Chapter 38 - Where I stand

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Hudson POV

The house seems oddly quiet today.
No one is in the living room, so I decide to check their rooms.

The first one I check is Brenda's
I knock on the door and walk in after hearing a 'come in'

When I open it, she's seated on her bed, her hands on her lap as she looks pitiful.

"Brenda," I sit on the bed, beside her. "What's wrong? Are you Okay?"

She turns to me.

"Hudson, you're back? I...I'm sorry...It's just....I don't know" she sighs.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me" she gives me a smile that she thinks is reassuring, but I know her well enough to know it's fake.

"I know when something is wrong Brenda, please talk to me"  I practically beg.

"I..I—"

An ear piercing scream interrupts our discussion.

My eyes go wide as I jump to my feet.

"Isn't that from Cassie's room?"

Brenda sits there with a shocked look as I dash out of the room and towards Cassie's.

I don't bother knocking as I push open the door.

My brows furrow in confusion as I take in the scene.

Her room is a huge mess.
Broken items everywhere, tumbled furniture and all.

"Cassie?" I whisper in incredulity.

She abruptly stops smashing things and turn to face me.
Before I could say anything else, she runs towards me, wrapping her arms around me.

"Daddy" she sobs.

"Shh...calm down, calm down" I know better than to ask her what happened. Ever since she was little, whenever she throws a tantrum or has an outburst, I always calm her down before inquiring the cause.

"Dad" she says as her body vibrates.

What happened?
Why is she like this?
Granted, she has never been the best to deal with, but I've never seen her like this.

After some minutes of just sitting down there, whispering comforting words to her, I finally decide to ask her the question that has been hanging on my tongue.

"Are you ready to tell daddy what happened yet?" I softly ask.

"Is it true?" She asks and I squint my eyes in confusion.

"What is?"
She raises her head from my chest, looking me in the eyes.

"Is it true that....that" she takes in a deep breath. "Is it true that I am not your daughter?"

I blink.

"Who the hell told you that?" I seethe.

"Is. It. True?" She says through clenched teeth

"Whoever told you that doesn't know shit!"

"Dad please tell me the truth! Answer the damn question!" She yells, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Cassie, Have I ever treated you or made you feel like you're not my child?"

With quivering lips, she silently stares at me while rising to her feet.

"I just want to know where I stand"

No.
This doesn't sound like my daughter Cassandra.

Cassandra is a cheerful girl, a girl with high self-esteem and so much confidence. The girl standing in front of me right now is a broken girl.

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