No wonder I haven't landed a job now.
I think it owes to my appearance.
Trying not to look distressed, I smile at Earl and stretch out my hands towards him.
"Earl."
I say in a low voice.
Earl stares at me with his big eyes and cries out loud.
"Mom.... Mom...."
"Mom's...."
Here.
Before I can finish speaking, Earl is picked up by Hilda. Then, she pats Earl's back to comfort him.
"Don't be afraid. Mom's here."
"Mom.... Mom.... Scared...."
Earl hugs Hilda, sobbing.
I'm hurt.
And Tears streak my face.
I'm your mom.
Frances has left me for Hilda. Now, because of her, Earl can't recognize me?
My baby boy is calling another woman Mom. How can I take that?
The sadness is more than I can bear.
My heart is being torn part.
I'm overwhelmed with great sadness that I was almost suffocating.
Then, everything goes black, and I fall down.
Frances reaches out and catches me.
I look at him, and I can only see indifference in his eyes. It's like that a lifetime has passed since we
were being together.
Does he no longer love me?
My heart breaks and I lose consciousness.
When I wake up, I'm lying in the hospital and Mindy is looking at me. She seems angry and
disappointed with me.
"You are so lame, fainting just because of seeing Frances! How embarrassing!"
Not only that, but it also hurts me when I heard Earl calling that bad woman Mom.
Hilda takes everything from me, and she doesn't feel guilty at all.
I want to do something, but I can't.
...
I don't want Mindy to be sad, too, so I decide not to tell her what happened.
"I just don't get enough nutrition." I curl my lip, saying.
Looking at my haggard face, Mindy says to me with a worried face, "I know what's going on with
Frances, but I didn't tell it to you for fear of upset you. Jane, it must be killing you when you see them
together, isn't it?"
I nod.
Mindy's right.
Even now, I'm still hopelessly in love with Frances.
I don't blame him. We are destined to meet but not meant to be together.
As long as Hilda truly loves Frances and treats him well, and he's happy, that would be enough.
I feel better deceiving myself.
But, the old Mr. Louis....
I suddenly think of him.
Before I went to prison, he had only a few months to live. Now....
I bite my lip and ask, "Has old Mr. Louis...?"
Mindy is stunned for a moment before nodding.
"Yes. On your second day in prison, he died of a heart attack."
I'm stricken with grief.
However, I thought old Mr. Louis would die of liver cancer. Why did he have a heart attack?
"But you don't have a heart attack for no reason. Perhaps he was provoked or something?" Mindy
frowns and concentrates on her thoughts.
That's also what I'm thinking.
"Perhaps." I sighed, unable to say anything else.
Old Mr. Louis tried to distance himself from me. But I think he did it for me. Therefore, I never have
blamed him.
"The chances are that Hilda did this. Old Mr. Louis might know something about her, so she killed him."
Mindy says for sure.
I'm wondering why she is so sure.
"Why did you say that?" I ask.
"You don't know who Hilda is." Mindy rolls her eyes, saying.
She is serious.
I'm more curious.
"Who ... is Hilda?"
"Don't be shocked. Hilda...."
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