Anna had been focused on provoking Penelope and hadn't paid Rebecca any mind, so the sudden attack caught her completely off guard. But she retaliated just as quickly. While everyone else was still stunned, she grabbed her own cup and threw the coffee right back.
"Who the hell do you think you are, starting a fight with me?"
"You!" Rebecca trembled with rage. "You're in my house, hitting on my husband right in front of me, and you have the nerve to throw coffee at me…"
Before Rebecca could finish, Anna's anger flared and she barked, "Zebulon!"
The sharp command made Zebulon flinch. A flicker of annoyance crossed his face, but he didn't hesitate. He shot up, grabbed a napkin, and began dabbing at Anna's face.
"Ms. Flores is our guest! You've gone too far! Apologize to her right now!" he snapped at Rebecca while tending to Anna.
Rebecca stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You want me to apologize to her?"
"You were the one in the wrong!"
"She put her foot right in your—"
"Enough! How Ms. Flores and I interact is none of your business!"
"I'm your wife!"
"You call yourself a wife?"
The words hit Rebecca like a physical blow. She staggered back, tears welling in her eyes, a storm of anger and hurt raging inside her.
Mrs. Sullivan came out with two plates of pastries, having witnessed the entire exchange. She shot Rebecca a venomous glare before turning to Anna with an apologetic smile. "She doesn't know any better, Ms. Flores. Please don't hold it against her."
Anna's eyes hardened. She slapped Zebulon's hand away. "I was actually thinking of discussing the Zenith Group project with Zebulon today, but on second thought, let's just forget it."
With that, she made to leave.
"That project is crucial for Stone Group! We must talk about it!" Mrs. Sullivan cried, rushing to block Anna's path.
Anna sneered. "I'm not in the mood anymore."
Mrs. Sullivan's eyes darted around. She hurried over to Rebecca and gave her a shove. "Look at you! How dare you stand there crying? Apologize to Ms. Flores this instant!"
"Apologize right now! If Ms. Flores doesn't forgive you, you can get out of the Sullivan family!" Mrs. Sullivan gave Rebecca another hard push.
Just then, Mrs. Winters returned from an outing.
"What are you all doing!" she yelled, spotting the commotion. She ran to her daughter's side. "What happened? Why are you crying?"
Seeing her mother, Rebecca broke down completely. "Mom!" she wailed, sobbing as she recounted the whole story.
Mrs. Winters flew into a rage and lunged at Anna.
"You little tramp! You dare bully my daughter?"
Seeing her coming, Mrs. Sullivan and Zebulon tried to intervene, but they were no match for Mrs. Winters' brute strength and were easily shoved aside. Anna, though unsure of Mrs. Winters' fighting prowess, saw the fury in her eyes and instinctively backed away. But it was too late. Mrs. Winters grabbed a handful of her hair and landed two solid slaps across her face.
"Oh my god, she's going to ruin everything! Zebulon, stop her!" Mrs. Sullivan shrieked.
Zebulon saw Anna's disheveled state and knew this was bad. He rushed to pull Mrs. Winters off, but she was strong as an ox. He couldn't get her to budge and earned a slap for his efforts.

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