One Fine Night

"Go away! Get as far away from this house as possible and never return!" Paeng threw two big bags into the yard while Charita was confused.

"What, what are you doing, Paeng? Why did you pack all my clothes, as well as my daughter's, then throw them like this." Charita ran to get her big bag.

"Hey! Are you so stupid that you don't know what's happening, Charita!" Paeng laughed smugly, her evil expression like a stepmother in a classic fairy tale.

"Tell me what you mean?"

Paeng approached Charita, and the woman glared in a low voice. "You don't know? After my brother died, you and your daughter are no longer of any value in this house, so you should leave. You are no longer part of the Parthatap family." She looked very fierce when she said it.

"No way." Charita refused to understand. "My husband died just two days before, and tonight you're kicking us out? Isn't Chali the sole heir to this house?"

"Hey, stupid woman. You can't say without proof, what do you have to be like this? I reiterate that you and Bella are not part of the Parthatap family anymore. Do you understand?"

Charita shook her head. "Chali once showed me that he is the sole owner of this house. How can you evict his wife and daughter? I will contact the family lawyer."

Just as Charita was about to call someone, Paeng snatched the cell phone, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it until the screen cracked.

"Paeng! You've gone too far!" Charita screamed in panic.

Paeng laughed. She has no human heart to be so mean. "You just realized? I've never liked you as a sister-in-law, and this situation has been coming long."

Charita's eyes turned red, and she almost cried as she picked up her broken cell phone. "How could you change like this?"

"Shh. Shut up. I'm tired of acting."

From the direction of the gate, a taxi stopped. Bella appeared there, and the girl had just attended the evening lecture. Bella frowned, seeing her mother and aunt in the courtyard in a strange situation.

"What's going on now?" Bella muttered softly, and she ran over to Charita. It turned out that the woman was already crying. "Oh, my Mom. What happened? Why are you crying?"

"It's good that you're finally home, Bella," Paeng spoke, showing no mercy to them. "Quickly take your mother away from this place."

Bella was confused. "But why, why would I leave?"

"Not only your mom, but you should follow her too. Get lost, and I'm tired of seeing you living in this house." Paeng was about to leave, but Bella quickly prevented him. Paeng was annoyed and pulled his hand from Bella's choke. "Don't touch me!"

"Tell me what happened, Auntie? Why is my mom crying? Why did you kick us out?"

"You don't understand yet?" Paeng looked at Charita. "Hey, sister-in-law. It will help if you say something to your daughter. Why cry?"

"Please, Auntie. Just tell me what happened." Bella pleaded. She could not bear to see Charita crying.

"Fine if you insist." Paeng grinned. "Starting tonight, you and your mother are not part of Parthatap's extended family, and I'm expelling you both, so get out of here!" Paeng's voice rose at the end.

"Expel?" The thick books that Bella had been clutching finally fell to the ground. She was pretty surprised to hear all that. "But, why, isn't everything fine? What did me and Mom do wrong that Auntie did this?"

"Bella, never mind." Charita's voice was heard. Bella turned her head and approached the woman.

"But, Mom. What's wrong? Why is Aunt Paeng doing this?"

Charita shook her head, and she chose to pick up Bella's books.

The sound of a car horn was heard from the gate. Paeng's daughter had just come home, the elegant Balila Parthatap.

Paeng smiled broadly when Balila exited the car after the driver opened the door for her. Balila was born five months when Bella turned a year old.

"My beautiful daughter, you're finally back." Paeng hugged Balila and kissed his forehead. "How was your day?"

"Everything was fine, Mom."

Balila gasped at the strange scene before him, a crying Charita and Bella staring intently at Paeng and Balila.

"What's going on here?" Balila looked at Paeng. "What's wrong with them, Mom?"

Paeng invites Balila to stop. She lifts her chin and looks back at Bella and Charita with hatred. "They don't deserve to live in this house, so they should leave as far away as possible."

"What?" Balila was surprised. "But, why kick them out? They are part of the Parthatap family, ma'am."

"Not anymore." Paeng shook his head.

"Do you know?"

"We've been discussing it since your uncle died."

"You've gone mad!" Charita suddenly screamed. She quickly pushed Paeng until her sister-in-law fell to the ground. "You are so evil, Paeng! You're so vile!"

"MOM!!!" Bella and Balila shouted together. Bella pulled Charita back while Balila helped her mother to stand up.

"How dare you do that!" Paeng could not accept Charita's rude behavior, he approached and intended to slap his sister-in-law, but it was not Charita's face that was successfully touched by Paeng's hand. Still, Bella's face, the girl was already standing ready before Charita.

"Mom!" Balila shouted again. Her heart was too soft to witness every bad thing tonight. "Already, Mom. Don't hit Bella, and there's no need for this." She pulled Paeng back.

While Bella was still silent, she did not move even though her face felt hot. Charita hugged Bella, and she cried hard again.

"Already, Bella. It's over. You don't need to be like this, and you don't deserve it. If they want this house, just let go, mom can accept all this. Don't let them hurt you, child."

"I just want to hear the reason, Mom. Did you know about this before?"

Charita shook her head. "We have to go now, and I don't want to see you being abused again. That's enough, Bella. I understand."

"Go away, you guys! Get out of this house! My husband and I won't let you come back again, get as far away as possible!" Paeng yelled and glared, he pointed at the gate, and even the driver didn't dare to fight Paeng. The man could only watch as Charita forced Bella to make them leave.

"Mom is fine, Bella. Trust me, and we will be fine." Charita tried to make Bella relent, but without saying much, the girl followed her mother's wishes. They left armed with two large bags without knowing more about the real reason for tonight's forced eviction.

When Bella's steps stopped behind the gate, she saw Paeng one last time before the woman invited Balila into the house that had been Bella's residence for more than twenty years.

"Mom, what should we do after this? Where are we going to live?"

This a classic question that made Charita take a deep breath.

***