Chapter 67
Clara's POV
I walked to the kitchen where Derek, Mom, and Katy were as they navigated through the dishes. I pretended to get a glass of water for myself. I needed to watch Derek while he was here so he wouldn't do anything extreme.
"We should do this more often. I'll be here to join you again tomorrow." Derek smiled.
So, he was planning on turning this into a more frequent thing? I was either going to have to tell the truth or bury him somewhere.
"No, I think today will be the last time you see me, at least for a while," Mom answered.
We all had our attention on Mom. Was she leaving? I wasn't pretending to ignore her anymore.
"Are you going somewhere
"Are you going somewhere?" Katy asked, her voice filled with enthusiasm.
"I have a little trip. I'll be gone for two weeks," Mom answered. "There is something I need to do that I should have done a long time ago." She added.
There she was again, speaking in code. Where was she even going? She had never left us for a day since I was born. This sudden trip was very strange.
A wide smile grew on Katy's face. I could imagine all the late-night parties she'd planned to attend. For her, this was a shot at freedom.
"Well, all the best for your trip," Derek answered.
With the tone in his voice, my mother's absence would make his visits more frequent.
By now, I was loitering in the kitchen, trying to maximise the amount of sips I could take from my water.
Just then, Mom's phone rang on the kitchen counter. She wiped her hands before answering the phone.
"Hello?" Mom answered. There was a moment of silence. "Right now?" Mom asked on the phone.
After nearly a minute, Mom smiled happily as she ended her call.
"Good news, one of the most established bakeries has just asked me to bake one of my pastries. Unfortunately, I must go now, but I can't miss the opportunity." Mom explained.
Mom moved around the kitchen, packing a few of her recipe books.
"Congratulations," Derek smiled.
"I'm so happy. I'd have to take a taxi to get there at this time. I have no idea what time I'll finish, but it will all be worth it." She answered.
In a few minutes, she had gathered her things, and a taxi was waiting for her outside to leave. This meant I'd also be rid of Derek now.
I followed behind Derek, who had settled himself at the dining table. The food was still on the table in bowls, but it was now covered.
"Are you leaving?" I asked Derek, who was on his phone and seated at the table.
"I thought we had already agreed that I don't trust you enough to be alone." He answered. "I'd just have to wait for your mother to return." He added.
In my heart, I fought every inclination to murder him.
I took a deep breath, sitting opposite him.
"I think that we both need to resolve this wedge between us. We can't continue like this." I began. I was never going to be able to get out of this mess for as long as he was like this.
He looked up at me.
"We should find a way forward. I'm sure that we both might have said things that we didn't mean." I continued.
"I meant every word." He answered. He wasn't in the mood for peace talks.
Maybe I should get to the point. Sweet talking was working, so we might as well get to the crux of this.
“I shouldn't have gotten drunk, but you can't fire Ivy because of that." I breathed out.
He raised his brow and paused for a second as if deciding whether I was serious or not.
"Do I need to start counting the number of things you both did?" He asked. "You both lied about your mother being sick so that you could get out of our doctor's visit. Do you have any idea how sick that sounds?" He asked.
He had a point.
My mind slipped into a panic. He was getting closer to the truth than I could have ever imagined. Right now, my goal was to save Ivy.
"I'm scared of doctors," I yelled. I took a moment to breathe as he formed a blank expression. "Ivy only offered me a way out, and I took it. I had no idea that it was a lie until later on." I answered.
"Your excuse is that you are afraid of doctors?" He asked with his brow raised. It didn't make sense, but I had to sell it. I never panicked when I woke up in the hospital, but I did anything to get Ivy out of trouble. I was already a lost cause.
"It's true," Katy answered, walking in. "We used to watch a lot of horror TV shows as children. In this one episode, this guy was taken to the doctor because of a cough, and they ended up stealing his liver. They replaced it with a pig's liver." Katy answered assuringly.
"How does that even happen?" Derek asked curiously.
"I have no idea, but it did," Katy answered, trying to assure him. "The oldest person who ever lived never visited the doctor even once. Doctors are a lot more dangerous than you think." Katy answered with a nod.
"Wow," Derek answered amusedly. "I am so sorry," he said. "You must be a part of the TikTok generation. It's not just you, and it makes many people think or dump things." He answered sarcastically.
Was that an insult?
"Your friend is still not coming back," Derek answered firmly.
"You can't do that. She has a sick mother who relies on her. She needs the job." I pleaded. This was true.
"I'm just helping her, and she'll learn to make better decisions in her workplace." He answered calmly.
"You can't be that cold," I whispered.
"I'm the cold one? She was the one who watched you get drunk despite knowing your condition." He answered.
"You got drunk?" Katy smiled amusingly. She pulled a chair next to Derek. She was only here for the drama.
I ignored Katy, getting back to the main point of my argument. "You are overreacting. It's not like I get drunk every day. So many people drink before they find out they are pregnant, and the babies are born fine." I answered defensively.
He sighed. "The worst part is that you still don't see what you did wrong." He retorted.
"He is right, you know," Katy added. "Think of it this way. Imagine the cutest baby you've ever seen. Someone takes it into the water and drowns it inside a pool, pressing the baby's head down till it slowly loses all the life it has. Will you stand by and do nothing?" Katy asked.
