With a red face, Cassy turned to see her aunt grinning at her. Why did she have to utter such words to her aunt? It's so embarrassing.
" I can see my niece has turned into a big girl, right? You even have a boyfriend you can kiss out loud!" Aunt Greta said.
Cassy finally got hold of her emotions as she smiled at her aunt. She drew closer to her and with a flattering tone she denied vehemently.
"Kiss? Boyfriend? Of course not…you just didn't get my word right. I mean a hot kiss I just heard about…not a kiss I had myself. Someone just told me how a boy just…just kissed a girl shamelessly in the open. Aunt, can you believe that?" Cassy denied it, seriously.
Aunt Greta just looked at her niece who was trying to desperately hide the truth from her even though her face was so red and obvious. But who was the boy?
"Alright. Cassy, are you fine with your father? If you notice anything you don't like and can't bear anymore, just let me know. You are almost sixteen and would soon be an adult. My house is always open to you, okay?" Aunt Greta said, looking at the girl who was trying hard to keep a smile on her face.
Cassy didn't answer her aunt, she just went to her and hugged her tightly. Words can't explain her emotions right now but she reeds a hug to give her the strength to keep standing with her father.
She chatted with her aunt a little longer before her aunt left.
Cassy continued walking towards the only place she had to come back to. She braced herself to withstand her father's actions later.
She wondered what her father would do next.
********
"My pretty daughter, why have you come back so soon?" Her father's voice cut through her thoughts. She rolled her eyes and it almost touched the back of her head.
Who is this man kidding? Does he think that she doesn't know the reason he had changed drastically? Pretty daughter indeed!
"Father, you don't have to be licking my boots. I already know who you are and what you are even thinking about right now," Cassy said as she sat down outside of their cottage.
She just didn't feel like getting inside yet.
"You know you are really pretty. So calling you a pretty daughter isn't licking your boots," Her father said slyly and with a grin.
"What do you want?" Cassy asked, looking at her father. She knew he was looking for something.
"Why do you think I am looking for something? I…I am not looking for anything", her father said as he became nervous. He always was whenever he was lying.
"Okay then. I am going inside to get ready. I will be following the caravan to the carnival tonight" Cassy told her father.
"You have an Alpha as your boyfriend. We are supposed to be rich! " Her father said dreamily.
"He is not Alpha yet. He is the Alpha's son" Cassy told her father.
"It's the same thing. Doesn't he know he needs to take care of you as a boyfriend? You are not supposed to be going to the carnival again and…I as your father supposed to…"
"Father, did you forget he is just sixteen? Same age as the daughter you wanted to sell off? We are not yet entitled to anything. We will only be legal when we click eighteen" Cassy said in irritation. Her father was starting to piss her off.
She went inside hurriedly so she could pack up but her father still followed her in.
"Cassy, listen to your father. He is of royalty. He has money to throw around. Remember he is the Alpha's only son" Her father kept insisting.
"Father, please stop! Do you see me only as a commodity?" Cassy asked, facing her father.
"Cassy, how can you talk to your father like that? Why would I see…see you as a commodity? You are my daughter" Her father replied smiling as he tried to touch her. But he never expected her next action.
Cassy jerked away from him as fear crept into her eyes. She had used too much force so her father fell to the ground. She looked at her father like a predator. She was always his prey. But this time, she won't allow it.
"How dare you, Cassy? You have the guts to push me away?" Her father asked, looking shocked at her reaction with anger rushing into his eyes.
"I will dare it again because I detest you but I do not only detest you, I also wished you were not my father and before you raise your hands at me again, think twice. He might just be around the corner" Cassy said as she immediately shrieked from her father who had already raised his hands in the air.
Then she added," Why do you delight in hurting me? Am I your daughter?".
Cassy was so distraught that she didn't bother packing more clothes. She decided to just go and work the night shift today before leaving tomorrow morning. She can't stay in this house with her father.
Cassy's father held back his anger as he watched his daughter shut the door behind him. He needs to calm down so she won't run away.
He can't do anything rashly. This girl was his ticket to a good life. That's the only thing he would gain from that woman that caused him so much.
Catalina's daughter has to pay for the crimes of her mother. He would make sure Cassy paid for every single one of her mother's crimes.
Cassy's father, William Smithson, looked at his daughter in anger.
If only Cassy knew the whole story. She was his daughter but he hates her mother so much.
She just had to look like Catalina, her mother. Anytime he sees Cassy, he remembers how much he hated Catalina. He just wants to get rid of her before his hatred kills his child.
Don't blame me, Cassy. Blame your mother!