smile, "That's what I mean. As I said, this matter is not so serious. It wasn't Erin's intention, and we're willing to apologize to Ms. Raines and compensate her for any losses. So, I think Ms. Raines shouldn't escalate the issue further. After all, Erin was trying to protect Julien. As Julien's woman, she should understand and even accept our apology instead of putting Julien in a difficult position. Besides..."

Mr. McDaniel put down his cup and continued, "To put it plainly, it's just a squabble between younger generations. An apology and some compensation should resolve it. If Ms. Raines keeps holding on to it, causing a rift between our two families, it only shows that she's narrow-minded and intolerant. If she remarries Julien, I doubt she will be of much help to Julien. On the contrary, she might distance Julien from other families which are on good terms with the Flint family. So, why don't you take this opportunity to guide Ms. Raines to be more magnanimous? Otherwise, she will bring trouble to your family." He was implying that Sydney was a troublemaker.

Old Mrs. Flint and Felicia were not happy to hear that.

Felicia patted Old Mrs. Flint's shoulder to calm her down before stepping forward and sneering at Mr. McDaniel.

"Well, do you think we can't comprehend your insinuation? By deliberately belittling Ms. Raines in front of Old Mrs. Flint, you're trying to tarnish her image and make Old Mrs. Flint dislike her. Then you hope Old Mrs. Flint will intervene and break up Ms. Raines and Mr. Julien. Nice try, but you're fooling no one. Old Mrs. Flint and I are not fools. We can see right through your motives. We've seen people like you."

"I didn't..."

"Enough." Old Mrs. Flint raised her hand to interrupt Mr. McDaniel and said impatiently, "I don't know if you're foolish or just plain stupid. Since you came here to persuade me, hoping that I would convince Syd and Julien to accept your apology and mend your relationship, then you should praise Syd in front of me, not belittle her. After all, you know very well that I'm very fond of her. Maybe if you had praised her and made me happy, I might have agreed to help you. Unfortunately, you foolishly blocked your own path."

"That's right." Seeing Old Mrs. Flint planned to stand up, Felicia bent down to help her. "Do you think we don't know why you're trying to tarnish Ms. Raines's image in front of Old Mrs. Flint? You're trying to use her to break up Ms. Raines and Mr. Julien, aren't you? We know very well that your true intention is to secure a position for your granddaughter."