When We Were Young

Chapter 20

This chapter is dedicated to @evans_13 for all your motivational comments.

  

Six years ago(Flashback)

That night, Paula lay awake in her blankets, remembering their walk in the garden. His laugh, his voice, his facial expressions...She buried her face into the pillow and rolled over.

God! What's happening to her?

Why was she even thinking about him?

It was ridiculous and dangerous. She shoved the disturbing thoughts at the back of her mind and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep but she found she couldn’t sleep. She kept tossing and turning until midnight and that’s when she entered into a deep slumber. The next morning, she found Hazel in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

"Morning miss," Hazel greeted her in her usual bright voice when she entered.

"Morning," Paula responded and released a big yawn.

"I was about to wake you up. Your mother is taking you to that charity event. You have to go and prepare before she comes barreling down."

Paula groaned in frustration, walking further into the kitchen. She dropped down on one of the kitchen stools suddenly feeling exhausted.

When did it slip her mind?

She reached into the fruit basket and grabbed an apple and began to munch with obvious boredom. There was no way in hell she was going to accompany her mother to that charity event at the orphanage. She hated seeing her mother giving away presents to those unfortunate kids with a fake smile on her pretentious face.

After her visit, her mother would curse and cringe at the hugs, kisses and handshakes she had received from those "poor beggars" as she often termed them. She would rush into her en suite bathroom and shrub off their scents.

She didn't want to stand by and witness her mother's false concern for those kids. Sofia only donated to boost her husband's image. She never cared about those orphans nor sympathise with their unfortunate circumstances.

A hundred times, she had wished she was born as someone else's daughter other than the beautiful and elegant Sofia Solano. She wished she had someone caring, kind and loving for a mother. Someone like Hazel!

She felt an ache settle in her chest.

“l am not going,” she announced in a firm voice as she helped herself to a banana this time.

Hazel stopped peeling the cucumbers to throw her a questioning glance over her shoulder.

"And why is that?"

She didn't want another lecture from Hazel about respecting parents blah blah. Even if the parent was so mean and shallow like her mother. So she said instead,

"I am not up for it. I have another appointment."

She lied the last part and she knew that Hazel knew it but she didn't want to probe further. Hazel had always read her like a book.

Hazel simply shrugged her shoulders and went back to her peeling.

"Madam will not like any of this," she muttered to herself.