CHAPTER 46

My hip condition became good the next day, just as Seven had predicted. It appeared as though no incident occurred yesterday, as I was not experiencing even a little discomfort today.

Although the sun had not yet risen, I was ecstatic to visit my garden. I failed to visit it yesterday because I only rested the whole afternoon since I fell off the horse.

I walked out of the bathroom after taking a bath wearing only a bath robe; I had forgotten to ready my clothing earlier.

I donned a basic white sundress that reached my knees. To match the dress, I paired it with low wedge heels. Gardening with this kind of shoes didn’t bother me, so that was what I wore. I low ponytailed my hair before leaving my room.

I was unsurprised to see Seven in the dining area, he was drinking coffee and reading the newspaper; he appeared to have been here for some time.

He woke up so early, huh?

“Good morning,” I greeted as I sat in front of him. I was quickly served by the present housemaids, including Jo, who was unable to look at me due to what I said last night.

Not to worry, Jo. I keep all of my promises.

“Morn.” Seven’s greeting to me was brief, as if he felt obligated to tell me with that single word.

I was not sure why girls adored him so much. I would admit that he was gorgeous and adept at socializing when he was not having an issue with people, but truly, if you didn’t speak, he would remain as silent as possible.

I once believed mommy that he was easy to get along with, but it was a massive lie.

I averted my eyes as Jo placed my breakfast on the table. I never repeated Sev’s greeting before beginning to eat.

I had nothing left on my plate after a few minutes. I usually ate fast, but I felt as though I ate more quickly today. Jo, too, was taken aback when I stood up moments after she served me.

“Bye, tell mum I’m going to my place,” I said, referring to the garden that manang Lydia had given me. I left the manor without waiting for Seven’s response. The morning breeze was brisk, as the sun was about to rise.

As I entered the enormous gate that served as the path to the large field of flowers, I hugged myself. The guard did not stop me since they were already familiar with me; I visited my garden daily, and it would be imposible for them to forget my face. Additionally, because mom introduced me to them, they had a great deal of respect for me.

I couldn’t help but feel uneasy as I entered the garden. If Iris and Pierre were among the EastWood students that were here, I hoped Iris was the only one who would approach me.

I didn’t have the courage to face Pierre after I told him I love someone else.

I made it to the garden without coming across an EastWood student. It appeared as though they will begin later at nine am, based on what I heard from manang Lydia last night.

Fortunately for me, the next several minutes were devoid of noise.

I devoted my time digging the soil. I gasped for air and wiped away the sweat with the back of my elbow. My gloves were so filthy that I couldn’t wipe my face with them.

The students arrived at precisely 9:00am. There were so many of them that I couldn’t keep track of how many were dressed in civilian clothing and how few were dressed in uniforms.

Are these members of the second batch?

Fortunately, my garden was surrounded by numerous trees and plants, and no one attempted to enter. Additionally, a gardener constructed a fence for me to prevent tourists from diving into my plants.

I sneaked a glimpse at the students; they were EastWood students, since I recognized their faces. I scanned the area till my gaze fell on a woman. I nearly covered my lips to avoid sobbing.

Even with her back to me, I was quite certain who it was. Oh, how I wished I could give her a hug right now.

Iris was photographing Dahlia alone with the digital camera I gave her.

I desired to approach her, but was fearful that Pierre could be around. I saw several of my classmates, so I was certain he was also here. I spent the next few minutes staring at her from a distance; seeing her in this state made me want to cry. While the rest of them were accompanied by a group, she stood alone on one side.

As she began walking away, disappointment gripped my emotions. I followed her movement until my eyes couldn’t already reach her. I had no choice but to resume digging the land till the hours passed once more. It was annoying that Iris was only a few feet away but I was unable to approach her.

I sighed in exhaustion as I dug up the final soil. I bit my lip when I saw that the soil I dug could barely fill five pots. Was I thinking of Iris too much to the point where I was unable to concentrate on what I was doing?

I removed my gloves before loosening my hair tie; it was a little tangled, and I needed to fix it. As I was preparing myself to go back to the manor, I overheard a bunch of whispers outside. I cautiously peered in to see what was going on and was astounded to see Seven talking to Iris.

Talking? Iris appeared to be the only one talking, while Seven was simply staring at her.

I could see Iris’ red eyes, and she appeared to be crying as she stood in the way of Seven. I studied the crowd around them and noticed that practically everyone who was dressed in civilian clothing was staring at them and murmuring something. My heart hammered instantly when I saw Pierre standing on the side, emotionless, peering into the center, where Seven were. My glance drifted to his side, and I felt a sharp pang in my chest as I saw Alyssa was also staring intently; she was clutching Pierre’s black tshirt.

“Please, Seven!” I heard Iris plead; her face was so near to Seven’s that one wrong move would result in them kissing.

“I told you—”

“Where’s Aurie? I’ve been waiting for her inside for quite some time now; have you called her yet?” As mom entered the scene, trembling crept into my chest. In her basic white gown, she strolled boldly. She almost drew everyone’s attention with her walk.

Even when she was not in court, her authority was palpable in every movement she made.

I licked my lip due to a combination of exhilaration and nervousness. Nervous that Pierre would see me, but excited that I would be able to introduce Iris to my mother. If only my mother hadn’t come here, Seven and I could have escaped Pierre. I planned to talk to Iris privately so it was okay for us to run away from her for now. Now that my mother had arrived, I needed to show myself or she would ask all of our staffs to look for me.

“Where’s my daughter, Sev? Isn’t she in her garden?” Seven fell silent for a second. I was sure he was hesitant to respond since he was considering my situation as well.

I knew that despite his often frigid treatment of me, he still cared.

“Uh, I’m actually go—”

“I’m here, mom.” I couldn’t keep myself from cutting to his lying. We were both doomed if we remained here any longer, as it was past time for me to take medication. Mommy would not be angry with us, but Dr. Williams certainly would be. That one was excessively strict.

They turned to me almost simultaneously. Iris, Seven, mok, Alyssa, Pierre, and my other schoolmates. When I felt how hard Pierre looked at me, as if he didn’t expect to see me here, I wanted to let the ground consume me. I was aware of a few whispers from our classmates but chose to ignore them. My entire focus was on Iris, who was on the verge of crying as she looked at me.

“Oh, love, let’s go back inside first; you can go back to your plants later,” mommy remarked, totally oblivious to the critical eyes from the people around us.

“Please don’t allow anyone to enter that area; it’s private for my daughter, so don’t ever let anyone interfere with her plants inside,” she instructed a gardener on the side.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I approached them silently. As I walked towards them, I could see more and more of Iris’ sparkling eyes due to the tears forming. When I reached them, she glanced down and didn’t speak a thing; she appeared fearful because of mommy’s rude face.

“Come with us, Ris. Let’s eat together.” She stared at me as if she were surprised when I extended my hand; it looked like she didn’t expect that I was gonna talk to her right now.

“Really? After I pretended I had no idea where you were while she was forcing the shit out of me to speak? Really, huh?” Seven sarcastically said from beside me. I rolled my eyes and glanced at him irritably.

“Shut up,” I said, returning my focus to Iris, who was still refusing to accept my hand.

She looked scared and mad.

When my hands started to feel numb, I grabbed her arms and began walking. We were creating a scene here, and the teachers might scold us for disturbing them.

Iris was deafeningly silent till we arrived at the manor. Jo greeted me with a tray as soon as we entered. Every medication and glass of water were already prepared; all I needed to do was drink the medicines.

I took them one by one in front of Iris; she was unsurprised, since I used to take nearly the same amount of medication when I lived with her.

“Thank you, Jo.” She only gave me a smile before returning the tray to the kitchen. Only now did I notice that there were only three of us; mommy, Iris, and me. I didn’t know where Seven went.

“Mom, she’s Iris; you know her already, right?” I grasped Iris’ arm once more and started to walk toward my mother. Her previously impolite demeanor had been replaced by a charming grin.

“Of course, I know her already. She’s a very good cheering captain, right? Hello, Iris. I’m Aurie’s mother, and it’s lovely to meet you.” My mother extended her hand in front of Iris. Iris seemed to panic as she promptly accepted my mother’s hand.

“A-Ah, how are you? It’s nice to meet you as well.” I was not sure whether she was nervous or excited, as I had a difficult time reading her expression.

“I heard you’re my daughter’s best friend?”

“Uh, yeah?” Mommy giggled at her response.

“I believe we should catch up, but I believe both of you should do it first. I can see how much you missed each other. We’ll talk when you’re finished. I’m really interested in getting to know you, Iris. Just call the maids if you need anything.” Iris nearly jumped in surprise when mommy kissed both of us on the forehead before leaving us in the living room. Using her shocked eyes, she watched mommy’s movement until mom reached the second floor.

“So...” I began. I was at a loss for words for a second. I knew I should tell her everything. Why I abruptly vanished, why I didn’t even inform her, and why I left her.

“So?” she asked impolitely. I mustered a grin as I drew her to the long sofa and began telling her about my life. From the intramurals until today. She simply gazed and scowled as she listened, as if determining whether or not I was telling the truth.

“That’s all I have to say, Iris. That’s all that happened in my life for the month and a few weeks we were apart.” She blinked a few times, as if all I said hadn’t been comprehended.

“Y-You mean, Pierre’s father shot you? I mean, it was truly Pierre’s fault that you were shot instead of your mother, but really? Pierre’s father was truly responsible for all of this?” she asked incredulously. I also told her of what I learned about what occurred nearly eleven years ago; I did not omit any information.

“Yes. But it wasn’t Pierre’s fault, Iris. He simply prevented his father from shooting my mommy so I was the one who got hit. Do you believe mommy had a chance of survival if she was shot? His father was accompanied by a large number of men that day. Not just one person will shoot mom, but two or three will hit my mommy. Pierre has nothing to do with my current condition, Iris. Don’t you dare say any of these things to him,” I threatened. She blinked many times, as if she was still unsure to believe what I was saying. I understood her, because what I told her was unbelievable; if someone else told me this, I, too, would be skeptical.

“Why won’t you tell him? Aurie, he has a right to know. What if he discovers that his father is the reason why you died? He won’t know that you didn’t blame him!” My eyes rolled back and my sight averted.

“Seven told me that as well. Tsk, that’s why we won’t tell him. He won’t blame himself if he doesn’t know.” She, too, rolled her eyes in the same way I did.

“To think, this is not something that only you and I are aware of. You weren’t aware of any of these before, were you? The only ones who informed you and your physician were the police and investigators!” She shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe I was thinking this way. I had no choice but to maintain silence.

Iris spent the entire afternoon with me. She also joined us for lunch, as mom requested. I thought I would coax her for a few more hours, but the only thing I did was tell her everything, and she was fine.

She returned to the other manor at 2:00pm after a teacher called her; Alyssa was the one who fetch her here. Iris also told me that she and Pierre were in batch 1, which meant they completed plant testing yesterday.

They were currently in a biology class; I never imagined they would travel out of town solely for this subject. However, it was fortunate that they did. I was able to explain to Iris earlier; we became fine, and she relinquished her resentment towards me.