When she placed a small piece into her mouth, she had no expectation. However, the crispy and chewy texture won her over. She felt pleased with herself for managing to snatch something from Akira and also tasting a new and delicious thing.

Unfortunately, as she swallowed, the chilli on the cheese finally hit her like a truck. The spice heat level seemed ordinary during the initial placement in her mouth. However, after chewing a little, the full force of the pepper had hit her.

Her face turned red as she forced herself to swallow. Then, she started coughing. She picked her glass of water and drank deep. Naturally, the spicy feeling increased with the action.

Akira looked at her with a hint of a smile as she struggled to breathe and tears streamed down her face. Her well made-up face lost its initial perfection, and she looked like a ghost

Everyone in the restaurant turned and looked at her with hints of disgust. They were eating, and she was coughing as if she had a dangerous and contagious disease.

Seeing a small smile on Akira's face, Hanae realised that she had been tricked. She did not know how the other girl had predicted her actions and played her like a puppet.

"You! You tricked me. You did this." She stood, pointed at Akira with a shaking index finger and shouted before resuming her coughing routine.

Sayaka's face darkened at the strange accusation.

Akira glanced at her mother's face and waited to see what she would do. She could see that her mother was a nice person who liked to keep everyone happy. It was not a bad thing for someone to be kind, but her kindness bordered on foolishness.

If she constantly gave in to everyone to keep the peace, then she would bring suffering to herself and her loved ones.

Therefore, she was giving her mother one last chance by showing the hidden personality of her beloved niece. While the matter involved a simple thing like a piece of grilled cheese, it was enough to reveal the rotten insides.

"What do you mean, Hanae? How is this Akira's fault?" Sayaka asked with a tough and firm voice.

Hanae realised that she had behaved in an unseemly manner, but she could not take back her words after shouting them so loudly.

"She tricked me by not telling me that the food was extremely spicy." She lowered her voice, but she still tried to sound self-righteous.

The diners nearby scoffed and looked at her like she was a clown.

Sayaka became angrier.

"Does she live in your mouth such that she will know what is too spicy for you? She was enjoying her meal. Who told you to try to eat her food instead of focusing on your own? Didn't I tell you to focus on your own food?" She lectured Hanae.

Hanae realised that there was no way to explain her knowledge that Akira had acted intentionally. Therefore, she turned to the greatest weapon she still had: tears. With her face still red from the spice and coughing, she looked extremely pitiful.

"Auntie, how can you not believe me? Is it because I am not your daughter?" She sobbed.

Sayaka felt her heart grow cold as if it had been plunged into ice water.

She could not believe that Hanae had said those words to blackmail her emotionally. When Daiki had proposed for her to send away Hanae after she set up Akira, she refused because she treated Hanae like a daughter, even though she already had a mother.

It was in consideration of their ties that she had gone against her deep maternal feelings and decided to treat Akira and Hanae equally. One was the daughter who she had lost for years while the other was the niece who had brought a smile to her in the darkest days.

However, she was realising that Hanae was not a simple child anymore.

"Very well. If those are your thoughts, let us go our separate ways. I will explain everything to your mother." She said calmly and coldly.

Hanae was shocked. She could not believe that Sayaka would cut off ties with her so easily. Over the last few days, she had realised that her aunt was quite tolerant towards her. Even though things had changed with Akira's arrival, her aunt continued to be nice to her.

So, even if she made a mistake, she did not expect that it would lead to this result. She could not believe it. As someone who had never experienced a true setback in life, she did not know how to react.

Consequently, she lost control of her emotions and mind and cried out loudly like a child.

"Auntie, how could you be so cold and cruel? Didn't I keep you company when your daughter was missing? Didn't I comfort you as her emotional replacement? Now that she is back, you are tossing me out like trash?" Hanae said loudly as if she was afraid everyone would not hear.

The restaurant fell silent like a graveyard in the deep night.

Sayaka was too shocked to move or say anything. She had never felt so completely and thoroughly humiliated. The exposure of her emotional wounds based on the extremely private aspect of her life was tantamount to stripping her naked in public.

If Hanae had not said those things, they would have kept a relationship. She would have still supported her, at least financially. After all, they were family. However, she could not overlook this matter.

As a middle-aged woman, she had been demeaned by a child before her peers during lunch in a popular restaurant on a Friday afternoon.

She did not know how she could show her face.

"What is the problem?" An Indo-Japanese man appeared at the table.

Hanae turned to the newcomer, and like a crazy person, she reached out to attack him with her hands approaching him like claws. The chef caught the attacking hands and restrained the woman. Two servers came and helped him to hold the woman.

"It is all your fault. If your food was not so spicy, things would not have turned out like this." She blamed while rearing like a rabid dog.

The people in the restaurant felt like they were looking at a clown in high definition. For the crazy girl, it seemed like it was everyone's fault except her own.

"Chef Vikram, we apologise for this matter. We will leave right away." Sayaka stood and apologised sincerely.

Akira also stood alongside her mother in support and with a tinge of guilt. She had not expected Hanae to behave so atrociously after a little stimulation.

It seemed like all the pent up emotions in her heart exploded after having to behave quietly in the house for a few days.

The chef looked at Akira with widened eyes and opened his mouth to speak. She shook her head subtly at him. She did not want Sayaka to know that she was familiar with Vikram.

If their familiarity was revealed, the incident would feel even more humiliating.