williamkgao/bookcorpus100mb · Datasets at Hugging Face

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why teach her that there are consequences ?
what point are you trying to make ? ''
zoe pushed the other woman to explain herself , knowing full well she had no right to do so .
vivian paused in thought .
if she was annoyed or put out by zoe 's question , she did n't show it .
`` well i suppose i want to teach her the proper way to behave for one thing . ''
zoe tried not to cringe or pass judgment ; instead she waited .
`` and i realize now that faith never knew we loved her . ''
`` if that bothers you , then why did n't you search harder when she ran away ? ''
ryan asked .
real tears suddenly filled the older woman 's brown eyes , which zoe now realized resembled ryan 's .
`` we had a pattern in our home .
all our fights would focus on how faith 's wild rebellion reflected on the family .
we 'd yell and scream as you pointed out .
she 'd storm off to her room and the same type of thing would happen again the next day .
it became a cycle we could n't seem to break . ''
she dabbed at the inside corner of her eye , attempting to stem her tears .
`` did you punish faith ? ''
zoe asked softly .
`` we tried , but no matter what we did , she never listened .
mostly because the screaming was such a large part of our lives , nothing had any impact .
so when she ran away , after we checked all the obvious places , we thought , let her get it out of her system and then she 'll come home . ''
ryan stiffened his shoulders .
`` but she never did . ''
vivian shook her head .
`` at the time we thought she made her choice , but i see now how wrong we were .
we were the parents and she was the child .
we should have kept trying . ''
zoe swallowed hard , suddenly feeling the woman 's pain .
`` and all this brings us back to samantha , '' vivian continued .
`` when ryan brought up the idea of bringing faith 's child here , i was completely against it since i feared the past would repeat itself .
i knew when i looked at samantha , i 'd see my failures as a mother .
and i did .
i still do . ''
`` mom- `` ryan stepped forward , but his mother waved him away .
though zoe hurt for him , she sensed this moment was a turning point for them both .
as the instigator of the conversation , but outsider to their family , zoe could do no more than watch it play out , and in doing so she realized she was watching her family 's role in sam 's life coming to an end .
the thought brought a piercing ache to her own heart .
vivian stared , focusing her thoughts .
`` i need to say this and i need to do it without your sympathy and without my falling apart . ''
ryan nodded in obvious understanding .
`` dinner the other night was a complete replay of our lives with you children except that samantha had you and zoe to protect her .
and the child has more spunk than anyone i 've ever met , '' she said , with what sounded like affection in her tone .
`` spunk is a good word to describe sam 's behavior , '' ryan agreed , his eyes filled with warmth when he gazed at his mother .
even zoe had to admit she was touched by the woman 's willingness to try and change .
relief filled her , as well , since sam would benefit from her softening and changing .
`` i did n't sleep that night .
and i realized then that i could continue to play the socialite who cared more for rules than her family and thereby lose faith 's daughter , too , or i could take the initiative and try to change my attitude .
for the sake of my family , i decided that an old dog should learn new tricks . ''
vivian forced a laugh , but her body trembled with the emotion of the afternoon .
emotion zoe shared , since she now had no choice but to take the distance she 'd tried to maintain and place it firmly between herself and ryan .
he was a good man and on the verge of having his niece accepted by his family .
zoe would have no place in their lives beyond that of a long-distance friend .

why teach her that there are consequences ?

what point are you trying to make ? ''

zoe pushed the other woman to explain herself , knowing full well she had no right to do so .

vivian paused in thought .

if she was annoyed or put out by zoe 's question , she did n't show it .

`` well i suppose i want to teach her the proper way to behave for one thing . ''

zoe tried not to cringe or pass judgment ; instead she waited .

`` and i realize now that faith never knew we loved her . ''

`` if that bothers you , then why did n't you search harder when she ran away ? ''

ryan asked .

real tears suddenly filled the older woman 's brown eyes , which zoe now realized resembled ryan 's .

`` we had a pattern in our home .

all our fights would focus on how faith 's wild rebellion reflected on the family .

we 'd yell and scream as you pointed out .

she 'd storm off to her room and the same type of thing would happen again the next day .

it became a cycle we could n't seem to break . ''

she dabbed at the inside corner of her eye , attempting to stem her tears .

`` did you punish faith ? ''

zoe asked softly .

`` we tried , but no matter what we did , she never listened .

mostly because the screaming was such a large part of our lives , nothing had any impact .

so when she ran away , after we checked all the obvious places , we thought , let her get it out of her system and then she 'll come home . ''

ryan stiffened his shoulders .

`` but she never did . ''

vivian shook her head .

`` at the time we thought she made her choice , but i see now how wrong we were .

we were the parents and she was the child .

we should have kept trying . ''

zoe swallowed hard , suddenly feeling the woman 's pain .

`` and all this brings us back to samantha , '' vivian continued .

`` when ryan brought up the idea of bringing faith 's child here , i was completely against it since i feared the past would repeat itself .

i knew when i looked at samantha , i 'd see my failures as a mother .

and i did .

i still do . ''

`` mom- `` ryan stepped forward , but his mother waved him away .

though zoe hurt for him , she sensed this moment was a turning point for them both .

as the instigator of the conversation , but outsider to their family , zoe could do no more than watch it play out , and in doing so she realized she was watching her family 's role in sam 's life coming to an end .

the thought brought a piercing ache to her own heart .

vivian stared , focusing her thoughts .

`` i need to say this and i need to do it without your sympathy and without my falling apart . ''

ryan nodded in obvious understanding .

`` dinner the other night was a complete replay of our lives with you children except that samantha had you and zoe to protect her .

and the child has more spunk than anyone i 've ever met , '' she said , with what sounded like affection in her tone .

`` spunk is a good word to describe sam 's behavior , '' ryan agreed , his eyes filled with warmth when he gazed at his mother .

even zoe had to admit she was touched by the woman 's willingness to try and change .

relief filled her , as well , since sam would benefit from her softening and changing .

`` i did n't sleep that night .

and i realized then that i could continue to play the socialite who cared more for rules than her family and thereby lose faith 's daughter , too , or i could take the initiative and try to change my attitude .

for the sake of my family , i decided that an old dog should learn new tricks . ''

vivian forced a laugh , but her body trembled with the emotion of the afternoon .

emotion zoe shared , since she now had no choice but to take the distance she 'd tried to maintain and place it firmly between herself and ryan .

he was a good man and on the verge of having his niece accepted by his family .

zoe would have no place in their lives beyond that of a long-distance friend .