The Quiet One Snaps at Christmas Eve

I'm afflicted with a severe phobia related to socializing. Christmas is the one holiday that I fear the most.

In order to escape from my relatives' incessant questions, I've spent one year digging up dirty laundry related to every single person in my family.

Before going home for the holidays, I've made a secret vow that as long as my relatives don't disturb me, I will definitely keep those skeletons of theirs sealed tightly in their closets.

But at the Christmas Eve dinner, these relatives insist on making me their personal doormat.

My oldest uncle, Adam Burton, is the first one to start a topic in a passive-aggressive manner.

"Hannah, you're not getting any younger, you know. It's one thing to not be able to nail down a job, but what's with your inability to find yourself a boyfriend, hmm?

"Look at Quinn. The moment she'd graduated from college, she'd already married a rich scion."

I can only smile bashfully before I lower my head and start eating from my plate in an attempt to skip the topic.

But my second aunt, Zoe Brown, refuses to let it slide. She begins putting on airs as a senior member of this family while lecturing me.

"Stop being so stubborn, Hannah. Adam is doing this for your own good. We're a family at the end of the day; we will never hurt you. You have to listen to our advice. Otherwise, you'll become an old and lonely woman that no one wants as a partner when the time comes."

Pfft! "We're a family", she says! I think these relatives of mine just don't want me to live a nice, comfortable life as a single woman!

Unable to endure it anymore, I put down my fork and lift my head. Then, I flash everyone an awkward smile.

"In that case, Aunt Zoe, why don't you tell me who's more impressive in bed? Was it Uncle Caleb… or Uncle Adam?

"Since we're a family, we should be honest with each other, right?"

"You little bitch, what nonsense are you spouting? I'll rip your mouth apart today!"

My second aunt, Zoe Brown, froze for a second, then immediately went into a rage. She rushed toward me, ready to scratch my face.

"Enough!" My second uncle, Caleb Burton, barked. He grabbed Aunt Zoe by the arm, but his fury aimed at me only seemed to intensify.

"Hannah Burton! It's Christmas! What has gotten into you? Is this how you talk to your elders? I swear, your brain must've rotted with all those books you read! Get on your knees and apologize to Zoe!"

Relatives around us started chiming in.

"Yeah, Hannah. How can you make such a joke?"

"You're so disrespectful! Apologize now!"

I flinched under the shout. I instinctively tucked my head in, and my eyes welled up with tears in an instant.

"Uncle Caleb, I-I'm not spouting nonsense. I didn't mean to upset Aunt Zoe. I just… I just think you're too kind."

Not following my logic, Uncle Caleb stood there, completely stumped.

I sniffled, raised my head, and gazed up at him with admiration. "Really, Uncle Caleb. I think you're amazing. In today's world, there's barely any man who would raise his brother's son for over 20 years."

The moment I said that, all the relatives who had been berating me fell silent. Their eyes shifted nervously between Aunt Zoe, Uncle Caleb, and my eldest uncle, Adam Burton.

Uncle Caleb froze. His grip on Aunt Zoe's hand slipped.

"What did you say?"

Uncle Adam couldn't sit still anymore. He slammed his cutlery down and snapped at me, "Hannah Burton! Are you out of your mind? How dare you say something like that?"

Aunt Zoe screamed like a lunatic, "Hannah! I'll rip your mouth apart! Honey, don't believe her. This brat is just jealous because our family is doing well!"

Their panic erased my fear, replacing it with an odd sense of excitement.

But I still felt nervous. While digging through my bag, I said in a shaky voice, "Uncle Caleb, don't be mad. I-I have proof."

I pulled out a neatly folded A4 paper with trembling hands.

Uncle Caleb's breathing grew heavy. He shoved Aunt Zoe aside, lunged toward me, and snatched the paper right out of my hand.

"T-This is Ollie's physical exam report from last month." I shrank back.

"Uncle Caleb, I remember your blood type is O. And Aunt Zoe's is O, too. My middle school biology teacher said that two type O parents can't have a type B child."

Uncle Caleb's hands shook violently as he stared at the report. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

My cousin, Ollie Burton, who had been sitting in the corner playing with his phone, looked up in confusion. "What? What did you say? What's wrong with being type B?"

I nervously glanced at Uncle Adam, who was already drenched in sweat at the head of the table, and added the final blow. "But Uncle Adam… has type B blood. When he was hospitalized, I was the one who donated blood, so I remember it clearly."

Uncle Adam leaped to his feet, pointing at me and cursing, "Hannah, you're such a jinx! You're just trying to tear this family apart with these lies! This is pure slander! Do you want me to call the cops on you right now?"

In the tense silence, Uncle Caleb suddenly let out a low laugh. "Honey, explain this to me. Where did our son's type B blood come from?"

The color drained completely from Aunt Zoe's face, and her legs went weak. "H-Honey, let me explain. H-Hannah must have forged this report!"

"Forged?" Uncle Caleb sneered, then threw the paper into Aunt Zoe's face.

"It has the stamp of a top-tier hospital on it! Do you think I'm blind?"

"Caleb! Calm down!" Uncle Adam hastily tried to intervene, his cold sweat streaming down his face.

"This has to be a misunderstanding. We're family—"

"Family?" Uncle Caleb turned to face Uncle Adam. His gaze was full of fury, as if he wanted to kill him on the spot.

"Adam, did you just say family? Did you know about this already? Huh?"

Uncle Adam fumbled for words, his eyes darting all over the place. "Caleb, I… I…"

Uncle Caleb finally snapped. He kicked the table over, stormed up to Uncle Adam, grabbed him by the collar, and punched him in the face. "You're my brother! How could you sleep with my wife? And you even had me raise your son? I'll fucking kill you!"