Chapter 12

"You shouldn't have returned home to that jerk!" Hilda, Stephenie's aunt, drew her brows together as she told her.

Afterwards, her aunt drenched a towel and wrapped it around a brick of ice. Her aunt then slapped it against her forehead to relieve the red mark that Stephenie's father had left on her forehead. Stephenie couldn't keep a low shriek from coming out as Hilda's hand pressed down on the towel too hard. When Hilda was about to remove it, Stephenie immediately took the towel from her aunt and offered to do it on her own instead.

Stephenie had no choice but to seek out her father's only sister, her aunt Hilda, after fleeing her abusive father. She lived about two towns away from her father's residence. Her aunt Hilda hadn't communicated with her father in a long time, so Stephenie decided to seek temporary shelter for the time being.

"I didn't intend to stay with him," Stephenie confessed in hushed tones that were barely audible to her aunt. Yet, despite this, her aunt was still able to hear what she said anyway.

"Then why did you return to that place? Had you completely lost your mind?"

Stephenie was no longer hurt by the harsh words. She has developed a strong immunity to this because her father would frequently address her in this manner. Her aunt's manner of speaking to her now was nothing compared to the filthy manner in which her father would normally speak to her back in their apartment.

"I'd like to bring some of my personal belongings," Stephenie responded. "—I'm going to start living on my own," she said after removing the towel from her forehead.

"Oh no!" exclaimed her aunt, looking at her with a tinge of horror in her eyes. "You don't!" she exclaimed, as she shook her head in disbelief towards Stephenie's direction.

The reason Hilda made such a sudden remark left Stephenie perplexed for a moment, until Hilda took another moment to say, "If you are planning to move here, unfortunately, I am unable to accommodate you. First and foremost, I don't want to find myself in a conflict with your father. Second, I don't have the luxury of adding another mouth to feed."

And, as the two were deep in their conversation, a loud bang from the kitchen drew their attention away from their conversation. The two of them rushed to the kitchen, where they discovered Hilda's husband, who was enraged because they had nothing to eat.

"This is bullshit, Hilda! Can you tell me why there isn't anything to eat?" Hilda was confronted by her husband, who screamed at her. He tossed all of the utensils to the floor and crashed into anything and everything that came his way.

As soon as she saw him, Hilda dashed over to him and said, "I was just about to go out and get something to cook when I came across my niece."

It was loud enough that Stephenie could hear. Stephenie was taken aback when she realized that it was because of her presence that her aunt's husband had become enraged because Hilda hadn't been able to prepare anything yet after attending to her.

"I don't give a damn! I'm working my ass off for hours to earn money for us so you could at the very least prepare me something to eat when I get home, and yet I'll arrive home to find absolutely nothing? That's the least you could do as a wife, considering your inability to provide me with a child!"

Hilda was so upset that she couldn't keep her palm from flying against his face, leaving a red mark as a reminder of her rage. "I know I will never be able to give birth to a child of my own, but I have never failed in my attempt to become a parent to your children. Those children from your deceased wife, who were not even my biological children!"

Despite the fact that she was only a short distance away, Stephenie chose to remain hidden outside the kitchen and simply settled to listen in on their conversation. She couldn't help but sympathize with her aunt's situation. Suddenly, Stephenie became aware of her aunt's sorrow and the difficult circumstances she was facing. She can't help but think about how difficult it must have been to raise children who were not even of your blood, only to be reprimanded for being barren by your husband.

Hearing Hilda's husband raise his hand against her aunt was the next thing that took Stephenie completely by surprise. Stephenie was no longer able to keep her emotions under control this time around. Aside from the desire to avenge her aunt, she didn't give much thought to her entrance into the kitchen, where the couple had gathered.

Stephenie's reflexes compelled her to grab hold of whatever was next to her and smash it into the back of his neck.

Hilda screamed in horror when she saw Stephenie use an empty glass of water to hit the back of her husband's head with it. The vengeful force was so powerful that the impact caused her husband to collapse almost immediately after it struck him.

'You're a bitch! What have you done to my husband?" Hilda screamed as she panicked while picking up her unconscious husband from the floor.

That's when Stephenie comes to her senses once more. She was completely taken aback when she discovered that her hands were bleeding from the broken glasses. Much to her horror was when she was able to sight the blood from her aunt's husband.

Then Stephenie realized what she had done. "I'm sorry. I was simply defending you from what he had done.... I—" but her aunt, however, interrupted Stephenie when she burst out in anger.

"Who gives you the rights to hurt him?! You idiot, I never told you to do anything like that! Go back to your stupid father! I should not have helped you, wrench bastard! No wonder why your mother abandoned you, because you're a curse!"

"My mother left me?" Following such a revelation, Stephenie was stunned to her core. "What do you mean, aunt Hilda? Is my mother still alive? I thought she died giving birth to me?" She even added asking her aunt.

"You're not going to hear from me. Leave!" Her aunt responded with a firm voice.

"But, if she is truly alive, I must know where she is."

"Leave! You better get out of here before I call the cops."

"Please, Aunt Hilda…"

"Get out of my sight, Stephenie!"

"Please, Aunt Hilda. Please tell me where she is?"

"I told you to leave!" Her aunt yelled at her, and Stephenie was taken aback by the terror in her aunt's eyes as she witnessed it for the first time.

Stephenie knew she would not be able to get an answer from her aunt. At least not today. So, she immediately decided to withdraw from pursuing it for now. She then noticed how her aunt's hand was shaking as she pressed it against her husband's wound in the hope to stop the bleeding.

With all of the blood gushing from the wound, there was no way to know if her husband would make it through the night. Stephenie went to get the damp towel in order to help with the wound from bleeding so much. Then she immediately dialed the emergency number from their phone, which they had with them. Fortunately, help arrived quickly to tend to her aunt's injured husband.

Unexpectedly, Stephenie's aunt reported to the police that burglars had broken into her family's home and were responsible for the incident. Despite the fact that she had done something wrong, she was saved yet again by her aunt.

When Stephenie arrived at the hospital, she walked in with her feet and enough courage to check on her aunt, only to be taken aback by her rage the moment she caught sight of her.

"What are you doing still here?!" Hilda exclaimed.

"Aunt Hilda about my mother—"

Hilda didn't let her finish before saying, "Your mother is dead. She left you because she's dead!"

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't!"

"All I ask is that you tell me where she is, aunt Hilda."

"I'm calling the cops if I see you here again," Hilda said in response to her question after she moved closer to her face and whispered to her ear. Then she proceeded to head in the direction where the police officers were standing.

Stephenie was forced to leave her aunt for the time being out of fear that her aunt would inform the authorities of what had really happened. However, this does not imply that she has given up on learning everything she needs to know about her biological mother.

Her aunt knows something about it, and Stephenie is determined to learn the truth about her mother's whereabouts. Even if it means returning to seek her aunt's answers, no matter how many times she sends Stephenie away.

She must now, she would definitely know.