Chapter 35

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The next morning, the sun shone over Asthel in the brightest, spreading the impression that there was nothing of evil anywhere on the earth. But Kate knew better. Behind the veil of this blinding light laid layers of darkness, lurking for the next rash step of an unaware prey. 

And in this delusional daylight, Alex followed her dutifully still whenever she got out of the security of her apartment walls. And she chose to keep her words sealed behind her lips about it. Alex knew that she knew. It was evident in his eyes when he entered her apartment just minutes after she had last night. Both were oddly quiet about it, as if there was this unspoken deal between them. 

Kate had kept her silence mostly because of the strange look behind the calm in Alex's eyes. She knew him better enough to know that the emotion was suffering. And its extent seemed incredible. 

For a long time, she'd been a pro at reading Alex, like a book, in his brightest and then in his darkest. Situations had changed a lot of things, but she realized that some things were still the same.

She had been hurt, broken, and battered in the past, but none of it could succeed in rendering her heartless, especially when that heart had belonged to the very same man for so long and so utterly. 

Besides, she believed, there was no brilliance in kicking someone who's already been bleeding so much.

Walking up to the very familiar door of Victor's apartment, Kate inhaled a breath in preparation and then wrapped her knuckles on the wood surface--lightly first, and then a tone harder. 

The face of a woman, perhaps in her late fifties, peeked at her as the door opened just a fraction at first, and then it opened wide. 

It was never known to Kate that wrinkles could look so beautiful on a person. The creases on the woman's face added character to her skin, and those laughter lines around her eyes and mouth made her appear incredibly welcoming. 

There are some rare people in the world in the company of whom you are bound to feel good about yourself. These people are a break from the toxic world and its ever-toxic attempts to bring us down from time to time. 

Victor's mother, Martha, was one of them. Kate got to know it in the next couple of minutes as the woman brought her inside her son's home. In a flurry, Kate found herself sitting across from Victor at his dining table with a cheery Martha talking excitedly over a plateful of freshly baked cookies and steaming tea.

"Truly, you've taught Victor well, Martha," Kate said, smiling. "He cooks like a pro."

She watched in amusement as Victor's ears went a tad bit pink.

Martha winked, however, looking proud. "I know, dear, I've raised him well. Now my life will be complete only if he grabs the reins and get married to a sweet girl and then produces those long overdue grandchildren I dream about every night."

"Mom!" Victor cried, the pink hue quickly traveling down his cheeks in the meantime.

Kate grinned, clearly enjoying this. "Now that would surely be awesome," she commented jokingly. 

But then, both Victor and Martha shared a small look, their faces going serious just for a fleeting second. It was hard to say if she had imagined it or misread the moment.

Kate looked down at her hand, halfway dipping a cookie in her teacup. She hadn't realized herself that she had been chowing down on the cookie this way. It was an old habit of hers - a childhood thing, and she had activated it at the wrong time. 

With an embarrassed face, she brought up the dripping cookie, only for it to break in half and fall into the tea, splashing some of the tea around. Kate watched in horror as the melting piece of cookie drowned slowly.

She groaned, hearing chuckles around her.

"It's okay, dear," Martha's comforting voice sounded. "There's nothing wrong in being yourself, and so you should never be afraid of it."

Victor leaned back into the backrest of his chair in a more comforting manner, smiling at Kate as she looked up at him. 

"I won't be afraid," Kate said, reaching out for another cookie and dipping it into the tea for the way and the taste she preferred. 

Martha clapped her hands together. "That's just fantastic!"

Later when Victor was escorting Kate out, they stopped by the locked door. 

"So," Victor glanced towards the direction of the kitchen where his mother was fumbling about having already said her goodbye to Kate. "You're going to attend the next hearing of the case?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. The lawyer was saving me for the last. I guess he's been making the case dramatic by lining up the witnesses and pieces of evidence this way. Anyway, I just hope that it's going to be the final hearing. I can't wait for that woman to get a proper sentence for all that she'd done to me," she paused, exhaling a shaky breath, her eyes drifting to the right hazily. "To Alex..., to us."

Her eyes refocused on Victor's face hearing him say, "That vile thing will get what she deserves, Kate, and her father, too. The monstrosity runs in the family after all and needs to be put a stop to."

Kate agreed fully. Her mouth pressed into a tight-lipped smile of vengeance and expectancy. 

Her past could not poison her heart despite breaking it, but it had surely toughened her up in ways she was discerning now, bit by bit.


--


After visiting Victor, Kate went to the boutique, determined not to let Ellie do all the work and wear herself out. No matter how much the girl showed herself as an energetic person, Kate knew that underneath that hard shell still lay a woman incredibly soft and sensitive. 

The harder the shell is, the softer the core is bound to be. 

When it was nearing eight, and it was getting increasingly dark outside, Ellie basically kicked Kate out of the boutique, demanding that she go home now. 

"Have you forgotten that you have a radiotherapy session tomorrow evening? You need to save your energy, Kate. Or do you want me to summon the one-armed Victor so that he can drill some much-needed sense into your pimply brain!"

Of course, Kate flew out of the boutique after that. 

Ellie had already called for a taxi beforehand. But just like always, it was taking its own sweet time to arrive. Asthel's taxi service really needed some much-needed attention from the authority. 

Rubbing her arms, Kate stood on the pavement. The slight chill in the wind pricked at her skin. Due to her health issues, she got cold too easily. Dr. Gonsalves had predicted it to be a constant until her body completely recuperated. 

Looking left and right, she wondered if Alex was still around. Then she rolled her eyes. Of course, he was. He might be keeping a good distance between them, though, doing his best to be discreet, she guessed. 

Strangely, it felt like a hide-and-seek game between them. And it was a game that was surely going to come to an end after they made a strong case on Nolan. Alex would go back to South-hills, and life would go on without him.

She was in the middle of exhaling a sigh when suddenly, she noticed a figure coming out of the shadows of an alley a few feet away. Her brows crunched, and her body stiffened in alert. Her intuition screamed that something profane had emerged from the boundary of darkness. And that intuition was proven right in the next moment as Nolan Ashworth's face came to her view under the glare of street lamps. 

Her crunched brows slackened, only for her eyes to widen in shock.

"You...," she stammered, mumbling under her breath. "You were... supposed to be in police custody."

Her insides twisted in fear seeing Nolan's lips curl into a diabolic smile. Or was it a sneer?

"Well, surprise!" Nolan said. "Seems like I've my ways in getting a bail, and that is enough for me to take retribution on the woman responsible for my daughter's ruination."

Kate's eyes followed Nolan's hand as it reached into his coat and brought out a gun, making her gasp. 

"Can't trust anyone else anymore to complete the task." His pupils gleamed in determination. 

Kate took stumbling steps back even though she knew she could never be faster than a bullet.


~


That's it for now!

My heartfelt thanks to those wonderful people who've shown your love through your comments on the last chap. Truly, you guys are my light in all the darkness that sometimes threatens to swallow me whole. Thank you so much for being there when I need you the most. Love you soooooo very much!

PayalJindalAppyfizz_gone_crazyButterfling (thanks for the cake, sweety!), harrymineeeerovamwereMyaccountusernameshirlwloridivMinionsHome(I'm incredibly happy that your first long comment is for me.), moccalatte87moccalatte87 (To me, writing is a form of learning too, grammar and many other things. So, pls consider writing if you've plots developed in your mind.), xyraaaBlackHeart35742Mansi6363,  KayMonique_123supergirl799smartinapcuddlemonster503Jia213xfruitellaxfarjana9 (And it sucks, doesn't it? Feels almost like you've met your soulmate and you're losing him), afrinaahba (I guess she has a crush on him. But sometimes, crushes are not meant to become more, and Ellie perhaps knows it already. It's a lot like how a lot of us feel at least a few times in life.), Rehayoayesha2980dbu321... Thank you so much all of you for making me so incredibly happy. 

Just a couple of days ago I had my upper wisdom teeth removed by the dentist for they were apparently making my jaw loosen from the sliding disks. I'm pumped full of painkillers right now and still... know that I'm delirious with gladness because of the support and the love you have for me. You make all the negativity go away from my mind.

*A big smile. And the tightest of hugs.

Lots of love,
Lara.





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