Kiss me if you dare [ENGLISH]

Chapter 23

Charmey

It was impossible to avoid the brown-gray house on top of the hill as she walked down the slope. It was old, with an attic, peeling walls, and moss creeping up on the speckled tile roof. Not only that but the building was also surrounded by an unkempt garden. However, Charmey couldn't care less about how poorly the owners seemed to take care of the dwelling. What concerned her was the horrendous color. Who had made that decision? The sight was an eyesore and didn't blend in with the rest of the newly built houses where the lawns barely grew more than a couple of centimeters above the ground. However, Charmey wasn't here to evaluate the homes.

With some care, she took out the photo from her inner pocket, and the image tightened in her grip. She hated Fleur for forcing these painful memories to resurface. She must have found the address of her parents while staying in her apartment.

In reality, she couldn't blame her, but she did anyway. Fleur had no idea how many times she had debated with herself about executing the elaborate plan that had ended with her taking out her frustration elsewhere. It wasn't something to complain about. The amount of money she had managed to accumulate during her journey had allowed for a luxurious life that many coveted, but the wounds that had appeared on the inside wouldn't heal for a long time. She couldn't let go of the thoughts about her parents. What had they talked about? Fleur knew her real name, but were there more secrets they had revealed?

Her palms broke open as her nails pressed into them, overlapping previous marks. The anger was indescribable. She had planned to kill them for several years, intentionally letting their betrayal escalate to carry out the deed without mistakes, without remorse. However, something had always stopped her—an invisible barrier.

The rowhouse loomed at the edge of the cross street. The place hadn't changed a bit since all those times she had shown up before; the mailbox was still crooked, and the fence was sun-faded. The spot where the car used to be parked was empty, but a lamp in one of the upper windows indicated that someone was home. She hoped it was her mother.

On the other side of the hedge, she glimpsed a young dad building a snowman with one of his children, and in the kitchen window, she sensed the rest of the family happily eating pastries and drinking juice. She immediately thought of Fleur and Gabriel's close relationship and looked away. Was there any chance she could be accepted again?

Suddenly, it occurred to her that they might have decided to start a new family, to have other children. Her stomach turned, and she stopped at the doorstep to collect herself, then pushed open the door, appreciating that it was unlocked. If there was one thing she had learned from her childhood, it was that they never locked the doors, not at night or when they went away.

They must have baked bread recently because the sweet scent of flour lingered downstairs. Charmey didn't bother to take off her outer clothes and brushed away a dust bunny from one of the hangers. The small hope grew inside her when she noticed that there were no clothes or shoes in child sizes.

From upstairs, she heard someone moving around and the sound of running water. Charmey peeked into the kitchen just to break off a piece of bread and put it in her mouth. It was exquisite. She didn't spend more than a few seconds at the kitchen table before deciding to sneak up the stairs.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of her mother. She stood in the bathroom in a bathrobe, even though it was now afternoon, with her back turned, searching through a toiletry bag. Her body was thin, and Charmey suddenly wondered if she had gone through some drastic depression after her disappearance. It didn't look healthy, anyway.

She leaned arrogantly against the door, arms crossed. Charmey's mother turned the faucet again and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't scream when she spotted her. Instead, she threw herself back in shock and pressed against the wall with wide eyes.