WRATH OF ELIJAH WEST

A LOUD RESOUNDING SLAP!

After a while, Hayley's car finally arrived at the impressive Greene family mansion. As soon as Dorothy caught sight of the car, she hurriedly rushed over to greet her daughter. "Hayley!" she called out with a touch of anxiety in her voice, "Why are you late? You know your grandmother doesn't tolerate lateness."

Hayley responded with a sigh, "The car was the reason, Mom. I had to go to the mechanic's shop to pick it up, but just as I was about to drive it, a fault suddenly emerged. I had to wait for them to fix it before I could come."

Finally, Elijah stepped out of the car, and upon seeing him, Dorothy lost her composure and became angry. "Why do you bring this useless thing here?" she exclaimed, attempting to strike Elijah.

Hayley intervened, trying to calm her mother and protect Elijah from being hit. "Mom, please don't shout, and you're causing a scene in public," she urged, "besides, he's my husband, not an object. I can definitely bring him along."

Fuming, Dorothy retorted, "Being associated with him alone is already a disgrace."

Hayley spoke earnestly, "Mom, if you continue to block us like this, I will leave right away. And when grandma asks why I didn't come, I'll tell her I came, but you prevented me from entering inside."

Dorothy immediately stopped her aggressive behavior. Still, she spoke in an irritated manner, "I can't believe you are threatening me, your own mother who carried you in her womb for nine months and gave birth to you, all for the sake of this useless fool you call a husband."

She stomped her foot angrily as she reluctantly let them enter the mansion, but as Elijah passed by, she couldn't hide her disdain and immense hatred towards him. Then she trailed behind them.

Dorothy haboured strong hatred for Elijah. The reason for her animosity was that he married her daughter, which resulted in her being ridiculed and mocked by various people, including their neighbors, every day. This constant mockery made her feel embarrassed, especially when spending time with her friends, as they would indirectly taunt her due to Elijah's foolishness. They often boasted about how wonderful and wealthy their own son-in-laws were, making remarks like, "I'm grateful my daughter didn't marry a fool."

Last week, when she mistakenly believed Elijah had passed away, she felt genuinely thrilled. However, upon learning that he was still alive, her anger towards him intensified even more.

"Oh, look who we have here, Mr. and Mrs. Fool," someone remarked when Hayley and Elijah entered the room.

I once heard that Mr. Fool did something embarrassing involving using water from the toilet and putting it in his mother-in-law's pot of soup.

"Oh wow, that's small. I heard that Mr. Fool is sometimes seen where refuse is dumped eating those rubbish," Another said.

Hayley was truly embarrassed and angry at the same time hearing those words yet she could not deny what they were saying. With her head lowered, she passed by them and walked straight to the table. As for Dorothy, she had already separated from them the moment she entered the hall. She knew some of the relatives would taunt them with Elijah so she did not want to be seen with him.

Elijah was tempted to slap one of those people to teach them a lesson, but he held himself back. He knew it wasn't the right time to address the issue, and such actions might only make Hayley, who was already in a bad mood, even angrier.

"Being a fool is indeed hard," He said inwardly.

Hayley immediately took her seat. As Elijah was about to sit beside her, the chair was pulled away causing him to fall backward and there was a burst of laughter from people around. Although, Elijah could have propelled himself from falling, he chose to fall as they wanted. Since they wanted to play a long game, he was interested in satisfying them but satisfying them didn't mean they would win eventually.

Hayley snapped angrily as she stood up, "What is wrong with you Daniel?"

Daniel arrogantly replied, "This fool can't sit here."

Despite her anger, Hayley tried to control herself, stating, "He is my husband, and you should address him as such. And since he is my husband, he has every right to sit here."

Daniel laughed and remarked, "Haven't you heard the saying that when you associate with a fool, you are seen as one too?"

Hayley's face turned red with anger, and she was left speechless.

Daniel who felt he had gotten the upper hand and was feeling triumphant continued, "If you want him to stay, I can let him remain at the banquet."

Hayley managed to calm down momentarily, but Daniel's next words sparked her anger again.

"He can stay at the banquet, but can't eat here at the table. I can arrange for him to eat next to the dog outside. What does everyone think?" Daniel asked, provokingly.

"Of course," responded one of the relatives, nodding in agreement.

Another relative chimed in, concerned for Hayley, and asked, "Hayley, what's bothering you? Why do you seem angry? It's not like he hasn't eaten rubbish before, he's done it several times in the past. So, there's no real difference if he does it now. Plus, let's not forget that the food given to the dog is even more luxurious than what he finds at the dumpsite, so it's practically an upgrade for him."

As the words sunk in, the room filled with laughter as everyone found the situation quite amusing.

Daniel turned towards Hayley, a wicked smile on his face as he offered his reassurance. "Of course, Hayley, if you want to join him, I can arrange more food for you, him, and the dog so you all won't have to fight for food. We want everyone to feel comfortable and welcome here. I'm a good cousin, am i not?"

As his words finished, a loud resounding slap sound was heard in the hall.

Everybody froze.