"Do you really envy them, Mom?" I asked in return, a slight challenge in my tone.
Delilah answered without a moment's hesitation, her eyes shining with surprising intensity. "Of course I'm jealous! Otherwise, wouldn't that mean I don't truly love you?"
I was slightly taken aback. Her answer was so frank, yet her logic was twisted.
'How far my stepmother of the past is from the woman she is now,' I thought to myself. She used to be the cold, authoritative, nearly untouchable Star Witch. Now? She easily admitted to jealousy, to a deep emotional dependence on me.
'Is this how my stepmother is when she truly falls in love with someone?' I pondered. I had only made her love me and warped her logic, but I hadn't changed her fundamental nature. Yes, I did order her to act like a lewd housewife, but her nature is like that of a teenager...
