Chapter 369: Chapter 369

Aliya’s pale face contorted into a semblance of something indescribable, which finally got through the calm mask that Ian had on.

Ian was usually composed around everyone. This may explain why Geneva never liked Aliya; her mere presence could trigger Ian in unexpected ways. There was a hushed phrase that previously went around that he was only ’human’ around Aliya, but that notion had long since been countered.

Ian felt much saner this time, facing his long-lost love, whom he thought dead,

"It’s not like that, I—" he stopped and clenched his fists at his sides. For the second time in his life, and maybe for the last time, he said words that were very similar to ones he had borne out to his Elvin,

"You have no idea what it was like. Losing you broke me, Aliya."

"Clearly, not enough," she snapped, her voice cracking under the strain or forcing herself to speak louder than her weak body could handle.

A stuffy silence lingered between them, inviting a moment of shared understanding., and both were enveloped in their own thoughts, unrelenting.

Ian looked down, an unknown emotion swirling in his chest. The silence stretched, filled only by the soft hum of the hospital machinery.

Ian looked at the pale and weak woman and then asked,

"Did... D-id you ever....."

He stopped mid-sentence.

’It doesn’t matter anymore if she liked me or not. I have my Elvin now. What is in the past should remain there.’ At this, Ian did not want to ask any questions about their past relationship anymore.

He even did not know if they had anything called a real relationship since he had always been the third party between her and Tyler. The funny thing was that he had always been in the picture before Tyler. That, in itself should have told him more than enough. Ian did not know why it had taken him this long to understand this simple fact.

However, he also knew that there was a time for everything. Even though a small voice at the back of his mind told him, ’This is so much like Aliya. She did not even answer the question about Tyler.. haha...’

’What are you doing, Ian? She is a patient!’ he chastised himself, then said,

"I didn’t mean to come here and anything hard on you," he said quietly, finally looking away from her and at the hooks, that had been unplugged away from her.

His eyes were filled with a sadness that seemed to age him, making him look a bit of his forty years.

"I just... I am relieved to see that you’re alive...."

Aliya’s expression softened for a fleeting moment but changed yet again at Ian’s next words.

"...the children will be happy to hear that you are alive and well. I-"

It was impossible to imagine someone’s face getting even paler than it already was. It was almost to the point of being white.

"Well, now you’ve seen me and confirmed that I am alive-" Aliya turned her head away, blinking rapidly to hold back tears.

"Just go, Ian.... I don’t know why I gave the hospital your name..."

Ian stood there momentarily and then pulled up a seat by the bed and sat down as if he had not heard her. Most people around him had always told him that Aliya was unreasonable in many things but Ian never faulted her for anything.

He left the subject of the kids for later. Ian understood that it was so much for her, especially as she had just been woken from an assumed medical death. He could not imagine what she had been through.

"How do you feel? What happened? Do you remember anything? Y-"

Aliya’s voice stopped him as a pained expression crossed her face. It was faint, almost like a whisper. "Why couldn’t you have waited a little longer?"

Ian froze. Maybe these words would have made his heartache in the past, but they did not. In fact, at that moment, his thoughts went back to Shelby, and he itched to get back to her. This unconscious gesture was transmitted to the patient on the bed unknowingly. So even when he replied softly, "I’m so sorry."

The thoughts never reached the recipient as it was understood between the two of them that the apology were just empty words.

"I’ll let you have a moment to yourself," He whispered, and with that, he stepped out into the hallway, leaving her alone with the beeping machines and a heart heavy with emotions neither of them could articulate.

This living room had seen its fair share of tantrums from Clara recently, and this night seemed to be one of those as well. Previously a place that displayed grace and sophistication, now looked like the aftermath of a storm. The floor was strewn with shattered porcelain vases, overturned chairs, and broken picture frames.

In the middle of it all stood none other than Clara Wendover. Her dishevelled appearance was a stark contrast to her previous elegant self, barely half an hour prior. Her now grey hair escaped from its loose, elegant bun, and her dress ... well, that was another matter entirely!

"Ungrateful! Ungrateful, the lot of them!" she bellowed, throwing another photo frame across the room. It hit the wall with a loud crack, the glass shattering into tiny fragments. "What is the use of birthing a child?!!! After all that I’ve done, after everything I’ve sacrificed, this is how they repay me? After carrying them for nine whole months and raising them? This is what they do!!!!! AHHHHHAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Angela stood a few feet away and covered her ears from the sudden scream.

The few remaining servants stood huddled together, their faces a mixture of fear and exasperation. Fear because Clara had slapped the first who had tried to restrain her, and the second had been scratched on the face; red, deep, angry scratches that they knew would need medical treatment to heal.

Clara’s tantrums had all but ceased for a few weeks until this night.

"Ma’am," one started, her voice calm yet tense. "Perhaps if you would just—"

"Silence!" Clara snapped, spinning around to glare at him.

"Don’t you dare tell me what to do! You all lot think that you can order me, the madam in my own house around just because my husband is no more?!!!! Fuck you! Fuck all of you!"

At the mention of Mr. Wendover, some of them suddenly missed him. He was a tyrant and abused his power, but at that moment and after all they had faced in Clara’s hand, some of them wished that he was still alive. The saying that one’s worth would not be known until the person was not around or no more started to resonate with them.

Angela walked to the side.

"What are we going to do about all these breakages again? The store is operating at a loss, and the madam goes to break everything breakable in here again?"

Angela was really stressed and wished that she could really leave Clara.

She pulled out her phone and called Rocky. However, the phone rang and rang, but no one answered.

Angela pursed her lips, wondering what else to do. Firming her resolve, she called Shelby instead. Angela followed Ian’s words to the tiniest detail and wished that she did not have to call Shelby, but at the current rate, Clara would destroy everything in the house before help could come in.

The call did not take long at all, and she released a sigh of relief.

Angela walked back and, taking a deep breath, looked square at Clara. Because she had never done this before, Clara was momentarily stunned,

"With respect, ma’am, we’ve been doing our best with what we have. It’s not easy keeping this place in order when half the staff is gone, but with you doing this when no other funds are coming in, it is just creating trouble for me and the rest who decided to stay and take care of you. You hurt them just because they tried to stop you? What do you want us to do? Leave?"

Clara froze, the words hitting her like a slap. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly for a moment, her anger threatening to reignite. Then her gaze widened in bewilderment, just slightly, before hardening again.

Clara spat, but the fire in her voice was weaker as if she had some guilt, but Angela knew that it was not so. Clara would never feel guilt for anything! And she was right, because Clara’s next words reaffirmed these thoughts.

"Who the hell are you to talk to me ? You should be grateful to even have a roof over your heads! You dare question a small injury?"

At this, Angela decided to go all out, "Grateful, Clara?" Her voice turned icy, and she dropped any politeness by calling her mistress by her first name.

"We’ve given you everything we could, worked ourselves to the bone, and all we get is blame and injuries amongst insults? "Consider that the only people by your side are those you continue to yell at."

The room fell silent as her co-maids and servants all looked at Angela with shock!

Clara bit her lip, not sure how to react to that. It was then that she finally took a good look around her... at the wreckage she had made around her, the broken pieces of her once-perfect world.

Clara’s eyes lingered on a cracked portrait of her children, whom she had just cursed: Rocky smiling brightly and Shelby in plain patched clothes, as beautiful as ever but with a strained smile on.

She wondered if the smile in the picture had changed to a strained one, as she had always remembered Shelby’s smile to be perfect.

Her face twisted with something that looked like pain but was quickly masked by anger.

"Clean up this place," She whispered, her voice quivering a bit. She reached for the picture and then stopped.

She turned decisively and strode up the stairs to her room without a backward glance, her steps echoing down the stairs, echoing some desolation, but none of the people left felt any of that for her. She suddenly even appeared older than ever.

Angela let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She silently patted her chest in her mind and thought back to what Shelby had told her,

"You’ve got to learn to handle her. I have given you the permission. Even if I could make it there, more than an hour would have passed, and she would have done all she wanted to do. Use the resources at your disposal.

I am sorry about those she hurt. Let them take as many days as needed to recuperate, and we will pay for all the bills incurred and more. Clara needs a firm hand as James had always done with her.... do you think that you can be that firm hand by her side? I can get someone else if-" Angela had jumped at the chance and assured Shelby that she would handle it....

After all, with Shelby’s assurance that it was okay, Angela knew that she could, and she had done it!

"She’s broken... totally."

One muttered, but no one knew who as the voice was faint, but one thing was for sure... they all agreed.

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