Chapter 230: The two sisters

Cixi had waited for Cassian the entire night.

At first, she had told herself he would come late. Then she told herself he was probably busy, or angry, or doing whatever men like Cassian did when they vanished without giving anyone an explanation.

She kept turning towards the door at every small sound of the wind, her heart lifting each time foolishly, only to sink again when no one came into view.

By the time exhaustion finally dragged her under, her eyes had already begun to burn, and sleep took her before she could decide whether she was more worried or more annoyed.

When morning arrived, the space beside her was still empty.

Cixi stared at it for a few seconds, feeling the heaviness of disappointment settle inside her chest before she pushed herself up. Cassian had not come. The sheets on his side of the bed were untouched, and the sight irritated her more than she wanted to admit.

She reached for her phone and dialled his number, but the call went straight to voicemail. For a moment, she simply listened to the dead tone in disbelief before ending the call and staring at the screen.

"Fine," she muttered under her breath, though there was nothing fine about the tightness in her heart.

Taking a deep breath, she looked around the room once, placed her feet on the cool marble floor, and forced herself to get ready for work. Worrying would not bring Cassian back. He might be having a discussion with the almighty King of hell.

Sitting on the bed and staring at his side like some abandoned wife would also not help her pay attention to her own mess of a life. After finishing her morning routine, she carefully fixed the fake belly beneath her clothes, checked it twice to make sure it looked convincing, then picked up her backpack and walked towards the living room.

Breakfast had already been placed on the table.

For one person.

Cixi paused at the sight, slightly confused. She had not heard the butler come in. Perhaps he had entered while she was in the shower, or perhaps people in this Palace moved so quietly that even ghosts would feel insecure. Either way, the food was simple, warm, and waiting for her, and since her stomach had already started complaining, she sat down and ate quickly. She did not have the luxury to behave dramatically over breakfast just because Cassian had disappeared without a word.

Once she finished, she took her bag and left the room, making sure the fake belly remained secure as she walked through the palace corridors. By the time she neared the main entrance, she found Olga standing there as though she had been waiting for someone.

The moment Olga saw her, a bright smile appeared on her face.

"I was waiting for you," Olga said, walking towards her with a warmth that immediately made Cixi slow down.

Cixi returned a polite smile, though confusion had already begun to gather inside her. "Waiting for me?"

"Yes. I was going towards the city and thought we could go together."

Cixi studied her for a moment. Olga sounded natural, even gentle, but that only made the situation stranger. She had noticed it before, this growing friendliness from Olga, this careful softness that felt too personal to be ordinary kindness.

Cixi did not mind being treated kindly. God knew she had not received too much of that in her life. Yet kindness from people connected to powerful families always made her cautious because kindness could become a rope if one did not watch carefully.

"You shouldn’t wait for me next time," Cixi said, keeping her voice respectful. "You can leave according to your own schedule."

Olga frowned at Cixi’s cold words. "Stop talking nonsense. You are pregnant." Her gaze dropped to Cixi’s fake stomach, and the concern in her eyes deepened in a way that made Cixi uncomfortable. "You need a ride too. Do not overthink unnecessary things."

Cixi did not know what to say to that when Olga knew clearly she was faking it.

Olga and Cixi’s conversation came to a stop when the sharp sound of clapping echoed near the entrance.

Both women turned.

Tatiana stood a short distance away, clapping slowly with a smile that held no warmth at all. Her gaze moved from Olga to Cixi, and disgust curled openly across her face. "Wonderful. You could not find time to take your own daughter to college, but here you are, waiting to take a nobody to the city."

"Tina," Olga warned.

The warning only hardened Tatiana’s expression. She crossed her arms and looked at Cixi as though Cixi had personally stolen something from her. "Please do not tell me, Mother, that you are planning to adopt a poor orphan now."

Cixi’s fingers tightened around the strap of her backpack, but she said nothing yet. She did not have Cassian’s patience for politics, and she definitely did not have the energy to deal with Tatiana before work.

"Enough," Olga said, her voice firmer this time.

Tatiana laughed without humour. "No, Mother, you should stop doing charity work. Some people are not worth it, especially when they already hold a major share that does not belong to them." Her eyes returned to Cixi, glittering with open hostility. "I will take back what is mine and my fiancé’s."

Witnessing Tatiana’s new side, Olga was caught by a thought she could not push away.

Why was it that Tatiana, the daughter she had raised with her own hands, kept showing her a crueller side day by day, while Cixi, who had been taken from her and raised by people who should never have touched her life, somehow felt easier to approach? Why did speaking to Cixi feel like stepping towards something she had lost, while speaking to Tatiana had begun to feel like standing before someone drifting further away?

Had she failed as a mother? Was this punishment for losing her first daughter, that now she had to watch the second one slip from her heart while still standing in front of her?

Cixi rolled her eyes, making sure Tatiana saw it clearly. "Where do you find the time to be this dramatic so early in the morning, or do you always eat something wrong for breakfast?"

Tatiana’s face changed instantly.

Before she could speak, Olga cut in. "Tina, I thought Rafael was being a good fiancee to you and giving you company everywhere. I thought you no longer needed me so much, since you had grown quite a bit after arriving in Demond City."

The air tightened between mother and daughter.

Tatiana stared at Olga. And Olga stared back.

Neither blinked, and Cixi, standing between their silence, felt as though she had accidentally stepped into a conversation that had started long before this morning. The two women were not only speaking about a ride to the city. There was something else beneath it, something spoken the day before, something wounded and still bleeding.

Cixi cleared her throat softly. "I think we should leave now. I am getting late."

Olga looked away first. "Yes. Let’s go."

The guards opened the door for them, and Cixi followed Olga into the waiting car. As the vehicle drove away from the palace entrance, Cixi glanced back once and saw Tatiana standing there with fury written across her face.

Tatiana watched the car leave as though her anger alone could drag it back.

A moment later, Rafael came to stand beside her and placed one arm around her shoulders. "What made you so upset?"

"I want that orphan to die," Tatiana said through clenched teeth.

Rafael laughed softly, not because he was shocked but because the hatred amused him. "That would be a scene for all of us to witness." Then, under his breath, with a mocking ease he did not bother hiding well enough, he muttered, "It is good that Cassian is not here."

Tatiana looked at him.

Rafael’s smile remained, but something colder moved behind it. "Careful what you wish for, Tina. You never know which wall might seal your words and bury them inside it."

Inside the car, Cixi kept glancing at Olga, unable to stop the question growing inside her. The ride was quiet at first, with the palace slowly disappearing behind them and the road to the city stretching ahead through thick morning traffic. Olga sat beside her with the composed posture of a woman used to hiding her thoughts, but Cixi could feel the heaviness in the silence.

Eventually, Olga turned her head. "Do you want to ask me something?"

Cixi immediately shook her head.

Then, after a second, she nodded.

Olga’s expression softened. "Ask."

"Why would you fight with your daughter over taking me to work?" Cixi asked, looking down at her hands before glancing back at Olga. "Do you not think it upsets her?"

For a moment, Olga did not answer.

There were so many things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell Cixi that a mother did not need permission to care for her own child. She wanted to tell her that every time she looked at her, her heart ached with the years she had lost. She wanted to pull her close, hold her properly, and say that she was not some poor orphan being pitied by strangers but the daughter who had been stolen from her life. But she could not say any of it, because the mafia lord had made it clear that Cixi was not to be told the truth.

So Olga swallowed everything and smiled with a calmness that cost her more than Cixi would ever understand.

"Sometimes children can be unreasonable," she said gently. "As parents, we must learn when to ignore it."

Cixi looked at her, unconvinced. "It is still strange that you are taking me to my workplace."

Olga’s smile trembled at the edges, though she hid it quickly. "Perhaps. But I was going to the city anyway."

Cixi turned towards the window after that, and Olga watched her reflection in the glass. Her eldest daughter, who should have grown up in comfort, who should have studied without fear and lived in a home worthy of her, was now going to a café to work as a waitress. She had left her studies halfway because life had forced her to support herself financially. She carried tiredness in her body and caution in her eyes, and Olga could do nothing except sit beside her like a polite stranger offering a ride.

By the time they reached the café, traffic had already stolen most of the morning, and Cixi barely had enough time to get to work. She thanked Olga quickly before hurrying out of the car and entering the café with her backpack clutched close.

Olga remained seated after the door closed.

Through the window, she watched Cixi disappear inside.

Her daughter should have been walking into a university hall, a grand house, a life where someone protected her from needing to serve strangers for wages. Instead, she was tying an apron over her fake belly and pretending she was fine.

Olga’s breath shook.

Tears rolled down her cheeks before she could stop them.

She was a failed mother.

Stangely, one Crown was protecting her eldest daughter, while another Crown was leading her second daughter away from her, and Olga sat between both losses with empty hands.