Chapter 7 Rigorous Father

I feel so embarrassed when I hear everyone laughing at me. However, while I lie on the ground, an unfamiliar anger gets the lead on my body. I make a fist, and I push myself up. As I looked around, I saw the guy sitting there who had humiliated me in the morning. I don't know what was happening to me, but I walked over to him, and I held his neck. He struggles, but his thin figure can't do anything against me. I punched him and pushed him down to the floor. I wanted to kick him as well, but I couldn't as two teachers appeared and held me back.

"You two, get into the school principal's office immediately, " one says, and we are both dragged out of the room.

The way isn't too long, and we are seated separately. We need to wait.

"You are going to regret this," the boy said. I only looked in another direction and said nothing.

"Can you hear me? Do not ignore me." He says. He talks funny as I have struck him, and he must hold a tissue to his mouth, which is bleeding.

We had already waited for about half an hour when his mother arrived. She covered her mouth when she saw her son, and I felt nauseous watching the scene as the boy hugged her like a small child would hug his mother after a fall.

However, after kissing her son, she makes him sit down again and turn to me.

"How dare you touch my son?" She asked me in anger.

I turned my head away, and I ignored her. For a moment, I felt it was funny she must defend her beloved son against a girl.

"How rude!" she says, and she walks toward me. "What have you been thinking?" she asked me again.

"Stop it!" I looked up as I heard my mum's voice. She turns to her.

"Is this how you raise your daughter? Hurting my innocent boy?"

Mum walks over to me and caresses my face.

"I know my daughter, and I am sure there is a reason behind her behaviour."

The woman still wants to continue but remains quiet when the secretary invites us into the principal's office.

We sit down, and the principal asks what happened. He wants me to talk first.

"I have been bullied this morning. He wanted to get close to me, and he asked me to undress, but I told him off. Later, when we were in the dining room, he made me fall as an act of revenge in front of everyone, and I got angry."

I say, and Mum holds my hand, telling me quietly that she supports me, but I'm just getting more frustrated when the boy says that I was the one who wanted to seduce him by offering him to touch my naked breasts. He didn't like me at all, so he refused me. I took my revenge by acting like I fell on the floor in the dining room because of him, putting him in this situation.

Finally, the principal stated that he doesn't tolerate aggressive behaviour on these premises and told us that we would be dismissed from this school if that happened again.

The day is about to end, so my mum is taking me home. She tries to make me speak, but I don't want to. I feel like this is my problem, and she can't be with me all the time, so she won't be able to help me.

It is the evening when my dad returns home, and we all sit at the dining table. I'm staring at Spencer's place, which is empty this time. However, I move my gaze when my dad makes me listen to him.

"How was school today, Cora?" He asks me with evident frustration, and I catch the moment Mum puts her palm on his hand under the table. I know he is asking me for a reason, so there is no point in hiding anything from him.

"One of my schoolmates bullied me, and I got into trouble because of that," I answered shortly. Indeed, my mum told him everything anyway. They were the perfect couple; they never argued before us, and even when there was some misunderstanding around them, they solved the problem quietly. They always told each other everything, especially about their children.

"You ended up in the principal's office as you miscue the boy."

I lowered my gaze in embarrassment. How could I tell him it wasn't my fault?

"I am sorry. I have lost my mind a little."

Dad put his cutlery down and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Cora, you know our family's influence on the state. You know that we have businesses even in Europe. The Astor family's reputation is perfect. You can't behave like that."

My mum looked meaningfully at him, but Dad ignored her this time.

"Dad, I am sorry. It is just that he hurt me first."

"I don't care who was first. I never want to hear about your fight again. You are an Astor. You're supposed to be a lady with excellent manners. A lady, an Astor, never does such a thing. Do you understand me?"

Even if he didn't shout, his voice was dominant and scolding. I wanted to argue with him. I wanted to be told that the boy humiliated me, but I knew his answer. Even if I was bullied, even if I was harmed, I should have found a way to get out of the situation as a lady. Indeed, he expected me to let the boy hit me and wait for help to arrive.

"Now, get into your room and think about what you have done," he says. My mum wants to stop him, as I didn't have an opportunity to taste my supper, but Dad makes it clear with a glance that she won't be able to make him change his decision.

I slowly stood up and left the room but heard Dad talking.

"Find her a psychologist." He says.

"No, I don't think she would need one, Ray. You know that she gets bullied at school all the time. Spencer and Ethan always defended her. Now the boys are gone. You can't expect her to let others bully her."

"Caroline, this is not normal. She can't fight at school. Find her a psychologist, otherwise I will find her a school where they will teach her manners."

He says something that makes me scared: I don't want to be locked up. My mum tries to calm him down. I wanted to hear their conversation, but I didn't like the servants to see me standing there, so I went to my room.