CHAPTER 38: WHO SLAPPED YOU?

On my way, I suddenly thought of spitting in the tea, it would be a perfect payback for what she did to me. Then decided not to. If Linda noticed it, Ms. Rita would get in trouble and I didn’t want that.

Entering the room, I found Linda sitting at the table, scrolling through her phone. Alexander sat opposite her, his head buried in a magazine, looking as annoyingly calm as always.

Neither of them looked up as I approached.

"Here is your tea," I said, flatly, setting the tray on the table.

"Finally." She dropped her phone and picked up the teapot, but immediately put it down. "Why didn’t you tell me it’s hot? You almost burned my fingers," she spatted, observing her long, delicate fingers with a deep frown.

"I’m sorry about that..." I apologized, though it wasn’t purely from my heart. She deserved it anyway.

"Cold."

Cold? I looked up at her, confused.

"I like my tea cold," she repeated.

I averted my gaze, feeling my blood pressure rising. If she wanted cold tea, she would have told Ms. Rita, not me. I wasn’t her maid.

Despite that, I picked up the teapot and began to pour the tea very slowly into her mug so that it would get a bit cold, but my hands kept shaking. I could feel Alexander’s unsettling gaze on me the whole time, probably waiting for me to make any mistake so that he would belittle me. Well, he would be disappointed.

After filling the mug, I took one of the thin books on the table and began to cool her tea. Meanwhile, Linda was trying to show Alexander a picture of someone in her phone. He just peeked at it and turned his attention back to me.

"Who slapped you?" he suddenly asked, causing me to freeze for a second.

Was he talking to me? Of course he wasn’t. But who else was slapped in the room?

"I asked who slapped you?" he said again, this time louder and clearer.

I side-glanced at Linda who gave me a warning look not to say anything.

"It’s no one," I responded, keeping my tone as neutral as possible.

His brows furrowed at my response.

"You’re trying my patience, aren’t you? Speak."

"I said it’s no one,’ I repeated, firmly.

Alexander put down the magazine and abruptly stood up. In two long strides, he was in front of me. His hand gripped my chin, tilting my face to the right to get a better view of my left face.

"What is this?" he demanded, his voice low and cold.

I tried to yank my face away, but couldn’t. His grip was so strong that my neck could snap if I moved, and it made me even angrier than I already was. What was his problem? Wouldn’t he leave me the hell alone?

"I said nobody slapped me," I snapped.

My impudent response infuriated him. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened, eyes moving from my face to Linda, who was now sitting stiffly.

"Let it go, Alex," she said softly.

But he didn’t let go. He kept glaring at my face and after what seemed like forever, he released me and turned his back towards me.

"Leave," he ordered coldly.

I didn’t need to be told twice. I dropped the book on the table and took my leave. Instead of going to my room, I waited at the door and pressed my ears against it. I wanted to know what Linda would say, but Alexander spoke instead.

"This is a warning; never, ever touch her again."

"Why? Are you just going to take her side without hearing me out?" Linda asked, annoyance visible in her tone.

"I’m not taking her side. It’s a warning."

"A warning? Are you serious? She disrespected you and you expect me to sit there and take it?"

"It’s time you stopped fighting my battles for me, Linda," Alexander said. "We are not teenagers anymore."

The room fell silent after that, and I could imagine Linda fuming. Scoffing, I walked away from the door, not interested in hearing the rest of their argument. Whatever it was, it wasn’t my problem.

Getting to my room, I went straight to the mirror to look at my face. And there it was, a five finger print on my cheek. It was all red, and when I touched it, I winced because it burned so much. She was strong. I wondered if that was a characteristic of people who lived their lives on the street.

I put some ointment to reduce the mark and after that, I lay on the bed for the rest of the day.

****

Two days passed since the encounter with Linda, and also the end of my stay here. For the past two days, it has been so quiet around the house. Alexander had left for some business trip, and I couldn’t be happier. Now, I could unleash my plans without getting worried about being caught.

Getting out of bed, I strode into the dressing room to pack some clothes and other few things I might need. After that, I headed to the dining room for lunch. Earlier, I had told Ms. Rita to pack some snacks for me, because I still had no idea where I was going. I just wanted to leave this place and maybe figure things out later.

Opening the dining door, my phone suddenly rang, and when I checked the caller, my brows furrowed in confusion. It was Claudia. What did she want from me?

"Hello..." I answered the call.

"Anna, are you there?" Her voice was frantic. "Your mother just fainted and the doctor said she won’t make it past tonight."

The world around me froze.

"What did... you say?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"You heard me. She doesn’t have much time. If you care at all, you should come now." That was the last thing she said before hanging up.

I stood there, froze, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. My mother was dying? Why so sudden? She had never been sick before. And now she wasn’t just ill, but dying? This was unbelievable. I needed to go see her to confirm it before it was too late.

Without thinking, I turned and race to the stairs, my feet moving faster than my mind could process. I didn’t care about the packed bag sitting in my room or the snacks waiting on the table. None of it mattered right now.

By the time I reached the front door, I was trembling. My hands fumbled with the lock, and it took me a moment to realize I didn’t even have a car. Alexander had taken the driver with him, and I had no idea how to get to my mother.

"Mrs. Vaughn?"

I spun around to find Mr. Harrison, the butler, standing in the bar with furrowed brows. "Is everything alright?"

"No," I said quickly. "I need a car. My mother... she’s... I need to go now."

He didn’t ask any more questions and gave me a curt nod, then offered, "I will have another driver ready in a moment."

And just like that, I was on my way. The ride to our estate felt like eternity. Every second that passed only made the knot in my stomach tighten. I kept repeating Claudia’s words in my head over and over again, and soon it began to make my head throb.

After the long drive, we finally arrived. I didn’t wait for the car to fully stop before I threw the door open and ran inside to look for her.

The first floor was empty, no one was there. So, I quickly rushed up stairs, taking two steps at a time, until I reached my mother’s bedroom.

The door was slightly ajar, and I slowly pushed it open, my heart beating so hard that I thought it might burst.

She was lying in bed, her face was pale and her breathing was shallow. The sight of her like that made my chest tighten painfully. She looked so small, so fragile. I couldn’t believe that it was her.

"Mother..." I whispered, stepping closer.

Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of my voice, and for a moment, I thought she didn’t recognize me. But then her gaze softened. "You came," she murmured quietly.

"Of course I did," I said, my voice breaking. "Why wouldn’t I?"

She didn’t answer, just closed her eyes again, her chest rising and falling as she breathed unevenly.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, my hands trembling as I reached out to take hers. Her skin was cold, and the realization that she might die sent a wave of panic down my spine.

"You’re going to be okay," I said, more to myself than to her. "The doctor is wrong. You will get through this. You have to."

She opened her eyes again, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Anna..." she said softly, her voice so weak that I had to lean closer to hear her. "I’m sorry."

My body went still, staring at her in disbelief. "What?"

"For everything," she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. "I... I wasn’t a good mother to you."

She was right. But that didn’t matter at the moment. What mattered now was for her to get well. She could apologize later.

"It’s okay... You have to get better first."