"Then just come back now!" Octavia's voice left no room for negotiation.
Cindy hesitated, caught right in the middle. She glanced at Fallon.
Fallon offered her a gentle, reassuring smile. "Go ahead. Your mom's probably just worried about you."
The easier Fallon made this, the worse Cindy felt. Fallon always managed to understand her..... so why couldn't her own mom just do the same? And now, being called back like this, it felt awkward and unfair.
"Fine." Cindy answered, her words tinged with frustration as she hung up.
Octavia stared at the phone, still in disbelief that Cindy dared talk back.
Cindy hurried straight from Fallon's place back to the James family's house. When she stepped into the living room, Octavia was already there, sitting stiff and cold, waiting for her.
"Mom, I'm back."
She honestly didn't think she'd done anything wrong, but facing Octavia's icy glare made her doubts bubble up.
"So you're finally home?" Octavia's anger seeped into every word. She'd always treated Cindy with a gentle smile, always warm and beautiful. Now, her sudden change left Cindy feeling like she barely recognized her mother.
Cindy's heart ached as she looked at Octavia, struggling to meet her eyes. "Mom... is there something going on between you and my godmother?"
Octavia gave a bitter laugh. "Something going on? She tried to steal your dad. Isn't that enough?"
"She switched you at birth. What do you think about that?"
"And now she wants to get close to you, take you away from me. How do you think I'm supposed to feel about that?"
The questions came at Cindy so fast she could barely process them. Steal her father? Switched at birth? Was this some kind of joke?
"Mom, is any of this true?"
Did she even have proof? Cindy's gut reaction was to doubt it. She just couldn't picture Fallon being that kind of person.
"You want evidence? I can give you evidence. But if I show you, will you promise to stay away from Fallon forever?"
Octavia's disappointment weighed
heavy in the room. She'd tried so hard after bringing Cindy home, convinced she was finally giving her
daughter the life she deserved. Now, here was Cindy, stiff defending Fallon. The way she spoke, it seemed like without concrete proof, she'd always pick Fallon over her
own mother. Was there any point in all this?
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"I..." Cindy didn't even know how to promise that.
“You still think she saved you, right? Every miserable thing you went through
growing up in the country-she's the cause of that."
"If it weren't for her, you'd have always been Claire. You never would've had to struggle the way you did."
"Are you really grateful for how she 'took care' of you all these years?"
"She destroyed your happy childhood. She's the reason you missed out on the life you should've had."
Octavia's words hit Cindy like punches. She couldn't even let herself imagine the truth. If Fallon had done all that on purpose how was she supposed to face her? Was Fallon really the villain? Or was her dad the problem all along?
"Why would my godmother do that?" Cindy couldn't get her head around it. The only person who ever treated her with real kindness—had she just faked it all? Was it all some kind of, secret plot?
"What else could it be? Your father doesn't know how to control himself. That's why I can't stand her."
Octavia wasn't interested in saving Latham's reputation, not even in front of Cindy. A man like that didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.
"I'm sorry, Mom. I had no idea..." Cindy trailed off, lost for words.
"I know. Without proof, you'd never believe me anyway." Octavia's voice sounded
tired and defeated, her disappointment clear in every line of her face.