Chapter 35


    ra’s heart felt as if it had been seized by an iron grip, the pain so intense she could hardly


    breathe. Frozen in ce, her body trembled uncontrobly.


    Sasha, sensing something was terribly wrong, patted ra’s hand and called out, “ra, ra.”


    After several shouts, ra finally responded. Her small face, pale as a sheet of paper, looked


    ghostly under the streetlights.


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Slowly turning her head, she red at the woman with eyes filled with loathing. Her lips twitched,


    and in a hoarse whisper, she said, “You don’t deserve to be my mom.”


    With that, she pulled Sasha into the car.


    When ra was seated behind the wheel, her legs still shook with tremors. Sasha gently pulled her


    aside, saying in a soothing voice, “I’ll drive.”


    ra didn’t resist. She slid out from the driver’s seat and settled into the passenger side. Resting


    her head against the seat, she intended to close her eyes, but tears silently streamed down her


    cheeks instead. Memories from seven years ago, like a savage flood, surged towards her.


    police station, stared at the woman with icy eyes, with ra’s hateful gaze filling his mind. Just how


    deep the hurt must be for ra to despise her own mother so profoundly.


    Dawson immediately responded, “Right away, Mr. Hayes. But are you really okay with letting Ms.


    ra go like this?”


    Dawson, frustrated as if dealing with a stubborn child, pressed on, “You might have.pensated


    for Ms. ra’s friend earlier, but to her, it looks like you were helping Ms. Heidi. Ms. ra must be


    furious. You should tell her everything, tell her that in order to bring peace to the Bell family, you had


    a fight with your mother and even put your own assets of over a hundred billion at stake. That Ms.


    Heidi had already leaked the story to the media, and had you not intervened, even if Ms. Sasha won


    thewsuit, her reputation would’ve suffered. Mr. Hayes, when you care for someone, you need to


    show the lengths you’re willing to go for them. By keeping all this to yourself and putting on a tough


    front in front of Ms. ra, you won’t win her over.”


    Dawson’s lengthy speech left him thirsty and weary. He really hopedn would grasp the gravity of


    his words, but the next thing Dawson heard was that icy voice. “Do I need your


    11:11


    advice?


    He had already won ra over the day before, and he was certain, absolutely certain, she would


    never leave him. Confidence etched in his handsome brow, even a trace of a dismissive smile on


    his lips.


    Dawson just shook his head and sighed deeply.


    ra sat on the living room balcony all afternoon, from the bright sunshine to the evening’s


    descent. She sat in silence, not uttering a single word.


    Sasha, frightened, didn’t dare ask more. It wasn’t until after seven in the evening that ra finally


    spoke in a hoarse tone. Her voice was calm, but no one knew that with each word she spoke, it felt


    like someone was slicing a knife across the scars in her heart.


    The pain made her whole body shudder.


    Scenes from seven years ago yed in ra’s mind like a movie.


    She said she was cornered in the ssroom, her clothes torn apart, and she was insulted, called as


    cheap as her mother.


    She spoke of battling severe depression, losing her voice, and even contemting suicide multiple


    times.


    By the end, her voice trembled. Her eyes, filled with sorrow, looked at Sasha. “Sasha, forgive me for


    hiding this from you. I was afraid that reopening these wounds would force me to confront my


    shattered past. I feared I’d get stuck in that mire, unable to climb out again.”


    Sasha, moved to tears, pulled ra into a tight embrace,forting her ceaselessly.