Chapter 3

Some minutes before the break of the day, Isis Cepheus slipped into the living room as quietly as she could. But she wasn’t so lucky, a figure was in the living room, sipping coffee.

Isis froze on her tracks immediately she saw her mum, eyes stern.

“Mu-Mum?” Isis greeted softly, “Have a good night’s rest?”

No response from her mum. Isis felt something off. Her mum, Nora Cepheus, wasn’t that stern of woman who would scold her over sleeping out of all things, so what—

Isis was about to take a step closer when Nora finally spoke up, “Why did you sleep out? You know I would be worried.”

Dalton’s words from yesterday came back in a fresh bit, making Isis feel disgust for the woman from the bottom of her heart, but she swallowed her anger. ‘I slept out for the first time, so we’re even,’ she thought before clearing her throat, “Sorry, mum. I slept off at Alice’s place.”

Nora moved closer and scoffed, “Alice’s place? You mean the same Alice that called to ask if you got back home safely?”

Isis’s eyes widened, and she became speechless immediately.

Nora pressed again, “Did you lose your tongue now that your lie has been exposed?”

“Why didn’t you come to the sports competition? I told you it’s my first Hale’s class, right?” Isis throws back immediately. Her thought was that, as shameless as Nora was, she would overlook it, but now pressing too much, Isis couldn’t control her anger.

“Is that the question I asked?” Nora fired back. “I’m asking where you were last night!!?”

“I was at a guest house, doing what you were doing at home,” Isis replies curtly. The memory of Dalton and Fatima’s betrayal seeping in.

All Isis could remember from the guy of the previous night was ‘fish boy’, but never his face because he left first.

Nora’s face was edged with worry. “Isis, what on earth are you saying? Is that all you have to say after sleeping out?”

She eyed her mum evenly. Only if she didn’t make her prostitution so obvious to the extent of being discovered by Fatima of all people.

“I said I was out doing what you taught me, Mum,” Isis repeated before tuning to go to her room. Then she stopped, “I hope your boyfriend has left? You know I hate having males around?”

Nora didn’t move. Her face was pale before replying, “You won’t get to do that again, Ice. Go and pack your bags”

Isis stopped, her shirt already taken off, “You say what?”

“We’re moving out, Ice! Go and pack your bags!” Nora yelled this time, tears dripping from her eyes as she walked toward her daughter. “Max is marrying me. So we’re moving to his place before the wedding?”

“Mum are you mad?” Isis freaked. “You’re even getting married now? Is sleeping around not enough?”

“Isis!!” Nora yelled in anger before throwing her daughter a sharp slap. “Did you think I’m doing this because I wanted?”

Isis’s hand travelled to her cheeks. Two strings of hot tears ran down her cheeks. As long as she could remember, Nora never raised her hand against her before. It came as a total shock, and Isis is almost losing her damn mind.

“Mum-”

“I will slap you again if you say anything else,” Nora warned, her eyes glowing ferociously. “Your father left me with nothing but debt and your bills to pay. Did you have to judge me, too?”

Isis’ throat instantly dried up. “Mum-”

“I vowed never to tell you all these and make sure you’re happy, even if I have to sell my dignity for that, and all you could do was to blame me too?” Nora slipped to the ground and sobbed. “You’re my daughter, Ice. You should understand me more than anyone else.”

Isis was at a loss for what to say. This is the first time that Nora would be telling her about her late father’s debts.

All she was made to know since she was young was that her father, who was a rogue before his death, died in a fatal plane crash, and nothing about how he lived his life was provided.

She ran her hand through her hair in frustration and bent down to Nora’s level. “But did you have to get married? Can’t Max just be your boyfriend and-”

“I love him,” Nora confessed. “This is the first time since your father’s death that I would have feelings for someone, and I just can’t refuse him when he proposed.

“So we’re moving to the vineyard pack now?”

Nora thought her daughter had finally understood her and jumped to her feet. She held Isis’s hand expectantly, “No. I told him I can’t leave Ember now because of your education. So he moved here instead with his son, you guys can go to EPC together and-”

Isis yanked her hand away immediately. “His Son?” She exclaimed. “You’re not only getting married, but I’m getting a stepbrother now?”

“Ice, you’re going to love it. Just do-”

“No, Mum,” Isis cut in. The thought of what the likes of Fatima and Dalton would say if she appeared with a stepbrother out of nowhere haunted her brain painfully, and she continued. “You can move out alone. But I won’t leave here only to be stuck with some stepbrother.”

Nora closed her head at this failure to get her daughter’s understanding. She sat back on the floor. “I can never leave you behind. You’re the reason why I agreed to marry him.”

“Stop using me as an excuse!” Isis yelled painfully. “If you want to do anything for me, then don’t go on with this marriage!”

Nora stood up, “Fine. If you really wanted to do this….” She went to the dining room and got a knife. “I would rather die than leave you alone behind.”

Isis was losing it. Her mind, her brain, her heart, her trust for this woman, Isis, was losing it all.

“Get a grip, mum!” She sobbed, trying to get the knife from Nora. “Think about me too. What should I tell my friends at school?”

With tears, Nora refused to give in. “Max will pay all our bills and I won’t have to sleep with different men again. Isn’t that better?”

“Nothing is fucking better! Get a job! Pick garbage, just do anything but this, Mum, please.” Isis had to resort to pleading when she felt she couldn’t say anymore.

The mother and daughter’s tirade was cut short at the stop of a van outside their home.

“The packing van must be here already. Go get your things, honey,” Nora pleaded.

Isis ran upstairs dejectedly. Not to pack her bags but to cry.

‘Nothing is going well,’ Her wolf panicked. Isis hugged her teddy and cried bitterly. ‘She’s determined,’ The wolf said again.

“Arrgh. No!”