"Huh! Why am I crying? It is not… usually me…"
Jass was startled to find her cheeks wet with tears.
She bewilderedly wobbled her head and rushed to the bathroom, hastily wiping her face and splashing water on it.
This was the moments earlier when Jazzy, the Villainess's mother, had distinguished that Jass was… scooting out from the stadium. Her eyes were visibly darkened and… upset.
'What is that foolish girl thinking? Does she have no dignity, weeping in public like that?'
Jazzy's expression was solid as she approached Jessica on the field - Crossed her and wore a deep glower.
"Why did you summon me here? I surmised it was very urgent. There is competition here, which will just squander my time."
"It is... about Jass..."
Jessica was very sheepish, lowering her head like a chastised child.
Jazzy rubbed her nose with cold fingers.
"That girl? We have no connection. She's a... demon and... my greatest regret."
"... But..."
Jessica was at a loss for words.
Before she could riposte, Jass breezed past her, heading towards their designated seats to empathise with the concept of her looming opponent, which is undecided.
'What's with this attitude? Is this how she feels when I snub at her…'
Jazzy's body was very inhospitable and nippy.
In the past, even after being kicked out from the family, Jass had never disregarded her when both parties coincidentally congress.
Typically, Jass would at least acknowledge her with tear-filled eyes, bust a gut to demonstrate.
But Jazzy would always disband her presence before any sentence could emerge.
She lodged deep resentment towards her daughter for being an intimidator and crying bully on a cancer patient and taking the life of someone who had shown her altruism.
These weren't values she had instilled in her child.
As she silently analysed Jass, who hadn't spared her a single glance, Jazzy was undergoing an unexpected pang of... remorse.
Infact, For reasons she couldn't quite fathom, Jazzy often felt a sense of wrongdoing.
But you know, those circumstances had never supplied tangible proof - not a scrap of corroboration to endorse this nagging feeling.
***
"Mama! Why do people dislike me? I'm kind to everyone."
A five-year-old girl exclaimed, observing the gardeners who keep their special distance from her while tending to the flowers. She gazed up at her mother, her eyes brimming with sadness.
The child's mother stared at her with an rimy on eyelashes.
"It's not your fault, Jass. They're simply petrified of you."
"But why, Mama? I even shared my plaything with their little one. They child discarded it, and when I wept, those maid just withdraw with their kids..."
Young Jass clung to her mother's waist, though the cuddle wasn't reciprocated by her, even a peice of it.
The girl sniffingly looked up at her mother, who sat stationary on a garden bench, seeing the scenario.
Jass was seeking comfort and understanding, but nothing got equal.
On a chilly winter's day, Jazzy perception the child's body felt cold versus her.
She used her fire affinity to generate warmth, essay to comfort the little one.
"Mama, you and big sister are the greatest. When I grow up, I'll protect both of you who've cared for me."
The young girl tightening her hug around Jazzy's neck.
At this tender age, she wasn't naive enough not to understood that the woman who was bearing her felt no affection towards her.
In fact, she sensed Jazzy's contumely when they are together, though she couldn't decipher why.
The child felt disheartened, having tried precariously to win her mother's approval, but everytime hope seemed to be slipping away.
After an hour passed without Jazzy benefaction even a gentle pat or word of soothe.
The gesticulation that she did seen other mothers freely give to other children in their downcast.
Jass, who had enough of it, abruptly released her hold and stepped back, catching Jazzy off guard.
This was unusual, as Jass normally is very clingy to her mother for as long as possible, often to Jazzy's irritation.
Jass gazed at Jazzy, her eyes scintillate with in place of tears.
"Mama... do you despise me too?"
"... It's time for your meal."
Jazzy's expression extant unchanged as she led the child towards the mansion, arresting her tiny hand.
Jass forcefully pulled it away, clutching her chest.
"... Mama, why won't you answer? You've never revealed who my father is. My heart aches because of you. Why do I feel unwanted and wild child ? Am I truly a demon... as the other children claim me?"
Jazzy gazed at the whimpering child, then lifted her eyes to the sky.
"Do you genuinely want to know?"
"... Yes..."
"Are you sure?"
"... Yes..."
Jazzy knelt before her, reaching out to stroke her head for the first time.
Jass recoiled, clocking it as an insincere gesture meant to delete her inquiry. She sniffled more, eyeing Jazzy's outstretched hand warily.
Jazzy sighed, her face settling into a neutral one.
"I don't hate you."
"Really, Mom? I'm not a burden to you, am I?"
Jass's eyes brightened with hankering as her tears subsided. Jazzy, taken aback by the question, decided to express truth.
"No, you're not a burden, but..."
Jass noted her mother's cold gaze and backed away, nervously awaiting the rest of the sentence.
Jass stammered.
"D-Don't leave me hanging! But what?"
"... Don't expect any friendliness from me. I can't have amity with you."
Jazzy stated bluntly. Jass frozen in her place, refusing to let any more tears fall, even through it streamed.
After a moment, she laboured a cheerful smile.
"Thank you for your honesty. I've always daydream to know where my place is in this household. Haa… what a good position I have."
Jass chuckled softly, her voice sparkled with the sarcasm. She walked into the mansion without a backward glance.
Jazzy felt a twinge of emptiness but dismissed her emotions, thinking Jass would no longer hunt her concentration — which she believed would be beneficial.
Opposite to Jazzy's expectations, Jass continued to interact with her for the next few days.
As this time passed, Jass gradually stopped fetter Jazzy by her a friendly relationship.
Thus, there was an ever-widening emotional chasm between them.
It wasn't ended there.
Jass's nauseate for her mother's homemade cookies and her refusal to celebrate birthdays marked the beginning of their careworn relationship.
The situation deteriorated further when, months later, a friend visited their mansion.
After the friend's departure, Jass became more distant, terminated all communication with her mother, everyone in home, and refusing to use familial terms of endearment.
She even isolated herself from other household members.
From that point on, Jass ardent herself to her studies, researching topics such as how a child could legally change their name and sever family ties.
For years, the mother was oblivious to the extent of Jass's emotional turmoil.
The truth unfurled when Jass, then an eight-year-old, sixth-grader, bullied a classmate.
The mother's anger amplify upon ascertain that the victim was a cancer patient bearing visible signs of physical abuse on cheeks.
This incident prompted the mother to evict Jass, providing her with a small apartment for independent living.
Even after this arrangement, Jass never experienced genuine parental intimacy.
A compassionate individual, that hotels' owner, later took her in, benefaction paternal love.
But tragically, Jass soon killed that person because of abhorrence.
It was at this moment that Jazzy, the mother, finally tracking down this accident, stopped viewing Jass as biological daughter.
This was moment she smell out that Jass was merely a grave mistake she had give birth to... or was… coercion by herself.
***
"Mom... Mom."
Jessica called, gently shaking Jazzy's shoulder. She noticed her mother's dazeful stare fixated on Jass.
"Huh! Ah, I was lost in thought."
Jazzy told with icy detachment as she averted her gaze.
She turned to leave, haunted by the knowledge that Jass was a murderer whom she had protected before anyone discovered her crime against the hotel owner but Jessica start presaude her for something.
Jazzy couldn't help but dream of her own motivations for shielding her... daughter.
Meanwhile, Jass was aloof, avoiding eye contact with them. She had overheard Jazzy referring to her as a regret.
The words pierced her heart, sending a shiver down her spine as if insects were crawling beneath her first skin.
Yet, outwardly, she appeared indifferent to it all.
Cassie approached Jass with her friends, positioning themselves directly in front of her.
She saw Jass repeatedly gripping her knee-length black skirt. Jass's today attire also included a crisp white shirt and a sleek black blazer.
"Are you alright?"
"Why have you come here?"
The group settled beside her.
Before anyone could speak, a booming voice cut throughout the area.
"Why you are so noisy, bastard… I mean, Ladies and gentlemen, the moment has been arrived for our little competition."
The principal of the campus, with long white beard and hairs, put old anicent clothes, was flying in air.
"We shall determine whether your children truly merit their current class placement or if they are merely wor... well, let's say it's academically challenged."