The Fearless One [discontinued]

Chapter Sixteen

The candles were lit up, the room warmed up in the light.

The wolves had ran into different directions, proceeding to scare other people.

Away from where they were.

Steph sat down, holding a warm cup of cocoa in front of Paige.

"What is this?"

"It's sweet," Steph explained gently, "you'll like it."

"Sweet like strawberries?" Paige inclined her head, snuggling closer to Steph.

Steph let out a faint giggle, "not that kind of sweet."

Paige took it. A flicker of trust in her eyes can be seen as she sipped on it. A brown foam circled the top of her upper lip, and she licked them away.

"Taste good!"

"Of course it does," Steph grinned, and yet that grin didn't last long.

She looked towards that woman. Once called Stephanie, and now called Cate. Once her mother, and now...

Steph swallowed and watched Paige gulp down the cocoa quickly.

"Not too hasty!" Steph cooed, "it's all yours."

Paige giggled and continued to drink.

Steph glanced down at her fingers. How her father used to make her hot cocoas, and tell her not to drink it too quickly.

She looked up.

Cate sat straight on a dining chair she had dragged across.

It appears that she lived alone. The front entrance was the living room.
Natural light would only spread into the room from the door and the skylight.

The cushioned couches were pushed against the wall, the overall look has a brown hue to it.

The fireplace was small; not lit. The dining table was merely a worn out chess table in front of the fireplace... and yet it had two chairs.

The shelves had a few books, all fallen towards one direction. Seeing that made something tickle inside Steph.

Cate's glance lingered at the hot cocoa she had brought from the kitchen for Steph.

Steph did not touch it.

"I think I have some explaining to do," she finally said after the long stretched silence.

It was a silence agonising for both parties.

Steph remained silent.

"It will come as a shock-"

Steph stifled a bitter laugh at her statement.

Cate's voice died at the edge of her lips. Her dark eyes showed hesitation, but she continued with a sigh.

"The man whom you call..." her voice paused.

Steph finally gave her eye contact. Toward that women she dislikes very much.

"The man whom you call your father... he's not your father."

Steph felt a ring in her ears.

"How dare you address him like that," Steph seethed.