Sasha had an elaborate dream.
In it, she was back in her teens, her family was prominent, and her parents were still alive. She was treated like a princess every day, living her life happily.
Then, one day, her mother brought her cousin over. “Sasha, your uncle has fallen ill, so your cousin, Xenia, is staying with us. Take good care of her, okay?”
“Okay.”
Sasha took the cousin who was two years older by the hand, delighted to have her there.
After that, Xenia settled in and did everything with Sasha. She heard that the school Sasha went to was great. So Sasha’s father enrolled her when she made her intentions clear on attending the same school.
From then onward, the two were inseparable.
“Sasha, what are you doing? Why aren’t you doing your homework?”
“I’m writing a letter. He’s overseas. I want to send him a letter every day.” Sasha was treating it very seriously, so Xenia went ahead and sat beside her.
She picked up the letter that Sasha wrote and flipped through. “He’s been gone for so long and you’ve sent him so many. Has he ever written a reply?”
Sasha’s expression instantly dulled. “No.”
She knew it was not going to happen because she never actually sent those letters out.
But that day, Xenia told her, “This won’t do. Aren’t you upset that you’ve written all these, but he never responded? Right, let me do help you send them out after this.”
“Huh? You? Help me send my letters?”
“Yes. I’ll help you mail your letters. And I’ll make sure that he responds, I promise.” Xenia was confident in her words.
Sasha did not say much after that and let Xenia take the letters away.
She figured that she was not brave enough to do it, and Xenia’s intervention gave her an excuse to send the letters to him.
Moreover, there was a smidgen of hope that she might actually get a reply from him.
That said, after Xenia took the letters, things remained the same. Every time Xenia went back, she would tell Sasha that there was no reply but also encourage her to continue writing, saying that her perseverance would definitely be rewarded one day.
Sasha would always put up a faint smile as a response, saying nothing afterward.
Further down the road, Sasha would cut down on the letter-writing as she found interest in writing stories. She started pouring all her heart and soul into it, writing down all the secrets she had.
“Sasha, why are you so good at everything? Can I see what you wrote?” Xenia was feeling envious of her cousin.
“Sure.”
Sasha was an innocent girl at the time. She never second-guessed Xenia as she was family to her.
When she heard Xenia asking about it, she immediately made a copy of everything she wrote and gave it to her.
Until the time she got into high school and the Wand family’s company was facing a huge crisis.
“Why do we from the Blackwood family have to help the Wand family with their debt? Mum, Dad, are you stupid? What have they ever given you?”
“Xenia, what are you saying? They are your aunt and uncle! They took care of you for so many years!”
“Ha! My blood gets boiling whenever I think about it! They told you that they would treat me like their own daughter. But it turns out, whatever Sasha had, I could never get. I even had to beg to go to school!”
Her parents were speechless.
After the day of the family crisis, Sasha’s father was jailed, and her mother fell ill. When she went to look for her uncle, she overheard everything Xenia said.
Did we mistreat her in any way?
Sasha was distraught when she got back home.
She was caught off guard by the selfishness and audacity Xenia had, to be able to lie like that.
So all the kindness we showed her was all for naught?
In the end, Sasha could not help the Wand family survive, so they went into bankruptcy. Her mother passed away from the shock, and her father was sentenced to jail for more than ten years, leaving Sasha orphaned.
Thankfully, Jackson still had a heart, so he took her in.
From then on, Sasha and Xenia swapped positions.
Sasha became the person that had to live under someone else’s roof and Xenia was the princess of the house.
And then she woke up.
When she opened her eyes, the lights above her head were blurry as her eyes were watery. She blinked, and the tears she had from the dream finally slipped down.
“Mr. Hayes, is Ms. Wand still not awake? Do we need to call Dr. Rocke over again?”
“What time is it?”
“It’s eleven, Sir. Ms. Wand has been asleep for almost a day now. I think it’s best we let Dr. Rocke come and check on her again. What if it’s something serious?”
It was Wendy talking. She was anxious as it was getting really late.
