Return of a Broken Heart

Sixteen - En Garde

Now it was Ludmila's turn to be infuriated.

"Nothing." Came the reply from her mother.

"I'll ask again." She pursed the lips which were perfectly applied with a deep red lipstick. The perfect power colour, she thought. Somehow, she would crack her mother. Find out what on Earth she intended to do.

"Don't you patronise me!" Her mother could argue, but she soon flared up when a flaw was found in her logic. This was one of those moments. There was a flaw. A big one. The details of that flaw? She would tell her...

Ludmila wasn't supposed to walk in yet!! What was she doing here? What did she want? Priscila was her mother, but they had never had a close relationship. Did she think that she had come to see Pablo? Did she think that she was in trouble?

Priscila crossed the room and cradled her daughter in her arms. "My darling. My darling. I'm here. You've done nothing wrong, Ludmi." She kissed her on the forehead with the most loving intent she could conjure up.

Her daughter smelt a rat. When her mother's lips came into contact with her skin, she knew that something dark was going on. Her mother was never affectionate, or warm, or caring. She just wasn't that type of a mother.... That probably explained a lot as to why Ludmila has grown up to be the person she was.

Looking back on herself, she felt ashamed. The way she used Leon to big herself up in the early days was shameful. No wonder she'd had so many snide looks. There were various arguments and sarcastic comments... Not to mention the way she'd used Tomas to hurt Violetta back then...

Wait.

The lightning bolt struck. Her epiphany flashed before her eyes. This plan involved Violetta.

Not directly, of course, but she knew that if she could hurt Angie, then she would hurt Violetta. In turn, German would be hurt by them being hurt. Underneath, he was a sweetie, though he didn't like to admit it. She wanted to smile to herself, but instead she gritted her teeth.

That was her mother's plan. She was rifling through her possessions to find something to use against her. How underhanded that was. Ludmila breathed in deeply before asking, well, more like proclaiming, "You're doing this to hurt Angie." Ludmila paused briefly, "Aren't you?" She tilted her head to the side and mirrored her mother's movements that she made only a few minutes ago. She took her in an embrace, kissed her, and then gazed into her eyes. Not a longing gaze, but an interrogative gaze. "I won't let you hurt her."

As predicted, Priscila quickly lurched at her. Screaming threatening words, she made her best attempt to stop her daughter from doing what she was about to do.

A moment of unprecedented silence invaded the room. Creak. Click.

"What's going on in here?"

"She was going through Angie's things and planning something to hurt her." The way her daughter looked at her then, broke Priscila's heart. She had learned to be good, but not where she should have learned it. Not from her own mother. From Angie.