208 The Apology 6 (2/2)

After enough time had passed, Joann turned to her daughter to ask, ”Sylvia, what do you think?”

Joann knew it was wrong to pass the pressure of making the decision to her daughter but as the party that would be most affected by their decision, Sylvia had all the right to throw her opinion into the hat. Furthermore, Joann was indeed curious in her daughter's honest opinion.

Sylvia looked at her mother and she sighed, ”Mom, I wish I can help but you've caught me in the middle of a rock and a hard place. Obviously I don't want you two to break up but I don't think I can gloss over what dad did either.” Sylvia paused to gauge her mother's reaction before continuing, ”I'm sorry, I couldn't be of more help, mom.”

”Sylvia, don't say that. You've helped tremendously already. This family would have fallen apart already without you holding it together.” Joann said that to comfort Sylvia but to her daughter's ears, it sounded like some sort of omen. It felt like Joann was telling Sylvia, she was going to the key deciding factor what would happen to their family and she was not sure she appreciate having that responsibility on her shoulders.

Then again, if it could help release some of the weight on her mother, Sylvia was more than glad to chip in.

Then she remembered something important. ”Mom, dad said he'd give you as much time as you need before you're ready to talk to him. If you want, he is willing to move out of the house so you can have the space to yourself. Do you want me to talk to him about it?” Xu Jing told Sylvia about it earlier when they were down in the living room. Sylvia was tasked to inform her mother about it but she only remembered it then.

Joann did not know to respond. In spite of everything, she was appreciative of the concern Xu Jing had always and continued to show her.

It was why Joann told Sylvia, ”It's okay. I don't need him to move away. At the end of the day, he is still the master of the house. What are people going to say when they see him wandering all alone outside. It's not good for the image of the house.”

”Okay, I understand.” Sylvia was glad that her mother said so because it meant that she still cared about the family name. Sylvia took that as a good sign.

Sylvia added, ”Mom, is there anything else you need from me? Anything I can do?”

Joann turned to her daughter and smiled. ”Come here.”

Sylvia leaned against her mother's shoulder and her mother said, ”I just need you to stay with me for a moment. That's everything I need from you, after all, you've given me... I mean, us more than enough already.”

The fact that her mother still saw her father and herself as a unit was a good thing. Sylvia took that as a sign of comfort and obliged.