When Love Returns | 2 ✔

Chapter 31

Ever since the moment I read those words, I hadn't been myself. Hours on end, I found myself staring into space, trying to analyse the cryptic message and what it meant.

‘Cassiopeia’ the note said. As always, only mum and Jason said my first name in full. The words in the letter were so intimate and mysterious like a lover to their beloved ergo, it couldn't be mum.

But Jason is dead! There was no way he could write it while buried a hundred feet deep in the ocean. He could even have been eaten by a shark or swallowed by a whale.

The thought of that upset and weakened me. I shouldn't be thinking about the gory details. I had to make sure the memories and thoughts of him were beautiful, not morbid.

Back to my point; these two were both out of the question. So who could it be? Maybe the guy at the club, what was his name again? Oh Hayden! Maybe it was him who left the note. Perhaps we had met somewhere prior to when we met at the club and in his usual flirty self, he had left the note to state this.

However, days of pondering and trying to remember my night at the club, I remembered I never told him my name. I believed he only said his but never asked for mine. Ergo, he didn't write the letter.

I scraped him off the list.

But what if he asked around and got a hold of my name? Nah, he wouldn't have found a way to place the post-it note in if he had asked around in the club. My clutch had securely been by my side—Literally—through the diamond chain attached to it that I had placed around my shoulder. Moreover, I didn't make use of my phone all through that period.

Once again, I discarded him off the list.

"Cassie, why do you keep zoning out?" Tess snapped me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head, "It's nothing serious, I'm okay. How did it go?" In order to digress from further questions about this, I asked her about her meeting with my mother. Mum had instructed me that she wanted to speak with Tess today, to apologize for everything. I had been anticipating the turnout.

"It went really well I must say. I've never seen your mother so penitent. She almost wanted to go on her knees to apologize." The look on both our faces were disbelieving.

"Wow! You've got to be kidding me." I displayed doubt. My mother was too proud to do this. However, a little part of me believed Tess because of how changed mum had been recently.

Ever since she apologized to me, it had been like a burden had been taken off her shoulders. She smiled more, walked around the house singing to herself. She even came into my room, took my hands and rushed me back into her room where she braided my hair, while we talked about everything and nothing in particular. After that, we ordered pizza while we shuffled through her ginormous closet— it was freaking large— and she gave me some of her expensive jewelries and designer clothes, bags and perfumes. We didn't share the same shoe size if not, I would have emptied her shoe rack.

Moreover, dad commented he had never seen her this vibrant and happy since I got into the University. I laughed so hard when he stated how mum had began to swear more than the average human being. In his words, "She is a sight to behold!"

Therefore, with these infallible proofs, I believed Tess.

"I'm not kidding Cassie. She was so vulnerable and there were tears in her eyes while she begged for forgiveness." Tess had that look of pity and surprise. My mother whom we knew to be fastidious, now begged for mercy.

"Did you forgive her?"

"Of course I did. I mean, it wasn't easy. During our conversation, I remembered how she degraded and humiliated my brother and I constantly and that made me livid but after she explained the reasons behind it all, I realised that although she made the wrong decisions, they were a result of the thought of losing her daughter to the wrong people. You guys are filthy rich and if I were in your mother's position, I would do the same. That's why I had to forgive. But that didn't stop me from acting all angry, just to make her beg the more." Tess stated with a wink which was awfully amusing.