Chapter 15: Correction 1
After the old lady left Jark’s room, she walked directly to the solarium, where Rhea was normally found in the house.
But on getting there, she found Shashe there on a call. She quickly ended the call the moment she saw the old lady. The old lady was not in the mood to interrogate her, but scanned the area with her eyes to see if she would find Kathe.
"Mom, I thought you were with Kathe," Shashe asked the old lady as she also noticed that the old lady seemed to be scanning the solarium in search of something or someone.
"Mom, are you looking for anyone?" she asked again, this time walking to the old lady’s side.
"Yes, I’m looking for Rhea. Have you seen her?" the old lady asked while dropping all her weight on the walking stick.
"She must be in her room," Shashe replied curiously.
The old lady just nodded at her and was about to exit the room.
"Mum, is everything alright? You seem bothered about something."
"Nothing," the old lady replied and was about to walk out again, but stopped halfway and turned to look at Shashe, who was now focused on her phone and didn’t notice that the old lady was still standing there.
"Before I forget, there is no need to sneak around. You are free to talk to each other; after all, he’s part of this family."
The old lady’s voice startled Shashe.
"No, Mom, I’m not sneaking around." She gave a sheepish and awkward smile.
The old lady raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Oh, here? Hmm... I just came to relax around."
"Okay."
The old lady nodded at her as she hurried out of the room with the help of her walking stick.
Knock, knock, knock.
"A minute, please," Rhea’s voice rang out from the bathroom as she hurriedly washed her hands and rushed to the door.
"Oh, Grandma, it’s you. Come in."
She opened the door wide for the old lady to walk in.
"Grandma, you’ve never knocked on my door before entering. Why today?"
She bounced on her bed with a smile, just like the way a child gets when his or her parent gets them a present.
"Some things change, I guess. Some old habits need to be changed," the old lady replied, leaning all her weight on her walking stick while her eyes stared deeply at Rhea.
That was when Rhea noticed that something was wrong. The old lady’s aura was different.
"Grandma, you are standing. Why are you not sitting? Have you forgotten that standing for too long can weaken your legs?"
She bounced out of the bed like a cat and walked to the old lady’s side.
"C’mon, come sit."
She was about to hold the old lady’s hands and lead her to a chair.
But the old lady raised her hand, stopping her halfway.
"No need. I don’t know if I’m even safe to sit."
Her words really confirmed to Rhea that something was definitely wrong with the old lady.
"Grandma, I noticed your mood right from the door. I thought you were tired, but you’re acting weird. Is everything okay, Grandma?"
"I should be asking you that, Rhea. Is everything okay?" the old lady asked as she walked to where the family photo frame was.
"Grandma, I don’t understand," Rhea said as she trailed behind the old lady.
"I have watched you grow, Rhea. I thought I did a good job with your upbringing, but you proved me wrong."
The old lady’s eyes were still fixed on the large frame.
"Grandma, what are you saying? No one has the right to question your training."
Rhea replied, her voice cracking like someone who was about to break down as she rushed to hug the old lady from behind. But before she could wrap her arms around her, the old lady raised her palm and stopped her. Her back was still facing Rhea.
Every time Rhea did something wrong, she would hug the old lady from behind, and her heart would melt, forgiving her. But it was a surprise to Rhea that it wasn’t working this time, which made her nervous as she suspected it was related to Kathe being drowned. Cold sweat began to gather around her forehead.
"Are you sure that my training of you had no fault?" the old lady asked in a stern voice, but her eyes softened the moment she saw the baby picture of Rhea.
It quickly brought back old memories. After Jark’s parents were killed in the accident, two days later, a baby was found floating on the water and along with the baby was Jark, holding the baby tightly. Since that day, the old lady had made it her responsibility to train Rhea.
"I asked again, are you sure there isn’t any fault in me bringing you up?" the old lady asked again. The warmth that had appeared a second ago disappeared without a trace, replaced with coldness.
Thud.
She hit her walking stick on the ground, which startled Rhea, who was looking at her sweating palms.
"No, you didn’t fail," she quickly replied.
The old lady turned, this time staring at her like a king staring at a traitor.
"Then why did you do it? And don’t act innocent. I hate lies, so go straight to the truth."
"It was a mistake. I didn’t mean to do it."
One thing about the old lady was that she hated being lied to twice, so Rhea knew better than to lie. She had to hurry the words out as tears began to pool in her eyes.
The old lady hummed her words back.
"Mistake."
She added a simple nod as she walked back toward the door.
Rhea quickly rushed after her and dropped to her knees.
"Grandma, you may give me any punishment, I will accept it, but please forgive me. I have been feeling guilty about it for a long time."
Within half a second, her face was already filled with tears streaming down.
The old lady turned to face her and, after looking at her for a long period of time, sighed.
"Rhea, you might act arrogant or play silly pranks on people that can be considered a mistake, but pushing someone inside a pool, knowing fully well she can’t swim, is considered murder. You are a m u r d e r e r."
The old lady traced the last part, causing Rhea to bite her tongue in shame and resentment toward Kathe.
"I didn’t know that she couldn’t swim, Grandma."
"What a coincidence," the old lady said, which made Rhea lift her face to look at her.
"Grandma, do you think I can do something like that?"
"No. I mean to say that you are Jark’s childhood friend. He sees you more as a sister and nothing more, so you better know your place. You have no picture in his life, but she has a whole picture of their future together. To them, you are a mere shadow. Also, make sure to head down for dinner."
After saying that, the old lady sighed and left.
She didn’t even care to ask Rhea to stand up. If she had disliked Kathe earlier, now her heart was filled with hatred.
Unknown to them, Shashe had overheard them. At first, she was still shocked that it was Rhea who pushed Kathe, but thinking about it brought more ideas to her as an evil grin spread across her beautiful face.
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