It’s all your own doing, so shame on you.” Although Elizabeth’s words sounded offensive, it was still because she could not accept this cruel reality about her daughter. Learning that fact, Cassie was bewildered. Her hands could not stop trembling as she held on to her mother. “Mom, is that true? Are you lying to me?” Seeing her like this, Elizabeth’s heart softened. “I am your mother. Why would I lie to you? You’ve made a terrible mistake.If you’d discussed it with me, you wouldn’t have caused this mess.
But don’t worry too much. The doctor only said that it will be difficult to get pregnant, but that doesn’t mean there will be no chance at all. I will find the best doctor for you. ” Cassie’s face seemed to turn even paler. “Mom, I want to have a child with Oscar.” Elizabeth uttered with annoyance, “Well, what goes around comes around. You should have expected it the moment you made this plan. Do you know that you might even lose your own life? You should be smart enough to know this! How I wish I don’t have a daughter like you.” Cassie grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and whimpered, “Mom, I was wrong. I only wanted Oscar to marry me because I believe he still loves me. He told me that it was just a marriage of convenience between him and Amelia.
He promised to marry me once I’m back.” Right then, Elizabeth recalled what Cassie said just now. “Earlier, you said that you never slept with Oscar. What did you mean by that?” Cassie’s expression turned a little awkward. “Mom, there’s no need to ask about this anymore. You just need to remember that the child wasn’t his.” Unable to hear the truth from Cassie, Elizabeth added angrily. “Honestly speaking, I don’t want to meddle in your business anymore either.” “Mom, please don’t. I’m your daughter. If you don’t care about me, who else is willing to do so?
Would you like your daughter to lose everything after suffering for so much?” “Well, you deserve it.” “B-But… I am still your daughter.” Elizabeth was left speechless at that. Just then, a knock on the door interrupted the quarrel between the two. Elizabeth went to open the door. It was their housemaid who had brought the food. “Mrs. Yard, this is the meal I have prepared. Mr. Yard is still discussing work with the shareholders at the office. He asked me to inform you that he will only come later.” Elizabeth nodded and said, “I see. You can leave now. Thanks.”
“Alright, Mrs. Yard.” The next second after the housemaid left, Cassie reminded Elizabeth. “Mom, can you call Oscar? It’s late already, so he must be hungry.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Cassie. “Could you at least take care of yourself first? Since the child wasn’t Oscar’s, stop being so obsessed with him. He is, after all, the president of Clinton Corporations and has a lot of work. You should be grateful since he already took a day off to be with you. If you get too clingy, he will definitely be irritated.” Cassie was a little unconvinced. “Mom, I thought you’re on my side.” “Even if I am on your side, I can’t blame others indiscriminately. I’d have a reason to put the blame all on Oscar if the child was his.
But now that I know that this was all but a lie, why should I?” Upon that, Cassie turned to her mother meekly and pouted. “But Mom, I am your only daughter. Are you really that willing to see me suffer?” “Of course not, but what can I do? Your child is gone, and Oscar is not willing to divorce his wife. You should give up on him as soon as possible, then find a man who loves you and get married,” Elizabeth answered. “Never.” Despite all those words from Elizabeth, Cassie’s stubbornness did not seem to fade at all. “Mom, there are many men who want me, but I only love Oscar. No matter what, he is the only man I will be marrying. If you don’t allow it, then that’s fine; I’ll just be an old lonely hag.”
Hearing that, Elizabeth became furious. “You-” Just as she was trying to reprimand her daughter, there was another knock on the door. Unable to suppress her emotions, she shouted, “Who is it?” “It’s me.” It was Oscar’s voice. As soon as Cassie heard that, she became nervous and snapped back at her mother, “Mom, why are you so rude?” Elizabeth was so furious that she almost choked with anger. After all, she did not mean to overreact towards Oscar. She gave Cassie a reluctant stare and petulantly spoke, “Come in then. The door’s not locked.” Whereas Cassie immediately leaned on the pillow, pretending to be weak.
“Oz, you’re back. Let’s have dinner. You must be hungry.” Oscar came in and sat over at the side of the hospital bed. Then, Cassie opened the lunchbox and chirped enthusiastically, “Oz, I specially asked Mom to get the maid to prepare your favorite meals. The food is still warm. I hope it suits your appetite.” Seeing that Cassie was once again clinging onto Oscar, Elizabeth’s anger was mixed with embarrassment. The daughter that she loved so dearly was but a speck of dirt in front of that man. Elizabeth cleared her throat and interrupted the two. “Oscar, what would you like to eat? Let me get it for you.” At that second, Oscar was keenly aware of the change in Elizabeth’s attitude towards him.
Although he was not sure what was going on, he was glad to see it. “Mrs. Yard, I’m not hungry. Please go on and eat with Cassie.” “It’s already nighttime. How could you not be hungry? Oz, eat some with me, okay?” Cassie grabbed his arm and said coquettishly. Oscar gazed at her in confusion. “Doesn’t the wound hurt? Why are you able to sit up?” Upon that, Cassie promptly pretended to be in pain. “Oz, of course, it hurts. But whenever I look at you, I just forget about the pain.” Even Elizabeth felt that her daughter was being too much. She cleared her throat again and served them. Cassie’s meal consisted of a hearty soup, whereas hers and Oscar’s were various types of food.
Elizabeth put the food in front of them gently. “Oscar, please eat with Cassie, or else she will refuse to eat again.” Oscar was left without a choice. Even at that moment, Cassie kept putting food into Oscar’s bowl, ignoring Elizabeth’s feelings while at it. It was then when Elizabeth decided she could not take it anymore. “Cassie, stop moving around and be careful with your wound or you’ll end up in pain again,” Elizabeth advised. Nonetheless, Cassie did not intend to withdraw her way of affection towards Oscar. “Mom, as long as Oz is with me, I’ll be alright.”
Oscar served the soup for Cassie and instructed gently, “Cassie, drink your soup. Don’t worry about me. I’ll help myself.” Cassie showed a sweet smile and opened her mouth flirtily. “Oz, I bet the soup will taste better if you feed me.” With that, Oscar submissively directed a spoonful of soup towards her mouth. “Ahh…” Cassie leaned forward to drink it, her lips unwilling to let go of the spoon for quite some time. Surprisingly, Oscar did not seem to urge her either. “Does it taste good?” Cassie nodded while beaming with satisfaction. On the contrary, Elizabeth’s expression seemed extremely detested looking at her ridiculous daughter. In order to be with Oscar, she aborted her child that belonged to another man.
And now, she was pretending to be weak to gain Oscar’s compassion. Truthfully, Elizabeth had seemed to lose grasp of her daughter’s true personality. Thus, she could not stand anymore but to reproach, “Cassie, please have your meal properly. You still have a wound on your body, waiting to heal. Don’t come to me crying later if it hurts again.” Due to Elizabeth’s persistent nagging, Cassie reluctantly adjusted her posture and let Oscar fed her at a faster pace. After they finished with their dinner, Elizabeth wanted to talk to Oscar outside the ward. However, Cassie instinctively turned nervous. “Mom, why do you have to go out? You can talk with him here.” Elizabeth glared daggers at her annoying daughter.
“What’s your problem? Come on. Are you worried that I would eat him up?” Cassie bit her lips when she heard her mother’s remark. Before she could further refute, Oscar covered her with the quilt and comforted her. “Don’t worry. We won’t be long. Just stay still and remember not to move too much as it’ll further agitate the wound.” Just as he was about to leave, Cassie grabbed the corner of his shirt and murmured, “Okay, but come back quickly. I don’t like being alone. It scares me.” Even at that moment, Oscar continued to put on a mask of affection, concealing any traces of irritation in his mind.
“Rest well. I will be back soon.” Then, Oscar and Elizabeth left the ward. They reached an empty staircase so they could have a talk in private. Soon after that, Elizabeth went directly to the point. “Oscar, I know that you are a very assertive and attractive man. And I’m sure you have noticed that Cassie has become extremely dependent on you now. Without a doubt, she loves you very much. However, she had a miscarriage, and the doctor also said that she might not be able to get pregnant in the future. So I need to ask you now – What is your current stand in this relationship?”
Oscar did not reveal his true emotion but asked rhetorically, “And what do you hope to hear?” “I am her mother, so of course, I hope that you both will get married.” With both hands in his pocket, Oscar said, “Honestly, Mrs. Yard, I planned to marry Cassie. But after getting to know her more, I am starting to feel that she is not the one I want.” Elizabeth frowned, but her reaction had toned down considerably now since she realized Cassie’s miscarriage was her own plan. “Oscar, please give me a reason.” “Mrs. Yard, you might think I am giving an excuse. I feel like Cassie has changed.
She doesn’t seem to be the naive Cassie that I love anymore.” Elizabeth did not respond at once but went deep in thought. She would have denounced Oscar if it was before, but now that she found out what Cassie had done, she couldn’t do so… Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth sounded extremely despondent. “Oscar, Cassie stayed in Erihal for almost five years. People there are more open-minded, so she would be, more or less, influenced under that kind of environment.” Despite that, Oscar just shook his head. “Mrs. Yard, you are her mother. I believe you know what I am talking about.
The old Cassie, though was stubborn at times, still cared for people around her. But even though she seems to be much gentler now, I don’t think her heart is in the right place… I say this by no means of disrespect. It’s just that everything feels so different with her now.” Although Elizabeth knew all that to be true, she was unpleased with Oscar’s comment.
“From what I heard, you’re trying to push away the responsibilities, no?” Oscar hesitated upon hearing this accusation. “Mrs. Yard, my wife is pregnant now. It will be mean for me to divorce her now, won’t it? As for Cassie, I will arrange the best doctor to ensure her recovery. But at this point, I can promise nothing in terms of marriage.”
