At that point, her stepmom was apparently going on and on about how her cousin was going to earn so much money.
Then, her stepmom had the nerve to turn to her and say, “Too bad you’ll never make as much as her in your lifetime!”
That simply was not true, though, so she tried to explain how the majority of the professors in her department actually make salaries well into the six figures. She has even seen the numbers herself.
Regardless, her stepmother just kept gaslighting her and telling her that she was wrong.
So, she eventually got fed up and tried to put her stepmom in her place. More specifically, she claimed it was completely ridiculous to compare her to her cousin on the basis of money instead of realizing that they both just wanted to help people through their important professions.
Still, even after she said that, the rest of her family just stared at her blankly, and no one bothered to stick up for her or just tell her stepmom to chill out.
That’s why she ultimately decided to just head back upstairs to finish up the rest of her schoolwork.
But unfortunately, it became clear that her stepmother was not done stirring up drama. Later on, her stepmom went upstairs and “smugly” asked if she needed any help.
She tried to stay civil, too and just told her stepmother “no” before continuing to do her work.
Her stepmother decided to keep going, however, and began instigating an argument with her– claiming that she was being disrespectful and that she treated her dad horribly.
So, she was forced to stand up for herself again, pointing out how her stepmom had embarrassed her in front of their entire family and ruined another get-together for her.