The Flower Bloomed Sixty Times

Xena felt a jolt run through her body. She looked at the two boys in disbelief.

They glared at her with open disgust. “How could you be our mother? You’re so embarrassing!”

“Dad, I don’t want her to be my mom! Having a mother like her is a disgrace!”

Julian stood beside Moon. A heavy atmosphere settled around him. His eyes were icy as he said in a low voice, “Do you have anything else to say?”

From the looks in their eyes, they had already decided she was guilty.

Xena clenched her fists. Anger surged inside her. She wanted to question them and prove herself, but in the end, she forced out only three words.

“It wasn’t me.”

Moon suddenly grabbed Julian’s sleeve. “Julian, forget it! I found the bracelet. Ms. Xander probably didn’t mean to.”

Moon’s plea only made Julian angrier.

He took a couple of deep breaths. Then, he raised his voice. “Xena, you made a mistake, but you still deny it! How’re you supposed to set an example for the children? Today, I’ll make you admit your fault!”

Zayden and Yannick had picked up a ruler and held it out to Julian. Their eyes shone with excitement. “Dad! Use this to punish her!”

Julian took the ruler and walked toward her.

Xena stepped back on instinct. She wanted to turn and leave, but when Zayden and Yannick rushed over and held her on both sides, all her strength drained away.

A wave of helplessness washed over her.

She opened her hand and held out her palm. The ruler came down hard on it.

The impact made her skin burn in pain.

She saw the smug, taunting smile on Moon’s face. She saw the cold, indifferent look in Julian’s eyes.

She suddenly remembered her past life. After her mother died, she was left a pink diamond ring. One day, when Moon came over, the ring went missing.

Her mother had just passed away, and her hatred for Moon was at its peak. She made a huge scene and searched Moon’s bag despite the objections of the other three in the house.

She found the ring in her bag, yet she was still the one who was punished.

They all said she had put it there on purpose to frame Moon. They warned her not to use her mother’s death as an excuse to act however she pleased.

Xena’s eyes welled up.

She had thought her heart had gone numb, but it still ached with sorrow and helplessness.

“Dad, I want to hit her too!” the two boys said together. “Mom did something wrong, so we should make her admit it!”

Julian paused for a moment and handed the ruler to Zayden. “Fine. You should remember this day and learn from it. Never break the law or act without morals.”

Those words felt like a hard slap across Xena’s face. She suddenly lunged forward and knocked the ruler out of Zayden’s hand.

Her whole body shook. She stared at Julian with defiance and humiliation. She spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

“I’ll say this again. I didn’t do this! The one without morals is Moon, and you, Julian!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Julian’s gaze turned icy. “Since you refuse to admit your mistake, you can go to the cellar and reflect on it.”

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the cellar door.

Behind her, Zayden and Yannick stood on either side of Moon.

“Ms. Jensen, you can come live with us!”

“Ms. Jensen, please be our mother! You’ll be the best mom in the world!”

Xena trembled all over. Her breathing grew rapid. Julian pushed her into the cellar with his own hands.

As the door shut, his voice sounded again. It was gentle but cut deep. “Moon, could you take care of the two kids for the next few days?”

Darkness swallowed Xena whole.

She curled up in a corner and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Tears streamed down her face.

This cellar was her nightmare.

In the year after she married Julian, she went out alone and was knocked unconscious. When she woke up, she was locked inside a cellar.

She remembered darkness, the stench of rot and mold, a leering man with a crackling laugh, and rough hands covered in calluses.

It was the most terrifying moment of her life. At the last possible moment, Julian broke open the cellar door and rushed inside.

Those hands that usually held a pen picked up a stone and smashed it down on the man’s head.

The screams and the smell of blood should have frightened her, yet they made her feel safe.

That day, Julian held her gently and comforted her. She carried that memory with her for sixty years until she died.

But the Julian who had carried her out of that cellar was gone.