0008 Mom

Liz Hunt’s voice became smaller and smaller as she spoke. It was clear that she was being very careful as to not to agitate Evely, whom she knew hated her a lot. Their relationship had never been harmonious to begin with. When Evely’s parents divorced when she was six, she blamed her father for the fall out. Her mother said that it was because Francis Hunt was seeing someone else that their marriage broke. Evely was also told that her mother could only take her sister and not Evely because Francis did not want her sister.

This was why, when Francis married Lizbeth Morgan, a socialite, two years after the divorce, Evely more than raised hell, thinking she was the homewrecker her mother told her about. The charming house in Hampton Hills was never without a fight— and it was all due to Evely finding faults with Francis’ new wife.

This was also why the Morgans, Liz’s family, were not so happy with Evely. Some from the same generation as Evely even showed outward antagonism whenever they met because of the way she treated her stepmother. However, in Evely’s past life, it was the Morgans who helped Francis and Liz find Evely to take her back, although it was too late. Evely had committed suicide by then.

“But don’t worry. He will rush here as soon as he can,” Liz assured her as she placed the things she brought in the closet.

Evie watched her keep the set of clothes for her to wear. It was also clear to her that the woman had rushed there based on her less kempt than usual appearance. Aside from that night when they rushed Evie to the hospital in their pajamas, Liz Hunt had always appeared dolled up outside. It was one of the reasons the previous Evely felt disgusted with her, and dressed outrageously to spite her beautiful stepmother.

In any case, Evie assumed that if there was any other choice, Liz wouldn’t have come to the hospital knowing Evely despised her. Francis Hunt, who was always the one who stayed with Evie since she was hospitalized must have really been stuck somewhere so he sent Liz to accompany his daughter today.

Evie eyed Liz Hunt’s nervous stance, and she gave her a gentle smile, which surprised the other.

“Ah— are you hungry? Have you eaten? Is there something you want to eat?”

It seemed that Evie’s smile made Liz more nervous and blabbered nonstop about food and eating.

“If you want to eat something specific, as long as it’s not too oily or spicy, do let me know and I’ll prepare it at once. I—”

“Mom, I’m not hungry,” Evie interrupted her.

“Ha?”

As expected, upon being called mom, Liz Hunt’s jaw dropped as she stood there staring at Evie. It was so unladylike and totally unexpected from the former socialite queen, that the corner of Evie’s mouth twitched. She would not openly laugh at her, though. Liz hunt had suffered too much injustice because of her— or Evely. But since she’s occupying the other’s body, it was up to Evie now to correct her celestial twin’s mistake so her life would not be derailed the way it did in her previous life.

This time around, Evie swore to protect and cherish those who truly cared and loved her. As for the others…

Depending on how they treated her, Evie would do the same.

An eye for an eye.

In this life, those who had caused Evely harm had yet to really appear, although they were already in contact with her. However, Evie would not only refuse to be used by them, she would also make sure to pay them back double the price.

And to Liz Hunt…

“Mom, I’m not hungry now. But later, can you prepare a bowl of soup for me?”

Evie was orphaned early. But she was old enough to remember clearly how it was like when she had parents. She could remember acting coquettishly towards her mother. It was something she missed too much in her world. Even after a decade, she still missed having her parents around.

“Ah— O-o-kay— anything you want. Anything you want,” Liz stuttered, but it was obvious that she was still half in shock.

Evely had never called her mother. Ever. Since she had married Francis, all she ever was to Evely was ‘that woman’, ‘her father’s wife’, and most recently, hag.

Liz’s eyes became red, and her nose twitched as it turned sour. She looked like she wanted to cry, but held it in. She was doing a very poor attempt at hiding her emotions, though.

Evie sighed as she reached out a hand and held Liz’s. She gave her a squeeze which the other woman returned. By this time, she was openly letting her tears flow from her eyes, but she was smiling.

“What soup would you like to have later?” she asked as she clumsily wiped her tears with her other hand.

“I want mushroom or egg drop soup,” Evie answered, and Liz nodded as she sniffled.

It was at this moment when the door to the suite opened, and Francis Hunt who just entered stopped abruptly after seeing them.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noting his wife’s tear-stained face.

For a short while, he looked conflicted, thinking that his daughter said something bad to his wife again. But seeing as the two ladies were relaxed, and the atmosphere between them was warm, he visibly looked relieved.

“Evely had a big headache earlier so the doctor told her to rest,” Liz answered before wiping her face with tissue paper, looking embarrassed.

Francis nodded as he scrutinized his daughter. Evie could tell that he was trying to decipher what was going on, but did not say anything to explain. A few seconds of silence hung in the air before Francis cleared his throat.

“Evely, take a nap. Liz and I are going to the doctor’s office for a chat. We’ll be back later,” he told her softly, and Evie waved her hand before turning to her side and closing her eyes.

She did not ask what they were going to discuss with the doctor since she already had an idea what the meeting was about. The day before, a different doctor came to her for a chat. He said he was a psychologist, and he asked her a lot of different questions.

Of course, Evie could answer everything since she had her and Evely’s memories. However, something that the doctor asked her made her stop and realize what was wrong with her currently.

“Evely, why do you speak as if you’re talking about someone else?”

Evie had no answer to that. Of course, she was talking about someone else since she’s Evie Hunter and not Evely Hunt. But she could not tell the doctor that, right? To them, she was Evely. But this made her wonder how she could function in this world when she could not connect with it.

The rustling sound followed by the clicking of the door told Evie that her parents finally went out of the room. Remembering Liz and her reaction earlier, Evie smiled, finding her stepmother so cute.

Sure enough, as soon as they were outside, she heard her father ask Liz why she was crying.

“Evely called me mom,” Liz answered so softly, followed by sniffles, and Francis’ low laughter as he consoled her.

“That’s good, that’s good…”