LOGINCassandraThe days passed very quickly, until at last I welcomed Genna’s arrival. To me, the vacation she took felt very short; she didn’t even spend New Year’s Eve with her family.Not wanting to be cruel, I felt guilty.“Genna, I’m truly fine here. You can go back and spend New Year’s Eve with your family.”She looked at me and smiled. “It’s already too late, Miss. Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Besides, my family members each have their own events.” Her eyes shifted briefly. “It turns out my grandchild is already a teenager, she has plans with her friends and her partner. There are office events and so on.”Genna is a kind person. She spoke to ease the guilt I felt, even though I knew she had several grandchildren who were still young.I wanted to help carry her things, but she stopped me. Even though she was already old, she moved briskly. Then, with several boxes already on the table, she looked at me.“I brought lots of gifts for you, Miss, and for Miles.”Now the atmosphere truly f
SebastianRestlessness immediately consumed me when I received the report that my mother had left the house. Before the news even spread, Grandpa immediately ordered people to look for her.It didn’t take long to find her, but it really made me angry and anxious because she was meeting with Cassandra and Miles.It’s something that had been repeatedly warned against, and she still did it. It means she wants me to act even more cruelly.I got my car and drove off at top speed. I was afraid that if I didn’t arrive on time and my mother had caused a huge mess, then aaaa… it would be the same as being cruel to Cassandra again.When I arrived there, I clenched my fists tightly, thinking I would immediately see her doing something cruel to Cassandra and Miles, and then my anger would explode at her. But it seemed that the atmosphere was a little different.Even though I heard that Miles was being gentle with my mother, calling her “grandma”…Fuck, I had so many mixed thoughts. Hopes that fel
CassandraSeeing her, I was truly shocked. Then the woman pulled Nia’s hair even harder, forcing her backward until she lost her balance and fell.“OUCH!”“Who are you?!”I looked at Nia, who was stunned by the woman who had helped me. It wasn’t only Nia who was shocked, I was too.Nia knew that my relationship with Julie had never been good. There was even a time when Nia saw Julie scolding me relentlessly. At that time, I couldn’t protect myself at all and could only accept everything she said.Remembering it still felt painful and humiliating. I had done nothing wrong, yet I allowed myself to be blamed by others. But I could blame my past self—loving a man too much really could make a woman foolish.“She already told you to get out of here!”She defended me. It was incredibly surprising.“…Mrs. Monclaire, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Nia said as she tried to stand up. “Ma’am, it’s because this woman trapped Sebas—”“Enough!”Nia’s eyes trembled, perhaps filled with disbelief,
Cassandra“Are you really going to sell your house?”A few days later, Erica contacted me. I knew she was dealing with something very important. As a single mother, there must be many things she has to take care of.Even so, I didn’t expect her to ask about this after several days.The question about selling the house made me look outside, at this quiet and beautiful place. I was lucky to have it.I shook my head with a faint smile. “No. I’ve only just moved in, Erica.”I took a breath before continuing. “I don’t like their arguments. They’re too noisy.”I’m not sure whether she heard my small click of the tongue or not, but I didn’t regret saying it. That day, all I wanted was peace. And in reality, that day truly was peaceful.An image of Sebastian joining me for dinner surfaced in my mind. Don’t misunderstand, I mean that the pleasant things that happened had nothing to do with him at all.If he didn’t cause trouble, then I felt much calmer.“Yeah… you’re right. I also didn’t know
CassandraMy head felt unbearably hot listening to their argument again.Sitting between them always put me on edge, afraid they would start another unpleasant fight. And as I was enjoying my coffee, the argument surfaced once more.For heaven’s sake, in this relaxed moment, I didn’t want to hear any arguing at all. That was why I decided to go home right after—to finally get some rest, but Sebastian followed me.“Sandra, are you going to move?”I knew he intended to keep following me. After briefly meeting his gaze, I ignored him again.I like this house. I really like the neighborhood, and my life is much more stable now. Miles has friends and goes to school here. With all of that considered, moving would be a difficult decision.In truth, I only said that to pressure them into keeping quiet and not making a scene around us.After making sure Miles went inside the house, I quickly turned to him, spreading my arms to stop him from entering. I didn’t want to deny myself the chance to
SebastianAnd so, I immediately walked toward them with an uneasy feeling. That man always seemed to be trying to interfere with my time, an intruder who followed Cassandra wherever she went.They noticed my arrival. Still trying to ignore that man, I didn’t want to start a fight that Cassandra wouldn’t like.“Why did you come here? Do you want to go ice skating too?” Cassandra asked, trying to avoid making eye contact with me.At that moment, I wanted to talk about Nakka first, but seeing the situation—and that man trying to steal the opportunity, I quickly changed my answer.“Ah, yeah.”“Why did you bring Nakka, Uncle?”More than anything, when that question came from Miles, I was shocked and left speechless for a few seconds.I didn’t want the man trying to steal a head start to smile, thinking I was embarrassing myself and losing to him.Regaining control of myself, I answered his question right away. “Nakka was outside. I was walking around looking for you.”More than anything, I







