When Cassandra Welch came out of the kitchen with a plate, she was surprised to see a woman at the dining table.
A woman dressed exceptionally gorgeous was sitting next to her husband, Dashiel Howell, with a gentle expression.
"Cassandra! What are you just standing there for? Hurry up and bring the dishes over!"
Her mother-in-law, Rebecca McKay, scolded her harshly. Cassandra returned to her senses in time and hurried to bring the dishes to the table one by one.
"Eh?" A shocked expression appeared on the beautiful woman's face as she looked at Cassandra, "Madam Howell, I didn't know your family had such a young servant!"
A servant?
Cassandra's hand trembled as she served the dishes. She looked at the woman subconsciously and opened her mouth, intending to explain.
However, Rebecca interrupted her, "Belinda you know what, unlike you, not everyone is outstanding and hardworking."
"Madam Howell, you're flattering me!" Belinda spoke modestly, but her hands unconsciously brushed her hair as she cast her gaze at Dashiel, who was seated in the main seat.
Dashiel's eyes were devoid of any emotion. He had a pair of thin lips and black jet hair that made his face look stern. His thin lips which were tightly pressed displayed nothing but coldness. All the while, he had his eyes fixed on his mobile phone, paying no attention to what was going on around him. Rebecca wished that she could send Cassandra away so that the latter wouldn't ruin her plans for Dashiel. After Cassandra served the dishes, Rebecca immediately spoke, "Well, off you go. There's nothing for you to do here. Continue with your stuff in the kitchen."
"But..."
"But what?" The look in Rebecca's eyes became fierce.
Cassandra looked at her husband, Dashiel, with an unresigned gaze, hoping that he could speak up for her.
However, Dashiel's attention remained on his phone.
Next to him, was her arrogant mother-in-law who had never treated her with a pleasant attitude. And now, there was Belinda Garcia.
Cassandra bit her lower lip and then turned to leave unwillingly.
"Belinda, since you’ve come all the way here, just stay here tonight."
"Sure, Madam Howell, but where do I sleep?"
"Just sleep in the room next to Dashiel's."
"Is that okay?" Belinda glanced at Dashiel and her expression was one of shyness.
"We're family. Of course it’s okay. Isn’t it, Dashiel?"
Dashiel, however, didn't respond.
"Dashiel!" Rebecca raised her voice a little.
Due to the interference, Dashiel's attention was shifted from the phone. He glanced at the unhappy Rebecca and asked, "Yes, Mum?"
"I'm talking to you!"
"Sorry, I was dealing with the company's urgent matters." Dashiel put away his phone before asking, "What's the matter?"
"Belinda’s gonna stay the night. Get someone to clean up the room beside yours."
The Garcia and the Howell families went way back, so it was normal for Belinda to stay in the Howell family’s residence for one night.
Dashiel didn't have any excessive expressions on his face. He merely nodded. "Sure."
"Thank you, Dashiel."
Following that, Dashiel stood up and announced in a cold voice, "I'm gonna head to the office."
"The food’s already served. Why don't you eat a little before leaving?"
"No, there's something urgent in the company."
With that said, Dashiel took his blazer and keys before leaving in a hurry.
Instead of returning to the kitchen, Cassandra went back to her own room. The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Why didn’t Dashiel speak up for her? She had made a lot of effort to prepare the meal. Did Dashiel forget that she needed to eat too just because of a woman?
Moreover, Belinda even mistook her as a servant.
Dashiel didn't explain the truth to Belinda either. Did he acquiesce in the latter’s words? But why did he agree to Belinda's opinion?
Countless questions popped up at the same time, causing Cassandra's mind to be in a mess.
Standing in front of the mirror, she looked at her greasy hair that had been a result of staying in the kitchen for too long, and then at her bare face and her eyes that had lost their usual glow. With just an ordinary outfit and a yellow apron around her waist, who wouldn’t treat her as a servant?
After taking a deep breath, Cassandra went into the bathroom.
It took her a few hours to clean herself up thoroughly from head to toe. She even cleaned her face with an exfoliating mask. However, when she came out of the bathroom, she saw two servants changing the sheets on her bed.
"What are you guys doing?"
In the Howell family, Cassandra didn't have any status. In the eyes of the servants, she was just a greedy woman who insisted on marrying Dashiel while he was in a vegetative state all because of the Howell family’s wealth.
Rebecca was not the only one looking down on Cassandra, the servants as well did not take her seriously. Their words were full of sarcasm as they spoke to Cassandra.
"Cassandra, you don't know yet, do you? The eldest daughter of the Garcia family, Belinda, is going to stay here tonight. Madam Howell asked us to clean up the room and make room for her."
At their words, Cassandra stood there in shock.
"What do you mean?"
The two servants stopped in their actions and looked at her with mocking eyes.
"It means, you can get out of this room already."
Cassandra clenched her fists and released them before questioning, "Who sent you here?"
"Mr. Howell."
"Impossible!" Cassandra subconsciously retorted. "This is my room. He wouldn't do this to me."
"Madam has already told Mr. Howell and he agreed. He ordered us to clean up the room once he came back. You can ask him yourself!"
Cassandra took a big step back in disbelief. Before she could change into her clothes from the bath towel, she turned on her heels and ran out hurriedly.
In the study…
"Sir, what you said about Mrs. Howell's property last time..."
Bang!
The door of the study was pushed open forcefully. Dashiel and his lawyer, Lawrence Jadin raised their heads at the same time only to see Cassandra standing at the door, panting.
Her skin appeared to be glowing after the shower, and her hair that reached her waist was still dripping with water. The bath towel only covered her skin below her shoulders and above her knees, and the part that was not covered was as white as snow, and there were even water droplets visible.
Seeing this, Dashiel frowned deeply. "You..."
Yet, Cassandra interrupted him breathlessly, "I heard them say that Belinda will be staying here tonight."
"Belinda?"
Then, Dashiel nodded. "That's right."
"She's sleeping next door to you?"
Dashiel wasn't interested in which room Belinda was sleeping in. His focus was on why Cassandra had run over in a bath towel.
Didn’t she feel awkward speaking to him wrapped just in a bath towel?
Seeing that Dashiel didn't answer, Cassandra bit her lower lip and stared fixedly at him. She then uttered again, enunciated each word, "Is that so?"
This time, Dashiel nodded. "Mm."
Cassandra froze at his answer.
She felt as if someone had pierced through her heart with a knife. It was very painful.
Suddenly, she had the urge to ask him aloud, "Dashiel, do you know that the one next to you is my room? Why did you give my room to another woman?"
But on second thought, she felt that she was merely humiliating herself if she truly ask that. He had recovered for so long, how could he not know that the room was hers?
Dashiel agreed so casually just because he didn't care about her, not to mention fondness or love toward her.
This was the man she had loved for ten years. Even if he had become a vegetable, she would marry him without hesitation. But she didn't expect that he still didn’t take her to heart. Well, this was the fact she had to accept. If he didn’t love her before, he would never develop feelings for her after. How could he fall in love with her after so long? Cassandra knew that she had been deceiving herself after all these years.
All of a sudden, Cassandra thought that she was ridiculous. She was actually betting on her youth for a man who didn't love her. She was truly a fool.
In that case...
Cassandra then closed her eyes.
"Dashiel, let's get a divorce."