Facade

Chapter 24

   Suddenly, I had this urge to finalize the truth about Mother. Out of nowhere, I wanted to confirm if Mother was sleeping with multiple men, so I sat up in my bed, staring at my door. It was so sudden and I wondered why, knowing I had spent the past few weeks trying to forget about what I learned about Mother.

     But I knew that I couldn't hide from the truth forever. Since I knew I couldn't marry Philip, I knew I had to learn the truth about Mother, and then figure out what to do about Philip. Hopeful, I wondered if maybe Mother and I could be on the same side once we learned more about the other.

   Getting out of my bed, I let my hair fall around me in waves. I still wore my nightgown, but I didn't care, knowing Mother was on her errand. The servants were probably eating, so I knew no one would notice me. That was why I felt confident as I left my room and went to Mother's.

   Entering Mother's room, I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath in. Suddenly, my heart was racing. It began to pound against my chest because it was the moment of truth. Finally it was the moment where I'd confirm what I wished Mother didn't do.

   The thought was scary, but I knew what I had to do. Because of that, I scurried over to Mother's desk, hoping to find some sort of hint. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but knowing Mother spent a tremendous amount of time at her desk, I knew there must be something there.

     As usual, there were papers scattered across her wooden table. My eyes skimmed over them and saw that they were for bills, so I ignored them and went to her drawers. They were just as messy.

   The first drawer had nothing but writing utensils. The second drawer had nothing but old jewelry. The third one has a bunch of random items and I groaned, realizing it was pointless. But then, a little treasure box caught my eye.

   I pulled it out, realizing I had never seen it before. It was the colour of chocolate and petite, but big enough to hold something. Something, I wondered about.

   Opening it up without a second thought, I was surprised to see small sheets of papers crammed into it. I pulled them out and looked at the top one, then frowned at what I saw.

   On the paper was a picture of a man. Just a picture of his face and beside it was a number written in what looked like Mother's writing. The number was two hundred and when I looked at the next paper, I saw the same number but with another man.

   My eyebrows furrowed as I went through more of the papers that consisted of the same thing. Sometimes the number would change, but other than that all of the papers consisted of a man and a number. It was peculiar and I tried to make sense of it because even though I had an idea of why the men were there, I didn't understand the numbers.

     But before I could put the pieces of the puzzle together, the door to the room flew open. My head flew up and my eyes widened, seeing Mother standing at the door. She looked equally as surprised for a mere second, but rage soon contorted her features.

     "What are you doing in my room!" Mother shouted.

   I didn't react and I knew I would regret it, but suddenly I was tired of not knowing the truth. All I wanted was answers, so I decided to be straightforward.

    "Is it true that you sleep with multiple men?" I asked, staring at Mother who walked closer to me.

   She froze in her spot and looked caught of guard. It was clear she didn't know I knew. It was incredibly clear that she didn't want me to know as her eyes went wide with horror.