Chapter 5

"That'd be a good idea," Rae acknowledged.

"Come with me," she said as she led Cara further into the house.

The bathroom was pathetically tiny and could only fit one person. Rae glanced anxiously at Cara, scared she'd be displeased at the state of the bathroom after being used to a life of luxury. Seeing Cara's neutral expression however, she heaved an imperceptible sigh of relief.

"Give me a moment; I'll go look for some fresh clothes for you," Rae said with a small smile.

"Thanks for the trouble," Cara nodded with slightly pursed lips as she headed into the bathroom.

Rae went into Isha's room and got some new clothes she had refused to wear because they were of poor quality. But she remembered Isha was quite chubbier and shorter than Cara, so she discarded them and went across the street to purchase some sets of clothes which she hung on a chair for when Cara was done as she went to prepare dinner.

Cara, on the other hand, took a quick bath and stood in front of a mirror, sizing up the girl she saw looking back at her. She had an oval face with a delicate complexion so fair that it seemed translucent. Her pair of exquisitely lidded eyes were upturned ever so slightly with crystal clear pupils as mysterious as obsidians, protected by thick long lashes like the wings of butterflies.

Her eyes roamed down to full, red cherry lips adorned beneath a small straight nose which rounded her facial expression up in two words; nonchalant and cold.

Cara curled her lips up slightly and watched the beauty in the mirror do the same. Her facial structures were quite similar to that of her past life, which lifted the burden in her heart.

She picked up a rubber band and tied her long hair into a high bun, revealing a long, snowy-white neck, admiring herself as she got dressed. She scowled lightly at the rough texture of the fabric material and felt uneasy all over her body. She had to figure out a way to make money as soon as possible, she thought. That way she could improve her standard of living as well as that of her family.

She almost bumped into her mother who was on her way out of the kitchen with a bowl of noodles in her hands but was now stunned as her invitation to dinner stayed stuck in her throat. Her eyes literally scanned the girl before her who was dressed in a white shirt with its hem casually tied at her hips; having legs that seemed endlessly long and straight.

The makeup was gone, yet that beauty rippled with exquisite radiance. Despite being cheap flea market clothes, they looked like superior quality, branded clothes on her.

"Mom," Cara stared at her mother with a slightly raised brow, snapping her out of her daze.

"I made you noodles for dinner," Rae suppressed the shock in her heart and placed the noodles on the table.

"Thank you," Cara picked up the bowl and began devouring her meal. She felt starved and was barely holding herself back from throwing everything into her mouth at once in order not to appear crude.

"There's more in the pot, Cara," Rae gently told her, seeing how hungry she was.

"I'm full, mom," she smiled.

"Would you like me to take you to your room then?" Rae gently asked.

"I'd like that," Cara nodded.

Rae led her to a rather little bedroom which used to be Isha's; with simple furnishings, consisting of a bed, a desk, and a cupboard for clothes.

The previous madame had already removed all the items she deemed worthy enough to migrate with her before she left and gave out the bedsheets and blankets to neighbors, knowing fully well Cara would be staying there.

"I'll go get you a bed sheet and a blanket," Rae said in embarrassment, forgetting to fix this little issue earlier on when she was here.

"Alright," Cara said with a smile as she watched her mother leave.

"Oh right, where's my uncle?" Cara asked, suddenly thinking of her mom's youngest brother who was the only uncle on good terms with her mother, out of Rae's five siblings.

Rae glanced at the clock on the wall.

"He should be back soon," as if on cue, the sound of footsteps were heard outside.

"Sister! Come, see what I've brought you!" Dexter bellowed.

Rae rolled her eyes with a smile as she gave Cara an apologetic look, making her raise her hands in surrender with a slight chuckle of her own.

"Coming," Rae answered as she made her way to the door, followed by Cara who made herself comfortable on the dinning table.

On opening it, she saw Dexter standing there with a wide grin. A half-chopped-up barbecued duck in one hand and a large watermelon in the other.

"Uh, Dexter?" Rae called in astonishment staring at his hands as he breezed into the apartment.

"Where would I get the money to buy meat, especially one as big as this?" He asked, but one couldn't miss the look of pride on his face as Rae shut the door and faced him with a questioning look.

"It's an appreciative gift from a good customer who owns a barbecued duck store…" he began as he turned around to place them on the table, his voice trailing off as he noticed Cara watching the little drama in amusement.

"Sister, don't be scared. But I think we have a burglar in our house and it's an audacious one."

"Don't be problematic Dexter, you know who it is," Rae said with a sigh, massaging her temples as she felt a headache coming up.

"Cara, stop teasing your uncle." Cara smiled at that and stood up.

"Hello, uncle," she respectfully greeted him with a bow.

"Cara Smith?" he said uncertainly, eyeing her like she was a rabid dog.

"I'm known as Cara Michaels now," she corrected.

"You're not scheming again, right?" he asked. Ready to pull his sister behind and smack this evil child to oblivion if she tried something stupid again to hurt his dearest sister in any way.

"Uncle, I made mistakes in the past which ended up hurting my mom. I was wrong, please forgive me."

Dexter wasn't ready to be bought over so easily with those puppy eyes he had to admit seemed sincere and made him want to pat her head and assure her everything was going to be alright. So he puffed his chest out instead.

"Ungrateful brat, I won't let you off if you bully my sister ever again," he glared at her.

"How can my daughter bully me?" Rae said with a smile as she pushed him towards the kitchen to go empty his hands and wash them before eating.

"She was raised by the Smith's even if she wasn't borne by them. What if she turns out worse than that ungrateful brat Isha?"

He murmured as he let himself into the kitchen.