Chapter 4
1224 Words
That noon, the secretary walked into Iryna’s office.
“Your mom prepared dinner for you. She asked me to tell you since she can’t reach your phone.”
“Yeah… I forgot to charge it,” Iryna replied, checking her phone.
“Alright, please remember to go home for dinner.”
Then the secretary left.
What will she do this time…? Iryna wondered, a heaviness settling in her chest.
By 8 p.m., she finally finished work and went home.
The maid greeted her immediately as she entered. “Your mom is waiting for you in the garden.”
Iryna nodded, feeling a strange nervousness creep into her stomach, and walked toward the garden.
The table was set beautifully—filled with her favorite dishes. Her mother did cook for her.
But there was only one chair occupied.
“Your dad hasn’t returned from Italy yet,” her mother said, looking at her with unreadable eyes. “Sit down. Let’s eat.”
Iryna obeyed quietly and took the seat across from her. The silence stretched painfully long, heavy like a storm waiting to break.
Then her mother finally spoke.
“Don’t you owe me an explanation?”
Iryna’s lips parted, but no sound came out. “Well… I—”
“Well what?” her mother snapped, brows raised sharply. “Will you stop like I told you to?”
Iryna stared down at her plate, her throat tightening.
“Speak up!” her mother’s voice rose, slicing through the night air.
“What’s there to explain?” Iryna whispered, her voice trembling.
“God, Iryna! He is married.” Her mother’s voice cracked, anger and fear blending in one painful note.
Iryna’s chest constricted. “That wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t forced us apart. We loved each other… yet you separated us.” Her voice broke, tears threatening to spill.
“What could we do?” her mother replied, softer but still firm. “His family and ours— we were enemies, you know that.”
“Mom, what does that have to do with us?” Iryna shot back, her voice filled with anguish. “Our love was genuine. Pure. Why wasn’t that enough?”
“Iryna, don’t push us into this again…”
“What else will you do, Mom?” She looked at her mother with burning eyes. “He was forced into a marriage because of his family. What else was left for me?”
Her mother’s eyes turned red. “You’re lucky I haven’t told your father anything yet.”
“Should I be thankful,” Iryna whispered bitterly, “when you already took everything from me? My freedom… the only person I ever loved…”
Her voice cracked completely. Tears finally spilled, falling on her hands as she cried openly in front of her mother.
Her mother looked away, expression hardening. “I’m warning you one last time. Stay away from him before your father finds out. Or else… I may not be able to stop him.”
And just like that—she stood and left.
He left her shattered, as if nothing had happened.
Iryna sat there, sobbing alone amidst the untouched dishes.
Can’t she see me breaking? Can’t she feel my pain?All she saw… was the war between families.
Never the war inside her daughter’s heart.
I sobbed silently, shoulders trembling, my tears falling onto the untouched dishes. I didn’t even notice the maid entering the garden until she gasped softly.
She was supposed to clean the table…
But instead, she rushed to me.
“My dear…” she breathed, and before I could say anything, she wrapped her arms around me.
Her embrace was warm—so warm it almost melted the coldness left by my mother’s words. She had been with us since I was a child… she had taken care of me more than anyone else. More than my own mother ever did.
“Shhhh…” she whispered, gently patting my back. “Don’t cry, dear. It hurts me… seeing you like this.”
I clung to her, burying my face in her shoulder. I could feel her sincere concern, her genuine love—the kind I had always longed for.
“Come,” she finally said softly. “Let me take you to your room.”
She wiped my tears with her thumb, then helped me stand. Her hand didn’t leave mine as she guided me upstairs. When we entered my room, she made sure to close the door gently, as if afraid the world outside might hurt me again.
She carefully wiped my face with a warm towel.
“Don’t cry anymore, dear…” she murmured.
I looked at her—really looked at her. And suddenly, I hugged her again.
“Can I… ask you something?” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Please answer me honestly.”
She paused, meeting my eyes with deep affection. “What is it, child?”
I swallowed hard. “Well… I’ve always wondered. What truly caused this hatred between our family and the Smiths?”
She froze.
Silence fell heavy between us. She looked down, her fingers tightening around the towel.
“This is something you shouldn’t ask… Or better yet, ask your mother,” she said weakly.
“Please…” I begged, gripping her hand. “I’ve wanted to know all my life. Please tell me.”
She sighed—long and weary—moved by the desperation in my voice. She sat beside me on the bed, her expression filled with sadness.
“Your father…” she began, “once had a relationship with Mary.”
My heart skipped.
“They truly loved each other. Deeply. But fate was cruel. Mary was forced by her parents to marry into the Smith family. They tried to fight it… even tried to escape once. But they were caught. Again and again.”
She continued, voice trembling.
“After years of struggle, your father was pressured to fulfill his duty—to marry and carry on the family legacy. And so… he ended up marrying your mother.”
She looked at me with sorrow. “But even then, the love between your father and Mary never fully disappeared. This fueled the hatred between your father and Mr. Smith. Old wounds that never healed.”
She hesitated… then added the part that felt like a knife.
“Your mother… She hated Mary. Hated her deeply. She tried everything to win your father’s heart… to make him forget Mary.” She swallowed. “And then… they had you.”
I went utterly still.
Was that why Mom was always cold?
Was I an unwanted reminder?
A child born out of bitterness instead of love?
The thought crushed me. Tears welled in my eyes again.
But she immediately cupped my face.
“No—stop,” she said firmly. “Don’t think of it that way. None of this is your fault. You were innocent. You are innocent.”
She hugged me—tight, protective, warm.
“It’s been a long time since everything happened. But you deserved to know. And you deserve to be loved, Iryna.”
I broke down in her arms, the truth both freeing and shattering at the same time.
And she held me… the only person who ever truly did.
- Writer
