“Can I trust you, though, Diego?” Jasper frowned.
Diego turned around, “It’s not like you have another choice, is it?”
Jasper’s fist balled up, “You should leave now.”
“Don’t get too worried. I won’t meet Cristelle for now. And I won’t tell her anything about the studio,” Diego acted like he didn’t care about Jasper’s thoughts at all, leaving the ward without looking back.
Jasper remembered what Diego had done to him. Years ago, he had told his feelings for Cristelle to his best friend, Diego. But this so-called “good friend” confessed his love to Cristelle after their conversation. Jasper had the heart to tear him into pieces when he thought about that.
He had waited ten years, and Cristelle finally had left Diego. Jasper thought this time he could finally grasp the chance. But Diego just showed up again.
If Diego refused to get out of his way this time, he would make him disappear. Jasper threw the glass of water onto the floor.
****
Cristelle ran into the ward after hearing the crashing sound. She was a bit startled by the mess on the ground, “What happened? Are you okay?”
Jasper adjusted his mood instantly, smiling at her, “I’m okay. I just knocked it off accidentally.”
Cristelle shook her head and poured a glass of water for him, starting to clean up the mess.
“Cristelle… Just drop it. I don’t want you to get cut by the shattered glass.”
Cristelle smiled, “I’m a grown woman, okay? I won’t be as careless as before.”
Jasper grew to like this woman more and more. He would still marry her even if they didn’t have anything left.
****
Candace had a dance lesson after lunch. Cindy was a bit late than usual today. She would usually make it here 30 minutes before the time, but today, she showed up just on time.
Candace pulled her blonde hair into a bun, practicing the moves she had learned from the last class.
Cindy came to the dance room after getting changed, “Let’s do the moves we learned yesterday first. The most important thing in ballet learning is finding the right posture. Do you understand?”
Candace nodded.
Cindy was a bit impatient after not getting an answer, “Do you understand?”
Candace nodded again, feeling a bit weird.
Cindy seemed a bit different than before. Cindy didn’t get an answer after asking the girl two times. Finally, she whipped around and glared at the girl, “DO YOU UNDERSTAND? Why don’t you say anything? It’s not polite.”
Candace was startled, taking a step back. She gestured at Cindy, trying to tell her that she understood.
Cindy’s eyes widened shortly. And then, she lowered her body and asked, “You can’t talk, can you, Candace?”
Candace frowned. She nodded and then shook her head, and then nodded again. She could talk. She just didn’t want to.
Cindy couldn’t understand what the girl was doing. She sniffed coldly, “So, you’re a little mute?”
Candace’s mouth dropped open. She didn’t know how to react. She only wanted to run away. But Cindy grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, “What are you doing, Candace? Don’t you dare to do that! Or I’ll tell your dad that you’re a lazy student!”
Candace’s eyes widened in fear. She wasn’t trying to be lazy. She was just scared. She didn’t want to be called “a little mute.”
Cindy pinched her shoulder, long nails digging into her flesh.
Candace’s eyes were filled with tears instantly. Why did Cindy suddenly change?
“If you dare to shed a tear, I’ll tell your father about your behavior.” Cindy hissed.
Candace nodded and swallowed her tears back.
“Good,” Cindy let go of her, “Where were we yesterday? Have we done the split?”
Candace nodded.
“Okay then, do a split for me,” Cindy ordered, folding her arms before her chest.
Candace wiped off her tears and stretched her legs, trying to get down. Candace was pretty chubby. Doing splits was not easy for her. When she thought she had reached her limit, Cindy suddenly stomped on her back and pressed the girl down with her foot.
The split got wider as Candace’s eyes were filled with tears. It was so painful, but she couldn’t say a word.
Candace looked up at Cindy with tearful eyes.
Cindy sneered, “See? You did it. You can’t be afraid of pain being a dancer. And it would help if you stopped being so lazy. All the dancers have sores and wounds on their bodies. You won’t be a successful dancer if you can’t endure the pain.”
Candace wiped her eyes and shook her head.
She loved dancing. She would stick to the end and become an amazing dancer.
“If you want to be a good dancer, you must stop crying, little mute. Did you hear me?”
Candace lowered her gaze and held back her tears. Her whole body was trembling from the pain. But she didn’t shed a tear.
Cindy tsked and lifted her foot.
The whole course was torture. But Candace stuck to the end.
When she walked out of the dance room, she was limping. She suddenly missed her Mommy so much.
After taking a bath, Candace grabbed her phone and started to FaceTime her Mommy. But her Mom didn’t answer the call.
Candace rolled over, buried her face into the pillow, and started crying.
****
Linford noticed how weird Candace acted when he came back.
“What’s wrong, honey?” He asked as he held the girl on his lap.
Candace pointed at her heart, trying to tell Linford she missed her Mom.
It broke Linford’s heart to see the girl act like this. He left a kiss on her cheek and grabbed the phone, “Mommy’s gonna come back in days. Let’s call her right now, shall we?”
Candace nodded, looking upset. She had tried to call her, but Mommy hadn’t even picked up the phone.
However, this time, Cristelle finally accepted the call. Candace took the phone and kissed the screen. She almost cried, but she didn’t want her Mom to be worried.
Cristelle sighed, “Honey, I’ll be back in two days. Just wait for me, okay?”
Candace nodded.
She had so much to tell her Mom. She didn’t want to go to Cindy’s dance class anymore. All she felt was she wanted to see her Mom right now.
Cristelle was busy preparing the studio. She didn’t even notice how weird Candace was right now.
“Be good, and Mommy will be back soon,” Cristelle promised.