Chapter 37
"Our wedding will be held soon. These next couple of days, you need to rest well."
Kane stroked my head.
I smiled and nodded at him, obedient as a little kitten.
Kane was very satisfied with my attitude, and his eyes showed more affection and tenderness as he looked at me.
"You've been doing very well. I've decided to give you the gift I prepared for you early."
I looked at him with some surprise. He turned around and pulled something out from the cabinet by the bed.
It was a box.
Kane opened the box, and the moment I saw what was inside, my eyes went wide.
This was my mother's necklace!
Before, Luca said he'd sold it to pay off gambling debts.
I looked at Kane in disbelief, my eyes full of joy, and shakily took my mother's only keepsake from his hands.
My eyes turned red, and my voice caught with emotion.
"Where did you find this?"
I thought Kane must have seen it somewhere, learned it was my mother's keepsake, and bought it back for me.
But unexpectedly, Kane said the thing had been in Luca's hands all along.
It was something he used to control me.
My eyes widened, and my hatred for Luca grew deeper and deeper.
Suddenly, a pair of warm hands covered my eyes. Kane looked at me with warmth in his gaze.
"The only reason he kept this was for money. I gave him money, so he gave me the necklace. I know you must love your mother very much, so I'm returning this necklace to its rightful owner."
With that, Kane put the necklace around my neck. I felt its weight.
My mother's soul must be living inside it.
I blinked, and tears fell. I looked at Kane with longing eyes.
"Thank you."
Kane pulled me into his arms, patting my back soothingly while saying in a gentle voice, "You're my fiancée, the person who will spend the rest of my life with me. These things are what I should do for you."
Compared to when I first met Kane, when he did those unreasonable things to me in the church, he now seemed like a truly considerate partner.
He wiped away my tears, gently stroking beneath my eyes.
"I gave you this as a gift not to see you cry. Be happy. Smile."
I squeezed out a smile while still crying.
Seeing me like this, Kane seemed relieved. He patted my head, let me go, and got up to get dressed.
After he put on that sharp suit, he looked once again like the powerful leader of the mafia.
"I'll be busy today. You can go out and do whatever you want, just take Athena with you. She's not just a simple maid."
No wonder Athena was so brave when facing those people who made things difficult for me.
A gleam appeared in my eyes, and I nodded hard.
I glanced at the calendar on my phone. If I remembered correctly, Luca would be going to a remote casino today.
This was the perfect chance to take Athena with me to the house and get back some of my more important things.
Though they weren't valuable, they were all memories my mother left me.
But I figured if I told Kane about this directly, he'd probably refuse.
After Kane left, I quietly called Athena over and told her I planned to go home.
Athena frowned, clearly reluctant.
"That place is pretty rough. How about I go for you instead?"
I shook my head gently.
I'd hidden many things to keep Luca from finding them, so even if Athena went looking, she might not find them.
Seeing me shake my head, Athena didn't say anything more. She changed into a sharp suit and followed behind me as we headed toward the place that used to be a nightmare for me.
Seeing the increasingly familiar streets, my mood became strangely anxious.
I knew that with Athena by my side, nothing would happen, but the memories of this place were far from pleasant.
Just seeing these things made me remember the abuse and injustice my mother and I had suffered here.
Athena seemed to sense something was wrong. She looked at me with some concern.
"If you're not feeling well, let's go back. Or you can just stay in the car. If I don't find everything, you can tell me how to look for it."
But I still refused Athena's offer. I wanted to get my mother's things myself. Plus, the car was too eye-catching. A car like this would never appear in a place like this.
So I turned to Athena and said, "Let's just park the car there. The alley where I live is very narrow, the car can't drive in. We'll walk."
Athena nodded and got out of the car with me. But I'd barely taken a few steps when I saw two familiar faces.
It was Luna and Swamp.
The moment I saw the two siblings, my body started shaking uncontrollably.
They used to bully me all the time.
They would lock me in a dark room and treat me like a dog, giving me only a little food each day.
Later, my mother found out, went to their family, and said if it happened again, she would definitely call the police. Only then did Luna and her brother stop treating me that way.
But they didn't leave me alone because of it. Whenever I walked down the street, I could always hear them mocking and gossiping about me.
Or sometimes, garbage would be thrown down from upstairs, hitting me on the head.
I remember very clearly, one time the garbage had some rotten food and liquid in it.
It was already stinking, giving off an unbearable smell, and it landed right on me.
But that day I had to go to mass, and I couldn't be late.
So I had to go to church looking like that.
So even now with Athena by my side, seeing the two siblings still made me tremble uncontrollably.
It was a fear carved deep into my soul.
Luna looked at me with a mocking smile on her lips.
She deliberately raised her voice and shouted, "Well, if it isn't skinny puppy Sonya! Haven't seen you in a few days, and you're dressed like a real person now. Looks like you've even gained some weight."
Skinny puppy was the nickname they gave me.
I knew it was a very insulting nickname, but I had no way to fight back.
Before, when Nina heard them call me that and argued with them, Luna and her brother beat her up.
Swamp's eyes fell on Athena behind me.
He looked her up and down and frowned.
Then he jerked his chin at me, his tone full of contempt and provocation.
"Skinny puppy, where'd you find this woman? She looks pretty good. Leave her here, and I won't beat you up today."
I didn't expect Swamp would insult Athena like that.
My fists clenched tight, and I couldn't help trembling all over.