Till the Flower Blooms

The nurse cast a sympathetic look at Cassiopeia and proceeded to switch off the medical instrument before leaving to give the grieving mother some space.

The moment the door shut, Cassiopeia felt like all her strength had sapped away in an instant. She collapsed to the ground with a deathly still look in her eyes.

She remembered how tiny Anya had looked when she was born. She thought back to the time when Anya had first spoken and called her Mama, the time Anya had taken her first steps…

Countless episodes from the past flashed across her mind. At last, the sequences of images stopped at the still of Anya lying on a cold operating table with her face completely colorless.

Cassiopeia was filled with pain, but the tears would not fall.

After what seemed like ages, she slowly got up on her feet. She held Anya's cold and rigid body in her arms and rocked her gently the way she did when she needed to get her to fall asleep.

"Anya, Mommy will take you away from this place."

Every step she took required herculean effort as if her legs were filled with lead.

When she stepped out of the operating theatre, she bumped into Lucas, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Cassie, Liam’s surgery was a success, and he's safe! I'm here to see Anya."

Safe?

Cassiopeia bit her lip tightly. She felt like she was having trouble breathing from the sheer force of her heartbreak. Anya had to pay for the well-being of his bastard son with her life!

"Anya doesn't need a father who doesn't love her."

Lucas's smile stiffened, and he seemed hurt by the derisive comment.

"Cassie, what do you mean I don’t love Anya? She's my daughter, my precious little princess! If I could, I would gladly endure all the pain coming her way for the rest of her life. All I want is for her to grow up carefree and happily."

He pledged sincerely the way a dutiful father would.

Cassiopeia reacted with a sardonic chuckle. She felt endless grief pour through her veins.

'What irony, Lucas. You were the one who inflicted pain on Anya!'

"Love? If you loved Anya, why would you force her to get her kidney surgically removed? Did you know…"

Even before she died, she assumed the reason he had her sent to the hospital was because she had done something wrong. Even in her last moments, she had pleaded for forgiveness.

Everything Cassiopeia wanted to say was lodged in her throat. She could not get a word out.

Lucas looked at her reddened eyes and felt a devastating throb in his heart. He panicked and explained, "I promise this is the last time this will happen. It’s only because Liam couldn’t find any other suitable kidney donor. Besides, they are siblings…"

He stammered over himself when he noted how Cassiopeia’s complexion was getting increasingly pale.

Then, he decided to change the subject. "Is Anya still under the effect of the anesthesia? Let me carry her to the ward. I’ll look after her until she wakes up."

Cassiopeia tightened her hold on Anya subconsciously. She felt as if sadness had turned into the intricate network of a spider’s web and bound her in place.

Wake up?

Lucas did not know that Anya would never wake up again.

Just as he was about to reach for Anya, one of his bodyguards rushed to him.

"Mr. Cadell, Liam has woken up and has been crying for you. He says he’s going to yank the IV tube out of his arm if he can’t see you! Even Ms. Moore couldn’t stop him!"

"This is ridiculous. He just had surgery!" Lucas cried out exasperatedly but seemed very concerned nonetheless.

He pulled his hand away and looked at Cassiopeia apologetically. "Cassie, can you stay with Anya first? I'll be right back after I calm Liam down."

"Lucas," Cassiopeia spoke in an eerily calm voice. "This is your last chance."

Once he walked away, he would never get another chance to see Anya.

Lucas naively thought she was forgiving him for his actions today, so he heaved a sigh of relief. "After Liam recovers and they go somewhere else, I promise I'll spend some time with you and Anya. Our family of three will return to the way it was before."

Cassiopeia held Anya rigidly in her arms and watched as Lucas strode away from her. A sardonic smile surfaced on her lips.

She knew that from today on, their family would never return to the way it had been.

......

She took Anya's body and went to the funeral home.

She watched as they had Anya cremated. What was once a child turned into countless specks of ashes.

She did not shed a single tear throughout the process, living like a walking corpse.

After that, she requested that the ashes be put in a tiny capsule so that she could string it on a chain and wear it like a necklace.

Instead of having Anya buried six feet under, she preferred to have the child with her at all times.

After leaving the funeral home, she went straight to the law office.

"I want to finalize the divorce agreement I drafted five years ago."

Five years ago, when Lucas had slept with Freya, he had the lawyers draft a divorce agreement and sign his name before presenting it to Cassiopeia.

At the time, he had declared firmly, "Cassie, if I ever betray you again, you have every right to sign this agreement and divorce me! You have every right to leave me for good!"

She thought the divorce agreement would never see the light of day.

Alas, reality had its strange twists and bends. Here she was, looking at it again.

With that, she solemnly took the pen and signed her name!

After that, she filed for a divorce.