Cassandra took a few steps back, clutching the clothes on her chest.
The sudden memory sent a shiver down her spine. Everything made sense now. All the questions she
had no answer to were finally clicking into place.
Now she knew why her father didn't like her from her childhood, and why he seemed so distant. He
must have thought wrongly of her all along.
She had been sent to the small town because her family was afraid that she would hurt her sister
again.
She had deliberately forgotten it, but today, there was no escape from the onslaught of memories that
came back to her.
Cassandra stood shaking; next to her, her mother Edith was paled.
"Children can say whatever they like. Don't take their words seriously," Edith said, her voice cracking
despite its low tone.
She still wanted to defend Cloris, but Cloris burst out, "I won't apologize. That accident happened years
ago! It's not my fault that Courtney chose not to let it go. It has nothing to do with me!"
With those words, Cloris stormed out, bumping into Cassandra on the way. Cassandra lost her balance
from the sudden impact and fell to the ground, her eyes absent.
Cloris pushed the door open and rushed out, leaving Cassandra and Edith behind.
"Cassandra, why didn't you stop Cloris?"
Edith stood up and anxiously ran after her younger daughter, while Cassandra lay on the floor
unmoving, a bitter smile plastered across her face.
Whitney sighed at the scene that unfolded and walked up to Cassandra. She took her arm and helped
her stand on her feet, leading her like a child to sit down on the sofa.
"Cassandra, what's the matter with you? Are you okay?"
Whitney looked at Cassandra in bafflement. She didn't know that Cassandra had lost recollection of
that memory.
At her question, Cassandra snapped back to reality. "I'm all right, Auntie. I just need to rest for a
minute. I'll go find Cloris and talk to her."
Her legs felt like lead and could not move; her entire body was cold and heavy with the things she had
found out today. She had no idea where to begin or how to face all this.
"Well then, I'll go back first. I have to take care of Courtney," Whitney said, taking her leave from the
room.
Cassandra was left alone with the noise of her thoughts.
So much had changed in just a day. Cassandra felt lost and helpless.
She had solved the riddle, but it was like a trap door opened from under her, plunging her into a deep
cellar.
For years, she had a lingering feeling at the back of her mind that she had done something wrong. She
had to live swallowing the unfair treatment she had received. She couldn't even retaliate. But it turned
out that none of it was her fault. She sat on the sofa, her shoulders slumped, wondering whether this
was all a sick, cruel joke.
Rufus arrived at the villa, only to find Cassandra nowhere in sight. Frowning, he reached for his phone
and called her.
"Where are you? You shouldn't have gone out. You're still unwell,"
he complained. Rufus came back as early as he could, looking forward to spending some time with her.
But he came back to an empty, silent house.
"I'm going back now,"
Cassandra replied weakly. The exhaustion in her voice made Rufus worry even more.
"What's wrong? You don't sound good,"
he asked, his voice laced thick with concern.
"Nothing," Cassandra said. "Nothing's wrong," she repeated, sounding as if she was talking more to
herself than him. "Wait for me at home."
She hung up the phone and forced her legs to move. She went outside where the driver was waiting
and asked him to take her back to the villa.
Cassandra felt as empty as the car she rode on the way home. There was too much space, too much
darkness, and too much silence. She felt as if her heart was a flimsy spider web swaying in the wind,
just waiting to break. When they reached the villa, she walked on staggering limbs, devoid of any
energy. But at the sight of Rufus, she felt herself calming down. Here, at their home, was a man who
was waiting for her. Someone she could rely on. She walked a little straighter, and her steps were a
little quicker as she rushed to him.
"You must have been really bored at home alone," he said to her.
Then he reached out a hand and removed a small flower petal that had fallen on her shoulder.
She gave him a small smile. "Yeah. It's boring to be alone every day," she said.
Cassandra tried her best to make herself look relaxed. She didn't want Rufus to see that there was
something on her mind. At any rate, she was not yet ready to confront all of these things.
"How about going out?" he asked gently.
Rufus stared at Cassandra with tenderness, which made her throat tighten. His long, dark lashes
fluttered and she found herself holding her breath at the sight. He was so good-looking.
"I don't want to," she found herself saying.
She wanted nothing more than to allow herself to indulge in the warmth he was offering to her sweetly,
but she had to stop herself.
'This is a contract, ' a voice echoed in her head. It was nothing more than an arrangement, and she
would have to leave a year later, when the baby was born.
Cassandra thought that it was necessary to talk to Cloris about the matter, but when she raised the
subject of apologizing to Courtney, Edith was the first to object.
"Don't apologize," she argued. "It's been a long time, and it was child's play. Whitney just wants to
blame Cloris for her daughter's illness, and I will never agree to that!"
Edith's refusal was firm as she held Cloris's hand tightly, as if afraid of losing her daughter.
Whatever happened before was nothing but a joke gone wrong among the children in Edith's eyes.
However, it was a different matter altogether for Courtney and Cassandra. The experience left them
scars to carry until the present.
It was almost as if Edith refused to see things in any other perspective.
She lashed out at Cassandra, and later on, the young girl was sent off by her parents to live in another
town after the accident.
It took a lot of courage and humility for one to be able to admit past mistakes, but neither Edith nor
Cloris had strong enough hearts to do that.
"Cloris, I will send you abroad in a few days. You will continue your studies there. Do not concern
yourself over this senseless drama. I don't blame you for returning to G City. It must have been difficult,
right?" Edith said, looking fondly at Cloris and patting her head.
"Study hard abroad. You will be back before you know it," she finished encouragingly.
They were the perfect picture of a mother and daughter. The scene would have touched anyone, but
Cassandra felt nothing but coldness at such a warm display of affection. Her chest constricted with
envy as she looked at her mother gently comforting her younger sister.
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