Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Fathia chose to play with the end of her straw, sipping slowly, sometimes not even touching the tip of her tongue. Her eyes occasionally glanced at the beautiful woman in front of her, who remained silent. Since they met until they both sat in the cafe not far from the campus, Amore' Cafe, owned by Jess.

Fathia intentionally chose this place, in case Clara acted as she pleased. Despite the considerable age gap and the fact that this woman, who worked as a famous model, was the same age as her sister, Fathia still didn't trust her.

Since their first meeting with Clara a few years ago, she had been kind and gentle. But over time, especially since she found out who Fathia was, Clara Jasson had shown clear disapproval and hostility towards her.

"Do you know why I invited you to meet?"

As Fathia expected, Clara's voice turned sweet and alluring when she spoke to Sebastian. But now, being alone with Fathia like this, the fox with nine tails showed her true attitude. Beautiful, but wrapped in anger and envy. Fathia didn't know why.

"No, Aunt," Fathia replied calmly. Her eyes fixedly gazed at Clara, who had ever-changing eye colors. She showed no fear. "What's the matter? I'm curious, actually."

"You're a nuisance!" Clara hissed without hiding her dislike. Truly, if there was one person she wanted to get rid of, it was Fathia Bernessa Claire.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't pretend to be innocent! I know you're always trying to steal Sebastian. Who are you anyway? You mean nothing to Sebastian. Just so you know... you're a burden to him!"

Fathia had heard Sebastian speak like that to her several times. Only to her. When they were alone with no one else around. Fathia tried to strengthen her heart. She didn't say anything because she knew what Sebastian said was true. She didn't argue or defend herself; she knew her place very well.

However, hearing someone else say those things to her suddenly made her heart ache. Her eyes welled up with tears without her realizing it. In the blink of an eye, the tears she had fought so hard not to shed would surely fall.

"I'm sorry."

Initially, Fathia wanted to retort and corner Clara. Initially, she wanted to speak with a super high tone, labeling Clara as the intruder. Initially, she didn't want to be defeated like this.

But... the girl with long hair could only utter one word very softly. Maybe, what Clara said was true. Even others saw her as a burden. Although Fathia never asked for the slightest bit of help from Clara since she knew her.

"It's time for my class. Excuse me." In a hurry, she walked away from Clara, who seemed satisfied with the answer she received. She walked quickly, not caring if she bumped into other customers. Roughly, she pulled open the cafe's door and took a deep breath. She wiped the tears from her cheeks.

She patted herself gently and walked fast because time never slowed down. No matter how hard she tried to hide the suffocation she felt earlier, she was still just an ordinary girl. Her steps matched the falling tears without warning. It seemed to be the only way to release a bit of the burden that had hit her earlier.

"Just so you know... you're a burden to him!"

Those words echoed in every nerve of her body. Pouring all the pain that refused to go away even a little bit. If she could choose, she would have been the first to join her parents' business trip. Ignoring the math exam, she loved in school. And end up dead in a place like her family.

"Fathia." Jess was not at all at ease leaving Fathia alone with Clara. Although Fathia shared only part of their story, Jess was a hundred percent sure that Clara's intentions were never good. Her eyes were full of hatred towards Fathia. Even her way of speaking.

At first, Jess tried to force herself to come along, but Clara stopped her. Fathia simply said that she was just having breakfast with Sebastian. But when she saw Fathia walking half-running from a distance with her eyes downcast, Jess was sure that her friend was crying.

"Fathia," Jess called again and approached her. She embraced the fragile little body. "What happened?"

The girl shook her head slowly.

"Let's go to the mall."

In a split second, Fathia raised her wet eyes to confirm the truth of Jess's words. Who knows, talking to Clara might have caused her eardrums to malfunction.

"Let's go around the mall. Refreshing. Shopping. Besides, the lectures started five minutes ago. Better than getting punished with an essay."

"But..." Fathia wanted to object, but Jess pulled her hand first.

"Don't overthink. You'll end up with a bald head. Let Mr. Jackson be the only bald one."

Looking dazed, Fathia followed Jess's steps. It didn't take long for her friend to stop a passing taxi in front of their campus. She felt a little pushed as she hadn't entered yet, even though the door was open.

"Traffic jam, Fathia, at the back. Hurry!"

There was nothing Fathia could do but follow. Throughout the journey, only the car's audio played. The driver asked about their destination once and then remained silent. Jess took the initiative to pull out a tissue from her bag.

"Wipe your tears."

"Thanks, Jess." Jess observed how Fathia wiped her tears that had already stopped. Then, the girl began to fix her makeup, reapplying her lipstick to make it less prominent and tidying up her hair.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Jess suddenly asked.

Fathia's hand, which was combing her hair, paused. Her eyes stared ahead but found no focus there. Her mind was instead filled with the image of Clara's victory, which should never have existed.

"I don't know. Aunt Fox's words really crushed me," Fathia said, almost in a whisper.

"Fathia, listen. You have me. You can tell me everything that's bothering you. Don't think alone, Fathia. Your heart might not be strong enough." Jess held Fathia's hand, which was still holding the comb. She said it with such sincerity because Jess was very sure that standing up like Fathia, whatever problem she was facing, was not an easy task.

Fathia was too full of mysteries for Jess.

Receiving such treatment made Fathia blink repeatedly, just like when she faced Clara. Suddenly, her heart was enveloped in a warm feeling that had not visited her for a long time. Fathia was not good at talking and socializing. Her only friends were Felice and her high school friend, Tinna. However, after graduating from high school, their communication was cut off. Eho didn't want to know about her friend's life, especially since she found out that Tinna seemed happy with her life in Metropolis.

She was afraid that her presence would make Tinna uncomfortable.

"Thanks, Jess." Fathia gave a smile. "So... what do we want to do at the mall?"

Jess shouted with joy. "Just be happy, that's all. But promise me, you'll tell me what you did with Fox earlier."

Fathia didn't answer but chose to dissolve into the laughter that Jess shared. Ignoring the puzzled look from the driver as he glanced at the rearview mirror. Perhaps he thought these two girls were strange people he had encountered today.