Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

BERRY WOKE UP AND her eyes instantly landed on her wrist to see her bleeding wound. He frowned slightly when he saw that the wrist he cut last night was bandaged.

Did Clara clean her wound and put a bandage on it?

Berry sighed and pushed herself to get up from the bed even though her head was pounding mercilessly. Then he went into the bathroom to wash and groom himself.

After cleaning herself up, she changed her clothes. She chose a dress that was not too revealing. and it took her some time to choose because all of the clothes in the closet are revealing.

She's guessing that Cherry owns all the clothes in that closet.

After a long deliberation with herself, she finally chose the simplest dress in the closet she could find. A dress reaching her knees.

he faced the mirror and looked at himself there. She looks pale and weak. She looks like death itself. And for a thousand times, she didn't care whether she looked presentable or not. Nothing will change. She's still a damaged person from the inside and out. Nothing can change that. Nothing.

Berry let out a loud breath and stared at her wrist. Both of his wrists were wrapped in bandages. If he is in the Hospital now, the Doctor might have endorsed him to a Psychiatrist.

And then the Psychiatrist would diagnose her with Major Depression. then a therapist would be given, a therapist who would just sit with a paper and pencil on her hand, who doesn't know shit about her who would ask her the same question over and over again.

How do you feel?

He smiled bitterly. How do I feel?

I feel like I'm in hell every time I wake up. I feel like my life is not worth living. I feel like I am a worthless human being. I don't feel the need to be happy. I don't know the reason why I'm still alive. I feel like everything will only be okay when I die. I feel that I will only forget everything that has happened to me if I kill myself. that's what she feels. Every time.

He stopped thinking and turned to the door when someone knocked on it.

Then the door opened showing Clara.

"I'm going to eat." Clara scolded him.

He nodded then asked about what had been bothering his mind. "Did you bandage my wound?"

Clara frowned. "No. Why would I do that?" It was a flat response.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

He tormented her then left her first. He took a deep breath before walking out of the room.

when he got down to the first floor of the house and he entered the kitchen, he greeted Snow who was eating when he saw that his father was there at the dining table.

He immediately remembered what happened last night. He looked down and then silently sat next to Slow, who was a bit far from the man.

"Good morning, Mommy!" Snow happily greeted him with a kiss on his cheek. "How's your sleep, Mommy?"

She smiled at Snow. "Okay. You? Did you sleep well?"

Snow nodded with a smile. "Yes. I slept really well. Can you sing to me again later?"

He turned to his father who was eating silently. He waited for her not to agree but the man didn't say anything so he answered Snow. "Sure, baby. it's my pleasure to sing for you." He said.

Snow grinned and kissed her on the cheeks again. "Yeah! Thank you, Mommy." Then she kissed her again. "I'm at school, Mommy."

He nodded then followed the boy calling Clara to accompany him to school.

and then there's only her and the man of the house.

Come to think of it, she doesn't even know his name.

The dining table was filled with silence until he broke it.

"How's your wrist?" He asked.

He looked down at his wrist and answered in a low voice. "O-okay."

He sighed. "Look at me."

Slowly, she looked at him. "W-what's that?"

"Don't do that again."

"W-what?"

He pointed to his wrist. "Don't cut yourself again. What if I didn't see you last night with a knife? Who would be responsible for the bleeding from your wound?"

So he's the one who put a bandage on her cut? "You're the one who bandages my wound?"

He nodded then sighed. "Don't do that again."

He didn't say a word and just looked down.

"Look at me." He commanded.

And she obliged. Slowly. "S-Sir?"

"Don't call me Sir." This is how the sense was picked up. "It's Cadmus. Cadmus Valcarcel."

"C-Cadmus..." his name rolled her tongue softly. "Cadmus."

It stared at him. "Yes. Cadmus. Or if you find it mouthful, just Cad."

"Cad." His name felt soft in her tongue. "Cad."

"Yes. Cad or Cadmus."

He nodded then looked down again and continued eating.

"Look at me." cadmus ordered.

She instantly looked at him. "Y-yes?"

Cadmus frowned at her. "Why do you do that?"

"W-What?"

"You." This is it. "You're like a robot. You do immediate as I say."

He looked away. "I-I just don't want trouble."

"I see." Paused. "So if I told you to stop eating now, would you?"

he dropped the spoon and fork then stood up and was about to leave when the man stopped him by the hand.

He was suddenly overcome with fear, which is why he quickly pulled the hand he was holding. And as she held her hand, she felt it tremble.

He clenched his fist and hurriedly left the dining table.

When he got away, his eyes were watering he leaned against the nearby wall and hugged the shaking hand that Cadmus held.

She's afraid. She's terrified of a man's touch. she's scared of any man that gets close to her. She's scared of their kind.tearfully he ran back to his room then locked it and tucked his body on the side of the bed and wrapped the blanket around his body as if to protect him from people who wanted to hurt him.

CADMUS CAN'T focus on the job at hand. his mind traveled to the woman in his house.

She was scared earlier. He can tell. She was scared of him. But why? He didn't do anything wrong here.

Why the hell do I care?

he shook his head violently then let out a violent breath and called the Private investigator he knew.

"I need you to investigate someone for me." He said as he answered his call.

"Who is it, Mr. Valcarcel?"

"I'll send you her picture." He said then the call was turned off.

he immediately sent the photo of Cherry with attached instructions to his P. I.'s e-mail.

'She looked like my wife, Cherry. But her name is Berry, I don't know her surname. Investigate her. I want to know everything about her.' Then he hit send.

he isn't sure yet though but he has a strong feeling that that woman is not his wife, Cherry. And he needs to find out who she is.

He sighed deeply then called Jared, one of the two guards who stood guard outside his wife's room every time he left the house.

"How's my—" he gulped, "—wife?" He asked.

"He hasn't left the room since this morning." Jared said.

For some reason, he's worried about her. If she's really not his wife, then she's not faking any of this. She's not faking that fear in her eyes.

Cadmus let out a loud breath and ran his finger through his hair.

What if she cut her self again? What if no one in my house noticed her? What if she has a hidden knife in her room? What if it's too late to save her?

he stood up and hung up and hurried out of his office.

"Nadia."

"Sir?"

"Cancel all my appointments." He said while walking towards the elevator.

"But Sir—"

"Tell them I'm busy." after saying that he boarded the elevator and pressed the button to close the door.

When he got to the basement, he hurried out of the elevator and took big steps towards the parked car. when he got on board, he immediately drove you forward and drove away as soon as he got out of the parking lot.

He got home easily because of the speed he drove. He hurriedly parked his car outside his house and entered his home.

Cadmus immediately went to his wife's room.

"Sir—"

"She's still inside?" He asked.

Jared nodded. "Yes, Sir. He hasn't come out yet."

"Okay." He said then dismissed the guards. "You can leave now."

Cadmus waited for the two guards to leave before using his key to open the door to his wife's room.

when he slowly pushed open the door, he silently walked inside the room. His eyes instantly settled on the woman in the bed. his eyes are closed as if he's asleep but he's tossing and turning on the bed, the pillow is wet with sweat and tears are dripping from the corner of his eyes as if he's having a bad dream.

"N-don't—Daddy—no! No! Uncle, no! D-don't touch me. Please. D-don't hurt me!"

Cadmus can feel a strong urge to console her but the last time he did that, he scared her even more. So he stayed two steps away from her and just stared at her. A few minutes passed before he got up and hugged himself gasping for breath while sobbing softly.

"Hey…" his voice was weak to get her attention.

She was trembling as she looked up at him. Fear is in her eyes and it intensified tenfold when she saw him.

"D-don't h-hurt me." There was a plea in his voice as tears rolled down his cheeks. "P-please don't. Please..."

he shook his head as he remained where he was. "I won't hurt you." He took a step back to reassure her, "I swear. I won't."

His weak cry turned into a whimper as he hugged his leg and his own body tighter and tighter.

And he just stayed there in silence. maybe not by her side to console her but close enough to be with her if needed.

AFTER HOURS OF CRYING, Berry was finally able to pull herself together and stop her tears from falling. With her watery eyes and damp cheeks, she glanced at the man who stayed throughout her breakdown.

Cadmus.

it did not come to him which he thanked. Instead he sat on the floor and leaned his body against the closed door.

He didn't speak or try to comfort her as she cried. He just stayed there silently. And she preferred that rather than him, touching her.

men scared her. And Cadmus is no different.

"Are you okay?" He asked after minutes of silence.

He nodded silently while drying his wet cheeks.

Cadmus stood up and walked towards her. But he stopped two steps away from her bed and handed her a blue handkerchief.

"Use this to dry your tears." He said while handing the handkerchief to him. "It's made from a soft fabric." When he didn't accept it, he placed it on top of the bed. "Take it." After saying this, he left his room.

Berry couldn't help but be confused.

Why is he being nice to her? just the other day he was angry with her. Is he secretly planning something for her like the men who were kind to her? Does he want to use her too? Like those monsters hiding in a form of a man?

Tears flowed again as he remembered what happened to him.

shaking hands he picked up Cadmus's handkerchief then wiped it on his cheek to dry his tears.

All her life, pain is her best friend and tears are her allies. she has no one to talk to, no one to care for her and no one to even bother to know how she is doing with her life.

She has no family and no friends. She has nothing. All she has is her self and her inheritance that she didn't need.

all she wanted is someone who will care for her, but in this dark world she lives in, no one cares for her. No one. Not a single soul.

She's alone. Always have been and always will be. And he is used to being alone all the time. That will not change.

He took a deep breath and was about to get out of bed to wash himself in the bathroom when someone knocked on the door and it opened.

Its Cadmus.

"It's bothering me...but, ahm," he looked into her eyes. "Are you really okay? Do you want water? Or something to eat?" "I'm okay." he answered in a hoarse voice.

"You sure?"

Berry wrapped her arms around her chest. "W-why are you being nice to me?"

Cadmus stared at him for a few seconds before answering. "I'm worried."

"W-are you angry?"

"Yes. But, ahm, I'm more worried than mad."

"I'm o-okay." he said looking down.

Cadmus sighed. "Okay. Ahm, if you need anything, just call Clara. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay." After this, the door of his room was finally closed.

He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried into the bathroom to wash up.

after washing up at the sink, he didn't know how many minutes he stared at the mirror as the bad dream ran through his mind before leaving the bathroom.

His intention to return to bed was stopped when he saw the snack at the foot of his bed.

Who brought it? he asked himself as he approached the tray with only snacks.

A simple snack but it'll do to fill her hungry stomach.

While he was having a snack, he turned around when he heard the sound of a cellphone inside his room.

First of all, she hates cellphones. Second, she doesn't own one.

so why is a cellphone ringing inside her room.

His eyes scanned every corner of the room and used his comb until he found the object he was looking for.

The cellphone that was buzzing was on the side of the tray, slightly covered so he didn't see it right away.

She frowned. why is it in there?

Berry picks up the phone and her frown deepens when she sees who's calling.

"Cadmus?" He read the name of the caller.

He stared at the buzzing cellphone for a few seconds before he was forced to answer it.

before he could speak, the person on the other line spoke.

"That's my old phone." Said Cadmus on the other line. "I figured that you don't like being touched, so, ahm, let's just talk. It's easier this way, yes?"

The cut on his forehead only deepened. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're nice to Snow." He answered. "And it seems to me that she likes you."

That made her smile. "I like her too."

"I know. I saw you two. By the way, have you eaten the snack I left there in your room?"

He turned to the snack he hadn't finished eating. "You brought me snacks?"

"Yes. And thank you for not stammering." He said. "Looks like not being around me while we talk is more comfortable for you."

He nodded as if the man was right in front of him. "Yes."

"I know why?"

"Because you make me very uncomfortable."

"Why?"

"Because you are a man."

"So?"

"I dislike men."

The person on the other line was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. "But you're talking to me now." He pointed out.

"You're not here." She argued.

"Will you stutter again if I tell you I was just outside your room?"

his eyes rolled and he was about to hang up when he heard Cadmus speak again on the other line.

"Don't cut your wrist again. You're making me worried." This is it. "If you feel like doing it, call me. I'll talk you out of it."

he didn't answer and he ended the call then put the cellphone away.

She doesn't want to call him nor talk to him. She doesn't want anything to do with him.

But thanks to Cadmus...now he knows the feeling of being worried. it might not be genuine but that was the first time that someone told her that they're worried about her for the third time.

It feels good. It's her first time feeling that kind of emotion.

Feels good. Good. What does good even mean?