Chapter Six

Relief washed over Bella's face, a stark contrast to the tear-stained cheeks Kate had seen earlier. "Thank you, Miss Kate," Bella gushed, her voice thick with gratitude. "You're an angel! Since you arrived, it feels like a blessing has fallen on this house. This is the first time Mr. Jackson has pardoned anyone."

Kate offered a weak smile, the weight of Bella's words settling heavily on her. A blessing? This gilded cage felt more like a prison. Still, a flicker of warmth ignited within her. She had saved Bella's job.

"Really?" she managed, her voice barely a whisper. 

Bella nodded fervently. "Someone got fired a few days ago, just for a broken glass! We've all been walking on eggshells ever since." With a grateful smile, Bella scurried off to unpack, her earlier despair replaced by jubilation.

Kate watched her as she quietly retired to her room and wondered what she would have done if Bella left because of her. She would have lived in guilt. Moreover, she told herself that it wasn't easy for them in the house, as much as they got paid well, still they had rules that they had to abide by. Also, she thought about herself, who was a nobody, and probably her case would be the same or even worse.

"What a cruel world".... She said as she fell flat on her bed, covered herself with her blanket and slept off.

*******

A jolt ripped Kate from a slumber tainted by terror. Sitting upright in bed, she gasped for breath, the remnants of the nightmare clinging to her like a shroud. These nocturnal assaults were as familiar as her reflection. Ever since the accident, they'd become a nightly ritual, a cruel reminder of what she'd lost.

Jessica's voice, laced with venomous accusation, echoed in her mind. "You killed them! It's your fault they're gone!" Kate squeezed her eyes shut, the words a searing brand on her soul. A suffocating weight settled in her chest, the phantom sensation of screeching metal and blinding light fueling a fresh wave of terror. 

How had she survived the maelstrom that claimed her parents? Sometimes, a morbid curiosity gnawed at her. Why wasn't she dead too? Death, a sweet oblivion she yearned for every night, seemed to mock her with its absence. Tears streamed down her face, a silent plea for the nightmare to relinquish its hold. 

**********

It was just a trip to Florida which her parents planned for her that made them end that way. Kate's whole family life was complicated, and miserable. She never got a full father's love because of her father's behavior.

Her Father Jonas abuses her mother whenever she(Kate)wasn't around, and acts caring whenever she was around, but didn't know that she knew what he always did to her mother behind her back. On many occasions, she had seen her mother bleeding from her head and when asked, she would lie to her face and tell her that it was just a little accident she got from work, or that she hit her head on the wall. That lie was pretty expensive and not convincing at all for her, who knew the real secret behind it. But the strange part was her inability to confront her father.

Kate couldn't confront her father, because she was scared of what her father would do to her. The only thing she did was to console her mother and work secretly to see if there was going to be a way she would get help for her mother .Aside from the abusive part of her father, he was also a drunkard and womanizer. He literally comes back home everyday drunk and stinking of alcohol which indirectly gives her mother an extra load of work which is taking care of him and making sure he gets better as soon as he wakes up from sleep.

A day she will never forget was the day she caught her father with a woman who has been coming constantly to deliver pizza to them. At first it was surprising that her father started ordering pizza whenever nobody was at home, but later it became their usual routine with time, as no one knew what was really happening behind closed doors.

That fateful day, she came back to school very early and found the door not locked, so she entered. Usually her father's room wasn't always left open, so when she saw it open, she went to close it but found something that she wasn't expecting.

She found her father making out with the pizza lady. It was an eye sore and a blow to her, she didn't believe her eyes and her father at the same time. After everything her mother had done for him. It was as if her mother gave him everything she had which wasn't enough for her father. After seeing that, she ran out of the house and cried her eyes out. She didn't even tell her mother because she didn't want her to feel bad again. Kate regretted why her mum would die in pain leaving her to get abused again. She hated the Florida trip and accident that took their lives, leaving her only as the survivor, which made her the villain and prime suspect in her aunt's eyes. So whenever she remembers this, she would find herself not sleeping well, and having nightmares. It became like her sin and punishment to have nightmares every night.

Her mother's death led her to the kinds of Jessica together with her evil household, who should have been her savior but turned out to be the devil she hated. Moreover, she forever hated the sight of truck drivers, and everyone who calls themselves truck drivers.

After her parents' burial Jessica was given full custody of her, being her late mother's sister. And from that day, Jessica started maltreating her. Kate thought that it might have been the pains and depression of losing her sister that made her react harshly towards her, but when it continued, she knew that it wasn't because of depression rather hatred from nowhere. And she wouldn't forget the constant accusation by Jessica that she was the evil one who killed everyone and wished her to die too.

***********

Kate's eyes fluttered open, the world around her a blur. In a familiar morning ritual, she reached for cleaning supplies, with the urge to clean up her room, as it was part of her, almost forgetting the people she got herself into barely twenty four hours ago.

Halfway through cleaning her room, a knock on the door shattered the silence. Without thinking, she mumbled, "Come in."

The door swung open, revealing Jack's furious face. "Kate! What in the world?" His voice boomed.

Shame washed over her as the events of the previous night flooded back. "Just... tidying up," she stammered. "It is my room, after all."

Jack scoffed. "This isn't about the room, Kate. Appearances! Imagine what everyone would say if they saw my wife doing chores! Unthinkable. I married from Jessica's family for their status, not for..." He trailed off, disgust twisting his features.

Kate's heart hammered against her ribs. His words were a fresh wound. Tears welled up, threatening to spill. But beneath the hurt, a spark of defiance flickered.

"I apologize," she choked out, voice thick with emotion.

Jack, impatient, barked orders. "Get dressed. Makeup artists and the dress are on the way. Unless you'd prefer them here?"

To her own surprise, Kate blurted, "Yes, please have them come."

A flicker of annoyance crossed Jack's face. "And the tears? Save them. This event is important. Don't mess it up. Remember, I'm always watching."

He stormed out, leaving Kate alone with the sting of his words and a churning mix of emotions.