Isha glanced at Cara's disappearing form, her eyes filled with maliciousness.
She was the prettiest girl in school in this life, as well as the daughter of the Smith family. Who was Cara to compare with her, but a lowly pauper? She might have left the Smith family, but she couldn't escape her destiny of being Isha's stepping stone to a glorious future. She was going to deal with her sooner or later.
To everyone at the banquet who watched Isha, she longed for the company of Cara and couldn't bear to part with her. The sight broke her mother's heart.
She thought the child was so good that her kindness would be her weakness, and despite the fact that Cara took all that was hers for so long, she proposed to keep her as her sister.
"Isha, I know you're kind-hearted, but a person like Cara is unworthy of your kindness," she said, turning Isha's head away from the door.
"Why would you say that mother, she's my sister no matter what," Isha said with pain in her voice and eyes.
Shen Smith sighed at that.
"Oh right, did your adoptive mother treat you well over the years?" she asked. Isha kept mum, lowering her eyes, refusing to say anything.
"Tell mommy, Isha," Shen Smith prodded gently, staring intently at Isha's face, but she refused to look up and murmured instead.
"It's not right to talk ill about her now, after all she's also my mother."
Shen Smith's heart ached at the sight of her beautiful daughter struggling internally and wondered how much torture she must have gone through in the hands of that home wrecker.
"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it. But I wish you'd see me as your mother now and share all your joys and sorrows with me," she said with a small sigh. Isha's lips trembled slightly at that as she fought back the tears that threatened to spill, breaking her mother's heart even more.
"I consider you my mom too, but how can I not be filial to a woman I've called mother for eighteen years? How do I tell you I almost dropped out of high school when I was in my freshman year because she refused to pay my school fees and the headmaster had to waive it because of my outstanding achievements? Or how do I tell you I was referred to as a bastard no one wanted?"
Isha sobbed while her mother stared at her in horror at all she's had to endure.
She almost felt sorry for her adoptive mother who couldn't bear to watch her endure any hardship. That woman had given her all her life savings to help her find her footing, afraid she would be bullied when she got to her biological family. But Isha suppressed the feeling; no one here knew the truth anyway, and paupers like her adoptive mother and sister's purpose in life was to make her seem outstanding.
She almost chortled in pleasure at the endless possibilities in her future now but managed to hold back on time and kept a pitiable face as she noticed the furious expressions on the faces of the crowd who had heard her mild outburst.
They were so sure the switched-at-birth incident was Cara's mother's doing so that her own child would have a better life while turning another's into an uncultured deadbeat.
Shen Smith hugged Isha, unable to stop the tears that made their way down her face.
"My poor baby, how could she treat you so viciously when all we've ever shown her useless daughter was love?"
Isha sniffled lightly and pulled away from her mother's embrace while trying to look strong.
"I'm fine now and have gotten used to it over the years, as well as the fact I'm not her biological daughter."
Isha lowered her head sadly, her lips curling into a proud smile. She knew her parents would do everything in their power to make her happy with the amount of guilt she had embedded in them, which would never go away.
Furthermore, she heard from the conversations in the crowd that a mysterious financial magnate was in her banquet, and she was certain she had won his heart as well. Isha's head was in the clouds.
Cara, on the other hand, found the address where her supposed mother, Rae Michaels, lived, using the memories available to her.
It turned out to be one of the cheapest basements available with a hint of musty stench. It would have been a lie if Cara said she hadn't minded the environmental mess, but this was her family now. A concept that was foreign to her and a welcome development. She thanked the previous owner of her body and promised to take her family as hers and fight her battles accordingly.
It was evening and dinnertime she noted, her eyes casually taking in families eating in small clusters outside with curious eyes fixated on her. They wondered what an expensive-looking young lady like her was doing in their slum.
She still had her thick makeup on, and her entire body emanated a gloomy, intolerant aura that made them feel quite stifled.
It reminded Cara how different she was from them and her previous life as a tech mogul everyone feared. So much so that world leaders were extremely respectful to her. She wished it would be different this time around, and she'd have some sort of camaraderie to fill up the loneliness in her soul from before.
Unaware she possessed the aura of a superior being still, despite her thick, shoddy makeup, and it was fully unleashed at the moment. She headed to her mother's unit and lightly rapped on the door.
The door was suddenly opened from inside, just when she had waited a while and thought there was no one inside.
She was met with a sickly but pleasant middle-aged woman, one could not help but love on sight.
"Cara?"
Rae stared at her in astonishment and disbelief.
"I'm home, mom."
Cara said with rapidly reddening eyes.
"Mom?"
Rae's eyes brimmed with tears. Yes, she thought. She was the mom to this soft-spoken girl standing before her right now and a proud one at that.
She whimpered and was about to go over and hug Cara so hard, but stopped short, staring uncertainly at this daughter before her.
She remembered how she went over to see Cara the day before. However, her little girl had humiliated her, screaming about how she could never have such a wretched mother.
Who would have thought Cara would willingly come and address her as 'mom'.
She thought of all she's had to go through over the years as a pregnant nineteen-year old with twins, to giving birth and losing Cara's twin brother in stillbirth, and being betrayed by the only man she's ever loved resulting in her being chased by her parents.
But how could she heap such guilt on this baby of hers who was obviously here for her?
Cara glanced at her, understanding her doubts and pains. Truly, the owner of this body was foolishly naive. She gently stepped forward hugged her mother, breaking all the defences Rae had painstakingly set up.
"I was naive in the past, please forgive me mom."
Cara pleaded as she greedily wriggled deeper into the warmth of Rae's embrace, relishing the feeling it brought, being her first hug ever.
"You're home now, and that's all that matters," Rae softly told her, as she broke their embrace, almost making Cara whimper in displeasure.
"Come in. The house is shabby; I hope you don't mind," she added with a smile. Cara shook her head and stepped into the room.
She almost turned tail and ran back to wherever she came from and beg them to take her back as a maid, but managed to chuck that thought back to the pit of hell where she was sure it came from.
If she came from a mansion before, this was a rat's nest in the far end of that mansion. On the positive side, however, the living room was kept in good order, and she could tell that this mother of hers was a neat person.
"What would you like me to cook for dinner, Cara?" Rae uncertainly asked as she shut the door behind them.
"I look like a mess and would like to take a shower first," Cara replied.
Rae took in the heavy makeup and nodded slightly.
"Oh," she murmured thoughtfully.
"That'd be a good idea," Rae acknowledged.
"Come with me," she said as she led Cara further into the house.
The bathroom was pathetically tiny and could only fit one person. Rae glanced anxiously at Cara, scared she'd be displeased at the state of the bathroom after being used to a life of luxury. Seeing Cara's neutral expression however, she heaved an imperceptible sigh of relief.
"Give me a moment; I'll go look for some fresh clothes for you," Rae said with a small smile.
"Thanks for the trouble," Cara nodded with slightly pursed lips as she headed into the bathroom.
Rae went into Isha's room and got some new clothes she had refused to wear because they were of poor quality. But she remembered Isha was quite chubbier and shorter than Cara, so she discarded them and went across the street to purchase some sets of clothes which she hung on a chair for when Cara was done as she went to prepare dinner.
Cara, on the other hand, took a quick bath and stood in front of a mirror, sizing up the girl she saw looking back at her. She had an oval face with a delicate complexion so fair that it seemed translucent. Her pair of exquisitely lidded eyes were upturned ever so slightly with crystal clear pupils as mysterious as obsidians, protected by thick long lashes like the wings of butterflies.
Her eyes roamed down to full, red cherry lips adorned beneath a small straight nose which rounded her facial expression up in two words; nonchalant and cold.
Cara curled her lips up slightly and watched the beauty in the mirror do the same. Her facial structures were quite similar to that of her past life, which lifted the burden in her heart.
She picked up a rubber band and tied her long hair into a high bun, revealing a long, snowy-white neck, admiring herself as she got dressed. She scowled lightly at the rough texture of the fabric material and felt uneasy all over her body. She had to figure out a way to make money as soon as possible, she thought. That way she could improve her standard of living as well as that of her family.
She almost bumped into her mother who was on her way out of the kitchen with a bowl of noodles in her hands but was now stunned as her invitation to dinner stayed stuck in her throat. Her eyes literally scanned the girl before her who was dressed in a white shirt with its hem casually tied at her hips; having legs that seemed endlessly long and straight.
The makeup was gone, yet that beauty rippled with exquisite radiance. Despite being cheap flea market clothes, they looked like superior quality, branded clothes on her.
"Mom," Cara stared at her mother with a slightly raised brow, snapping her out of her daze.
"I made you noodles for dinner," Rae suppressed the shock in her heart and placed the noodles on the table.
"Thank you," Cara picked up the bowl and began devouring her meal. She felt starved and was barely holding herself back from throwing everything into her mouth at once in order not to appear crude.
"There's more in the pot, Cara," Rae gently told her, seeing how hungry she was.
"I'm full, mom," she smiled.
"Would you like me to take you to your room then?" Rae gently asked.
"I'd like that," Cara nodded.
Rae led her to a rather little bedroom which used to be Isha's; with simple furnishings, consisting of a bed, a desk, and a cupboard for clothes.
The previous madame had already removed all the items she deemed worthy enough to migrate with her before she left and gave out the bedsheets and blankets to neighbors, knowing fully well Cara would be staying there.
"I'll go get you a bed sheet and a blanket," Rae said in embarrassment, forgetting to fix this little issue earlier on when she was here.
"Alright," Cara said with a smile as she watched her mother leave.
"Oh right, where's my uncle?" Cara asked, suddenly thinking of her mom's youngest brother who was the only uncle on good terms with her mother, out of Rae's five siblings.
Rae glanced at the clock on the wall.
"He should be back soon," as if on cue, the sound of footsteps were heard outside.
"Sister! Come, see what I've brought you!" Dexter bellowed.
Rae rolled her eyes with a smile as she gave Cara an apologetic look, making her raise her hands in surrender with a slight chuckle of her own.
"Coming," Rae answered as she made her way to the door, followed by Cara who made herself comfortable on the dinning table.
On opening it, she saw Dexter standing there with a wide grin. A half-chopped-up barbecued duck in one hand and a large watermelon in the other.
"Uh, Dexter?" Rae called in astonishment staring at his hands as he breezed into the apartment.
"Where would I get the money to buy meat, especially one as big as this?" He asked, but one couldn't miss the look of pride on his face as Rae shut the door and faced him with a questioning look.
"It's an appreciative gift from a good customer who owns a barbecued duck store…" he began as he turned around to place them on the table, his voice trailing off as he noticed Cara watching the little drama in amusement.
"Sister, don't be scared. But I think we have a burglar in our house and it's an audacious one."
"Don't be problematic Dexter, you know who it is," Rae said with a sigh, massaging her temples as she felt a headache coming up.
"Cara, stop teasing your uncle." Cara smiled at that and stood up.
"Hello, uncle," she respectfully greeted him with a bow.
"Cara Smith?" he said uncertainly, eyeing her like she was a rabid dog.
"I'm known as Cara Michaels now," she corrected.
"You're not scheming again, right?" he asked. Ready to pull his sister behind and smack this evil child to oblivion if she tried something stupid again to hurt his dearest sister in any way.
"Uncle, I made mistakes in the past which ended up hurting my mom. I was wrong, please forgive me."
Dexter wasn't ready to be bought over so easily with those puppy eyes he had to admit seemed sincere and made him want to pat her head and assure her everything was going to be alright. So he puffed his chest out instead.
"Ungrateful brat, I won't let you off if you bully my sister ever again," he glared at her.
"How can my daughter bully me?" Rae said with a smile as she pushed him towards the kitchen to go empty his hands and wash them before eating.
"She was raised by the Smith's even if she wasn't borne by them. What if she turns out worse than that ungrateful brat Isha?"
He murmured as he let himself into the kitchen.
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