CHAPTER 4: ZARA

Time flew by very fast and the moment that Zara had been waiting for finally arrived.

Inside Zara's villa, servants were busy moving up and down as bags and containers were taken outside.

Inside Zara's spacious bedroom, which was more of a hospital ward due to the monitors and other machines that had been dedicatedly placed in her room for years, Zara was lying on the bed weakly.

Besides her was Ava, who was carefully helping her to get dressed.

"Miss, are you feeling, okay?" Ava asked worriedly as she helped Zara put on the wool jersey.

Despite being April, Zara was the kind of person who felt cold throughout the year. Every time she was dressed, the clothes all needed to be made from cotton, silk, wool, lyocell or modal materials.

Due to her sensitive skin, Zara's skin was picky and at the same time, she needed to be covered fully, otherwise, she would be in a comma after having a seizure. As for what would have happened, the research team was still looking for answers.

"Um, I couldn't even be better!" Zara smiled weakly as she let herself be dressed like a child.

At her age, did it even bother her anymore about being dressed, bathed and carried? After experiencing it for a very long time, she was immune. As long as her parents and siblings didn't see her, she was very fine with everything.

With how they all didn't like each other on the surface, Zara still wanted to die with dignity if she ever died. She wouldn't rest in peace if she allowed any of her siblings to see her in such a miserable state.

"Your mother had not left the house for two days. I heard from others that she had been crying a lot. Are you sure that you won't be seeing her?" Ava asked curiously as she picked a bottle of hand cream from the bedside.

Zara sighed sadly when she heard that.

"No. I won't see her. I will let her meet a better version of me and not the current me!" she shook her head weakly as a depreciative expression hung on her face.

"But, Miss … you will be gone for over a month. Are you not afraid that something might happen to her while you are gone?"

"Ha, how could that happen? She won't die that easily. The probability of me dropping dead any second is higher than hers. Besides, if she tries something, won't she be afraid of me getting bullied by those people!" Zara scoffed as she thought of her mother.

When Ava heard that, enlightenment suddenly dawned on her. Her eyes lit up as relief also washed over her.

Lena might look weak and appear as a useless trophy wife who knew how to maintain her appearance and satisfy her husband, but those who knew her well understood that she wasn't one to be underestimated.

She had never worked in her entire life. She had never done any house chores and yet she was able to make Cade be loyal to her and stay with her for over twenty-three years, including the years they dated.

During their marriage, Cade never had any mistress or another child and that alone was enough to show how much Cade loved Lena.

Even when Zara was diagnosed with an unknown, terminal illness, apart from being worried, hopeless and depressed as a mother who loved her daughter, she never did any actions that would make her look like a lunatic.

There wasn't even a day that she tried to commit suicide just because her daughter was dying. Instead, she stayed strong and when in public, she would show people a smile as if the rumored sickly daughter wasn't hers.

Such a woman like that. How could she let something happen when there wasn't any news that Zara would die any second?

If she died, what would those other madams do to her child when she was gone?

Despite Lena's indifference sometimes, especially in public regarding Zara, Zara knew that her mother was very worried about her. Her mother loved her so much, otherwise, she wouldn't have tolerated her unruly behavior all these years.

She wouldn't be hating her servants just because they stayed with her longer if she didn't like her. All the things her mother had done for her, Zara knew all of them.

She also wanted to be with her mother, but when she thought of how every time she and her mother met, the other would become all teary and look at her with a defeated expression. Zara didn't want to see that.

She didn't want her mother to be reminded of the little days she had until her impending doom.

There were less than three months until her twenty-third birthday. The deadline she was given to survive. Even the most famous priestess said it.

Zara wouldn't live past twenty-three and she herself knew that fully well. She knew that she wasn't going to live for long and everyone else knew the same.

However, no one else apart from her also knew that things were about to change. Her life had a possibility of making a turn and if she played her cards right, the possibility of living till old age was just smiling at her.

And because of that, Zara wasn't going to let her mother see her. She wanted her mother to see her when she was looking much better than she was right now. When there was more hope that the curse that had plagued her for years would be broken.

"Since you are firm on it, I will support you!" Ava said with relief as she looked at the determined eyes of her Miss.

Zara, upon hearing that, smiled weakly at Ava, her blue eyes sparkling and showing some life in it.

"Just believe in you, Miss. There is no way I will allow myself to die before I can even tour the world!" she said firmly, but with a teasing tone slightly at the end.

Applying hand cream to those small hands, Ava choked on her tears as she nodded heavily to Zara's words, "I believe you. We will see the world and live for a very, very long time!"

Upon hearing that, Zara just smiled without saying a word.

It didn't matter if anyone believed her now or not. One day, they would see that she wasn't playing tricks.

One day, they would understand her great efforts to survive another day. Even if it cost her everything, to live a bit longer like a normal person, Zara was willing to sacrifice it all.

'I will show you! Just give me a month or so!'