Niang's point of view, from a passage in the book from pages 38-40.
Niang smiled as she saw her daughter running around, giggling and looking at the different dishes of food. She would then run back to Baba and hug her legs and giggle again. Niang smiled at her again, and held out her arms toward her in an attempt for her to come over. But for some reason she was being ignored for favor of Baba.
Baba stepped over to Niang and offered her a piece of candy to entice the baby with, and Niang accepted it and waved it in front of her daughter, still trying to bring her closer.
Her daughter, her own daughter, made a face of disgust and rebelliously tipped an entire dish of candies over onto the French carpet.
Niang seethed underneath at that, but tried to control herself and not show it, but she finally stood and walked over to her baby. She faintly heard her husband's children call out in her favor, thankfully.
Then the unexpected happened, something that will always ring with bitter disappointment in Niang's ears and will fester there forever. Her daughter looked up at her, with those wide brown eyes, and cried out,
"Don't want you! Don't like you! Go away!"
Silence stilled the entire room as the clear shock showed on her face. She overcame it, and in her outrage, she yanked up her child and carried her to the couch and sat her on her lap. She ignored her daughter's shoves and pushes, and her little shouts for 'Aunt Baba'.
Niang's eyes flashed. That woman! She should have known that that woman would try to turn a woman's own daughter against her. One day she would rid herself of Baba once and for all.
Her daughter still kicked at her, and she couldn't stand for it anymore.
"Keep still!" She shouted.
The final straw turned out to be her necklace. Her baby's fingers were reaching out to push, and caught on the chain of pearls, and they broke apart with a snap and spilled out onto the carpet. All the rage that Niang had kept inside could not be contained any longer.
As if in slow motion, she raised her red manicured hand, and gave a slap to her daughter. Some deep part of her was shocked that she slapped her own daughter, but the absolute rage that was coursing through her veins would not listen to that little bit of reason. She continued to give her slap after slap, that little part inside of her closing every second inside of her, and threatening to never open again.
"Don't beat her anymore! She is only a baby!" An earnest voice cried out.
Niang did stop in shock, and that little part inside of her soul that begged to stop herself was saved. Somehow this littlest daughter of her husband had saved it, and it was…unnerving.
Unnerving that such a little child could have that kind of courage to tell her what to do. That made Niang angry. She had to look powerful in front of her husband's family.
So she gave Adeline a hateful glare, and turned to shout at her before her little voice could even begin to try and stop her.
"How dare you? I shall never forgive you! Never! Never! Never! You'd better watch out from now on! You will pay for your arrogance!"