“Do you even hear yourself? Are you out of your mind?” Isabelle bellowed.
“Yeah, maybe I am. For some reason, Crystal always ends up using the people I love to hurt me. You’re my mother, for Pete’s sake, and even you treats me like this?” My mother used to sing lullabies to me when I was a kid. She was a gentle soul, but that part of her seemed to be dead.
“Christopher has gotten to you, hasn’t he?” Isabelle raised her hand at me again, but Lucas stepped forward to protect me. However, I went around him. This time, I wouldn’t back down anymore.
“That should be my line. Crystal has gotten to you. You fell for her cheap tricks. This is our problem, not hers. She’s just an outsider. Do you have any idea how much it hurts seeing you take her side when she mocks me?”
I pointed at the painting on the wall and shouted painfully, “Mom, do you have any idea how much I wanted you to come with me to the exhibit? I wanted you to witness my world and my glory, but what did you do? You actually asked me to give my glory up to someone who’s not even family! And without any reason! Do you know how much that hurts?”
“I told you I have my reasons.” Isabelle was fidgeting, but she was still looking at me coldly.
“Yeah, so? That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t break my heart.” I closed my eyes to calm down and raised my head as I took a deep breath. In the end, I said, “I think we need some time to cool off. We’ll talk about this when we can deal with this calmly.”
I moved out of the Goldstein residence that afternoon. Since I didn’t want to worsen my relationship with Isabelle, I went to the mansion she bought for me instead of my own house. Lucas helped me put my stuff in the trunk, while a servant gave me my handbag. Before I left, I looked at the mansion one last time.
Isabelle wasn’t there, but that b*tch was. Crystal was leaning against the gates, waving at me smugly. “That’s a bit too far, don’t you think? Isabelle is crushed. And even if you don’t care about her, you should think for yourself. Once you leave, it won’t be easy for you to come back.”
Did I go too far? Perhaps. But I ignored her mockery and only sneered at her.
After I came to the mansion, I turned my phone on and saw a lot of missed calls from Christopher. I wondered if I should call him back. In the end, however, I only told him everything was fine. Then, I put my phone down and went to the bed, exhausted.
A while later, I could vaguely feel someone pulling my blanket down before rubbing some salve on my back’s wound carefully. It felt scorching at first, but eventually, a cool sensation ran down my spine. I wanted to turn around, but someone was pressing down on my back.
“Don’t move. I’m still not done yet,” Christopher whispered.
“How did you know I’m here?” I lay on the bed and let Christopher rub the salve on all my injuries. My arms, back, and even my legs were painted with red, ugly welts. Although it wasn’t very painful when I was hit, when Christopher was rubbing that salve, I almost cried out in agony.
“Lucas told me.” Christopher looked tense, obviously worried about me, but also furious about what happened.
“I didn’t know you guys are frien… Ow, ow, ow! Go softer, will you?” Christopher hit an especially sore spot, and that turned on the waterworks.
“Oh, now you feel it, huh? Then you should have dodged it in the first place.” After he was done, Christopher held me up and hugged me carefully, avoiding my wounds.
“It’s not really painful. It’s just…” Before I could continue further, I noticed the dark look looming over Christopher’s face. I thought it was better to change the topic, or he might explode in fury. “I just didn’t expect Mom to go that far. I’ve never seen her looking so angry, so I thought I’d just let her vent. Chris, I think I need to see Julia. I have to know the truth, or I might lose sleep over this.”
