Chapter 16 Why Treat Them So Differently
Talulla was feeling slightly unhappy as well.
Nicolas gave a small cough, remembering that Daisy was, after all. Eleanor’s daughter. He had no choice but to tell his maid to go check on her.
Both Adonis and Neville were feeling a little awkward.
Adonis knew Oliver was the one with the most ideas. Seeing that the situation wasn’t looking good for them, he asked. “Oliver, what do you think we should do about this?”
A flash of coldness crossed Oliver’s usually gentle face as he looked at Sadie and muttered, “It’s all Sadie’s fault. If it weren’t for her, Daisy wouldn’t have felt so pressured to perform. She knew Daisy wasn’t feeling well, yet still tried to outshine her in everything. That just shows how cruel she really is.
Adonis furrowed his brows. “We need a plan to help Daisy come out on top.
Oliver chuckled softly.
After three rounds of drinks, he suddenly stood up and walked over to the main table.
He respectfully raised his glass to Talulla and said, “We’ve also brought a gift for Sadie on our way here.”
Sadie suddenly felt a wave of dread wash over her.
Oliver pulled out a ferule, smiling sweetly. “Sadie, does this look familiar?”
Sadie had had half a glass of fruit wine. Her cheeks were a bit red.
However, the moment she saw the ferule, her face turned pale.
At seven years old, she had knelt in the snow with her arms raised, enduring fifty strikes from that same ferule until her palms were torn and bleeding.
It had all started when she accidentally ruined Daisy’s quill.
That winter, a female teacher had come to teach Daisy to read and write. Because Daisy was weak and couldn’t let her hands get wet in the cold, Sadie was tasked with cleaning the quill and inkwell.
Being just a child and unaware of how delicate the quill was, Sadie tried to avoid being scolded by soaking it in hot water, unintentionally ruining it.
Daisy had cried nonstop in Adonis arms.
Heartbroken by her tears, Adonis made Sadie kneel in the snow as punishment.
Then Oliver stepped in and said, “Daisy’s quill cost five silver coins. The three of us worked hard to save up for it. If we let her off with just kneeling, she won’t learn her lesson.”
He had then picked up a ferule to strike Sadie’s hands.
Sadie, still so young, was used to being scolded even for breaking a dish at home. Being blamed by everyone made her truly believe it was her fault.
She hadn’t fought back and had simply accepted the fifty strikes.
y great them So Differently
Later, Oliver hung that same ferule beside her beil, making sure she saw it every morning and night, constant reminder.
At that memory, Sadie’s fingers curled slightly in her lap.
She felt as if she had gone back to that year, her palms swollen with frostbite, living through a winter that seemed to never end.
She was deep in thought. her brows faintly furrowed, when a warm hand gently touched hers.
She looked up to see Alexander next to her.
He raised an eyebrow proudly as if to remind her, “What did I tell you before? You are now the young lady of the Gates family!”
Sadie pulled herself together.
She didn’t see herself as a noble lady, but she was no longer the Sadie who let her siblings walk all over her
She calmly replied. “Of course it does. You hung this ferule by my bed so I could look at it every day and night as a reminder.”
“I’m glad you remember. When you were seven, you broke Daisy’s quill, which cost five silver coins. We used this ferule back then to teach you to be careful. Now that you’re living at the Gates Estate you have to be even more cautious. I brought this ferule for you today so you can keep it by your bedside and always reflect on your actions.”
Oliver smiled and passed the ferule to her in front of everyone.
Adonis and Neville exchanged a satisfied look.
After all of that, surely the Gates family would see Sadie as slow and useless, right?
If she can’t even clean a quill, what else is she good for?
She and Daisy are not on the same level!
Sadie didn’t accept the ferule.
She smiled faintly and said, “When I was seven, Daisy was being taught how to read and write. You all thought I was too slow to learn, so I was only allowed to clean her quill and inkwell. I had never seen a quill before and didn’t know it couldn’t be soaked in hot water, so I ruined it by accident. For that, I was punished by kneeling in the snow, and my palms were struck with a ferule. The harsh discipline from you really stayed with me.”
She stood tall and carried herself with neither arrogance nor inferiority. Each word she spoke was clear and distinct.
The people around her listened carefully and started whispering to each other.
“They’re both sisters. Why treat them so differently?”
€19
