Cayenne sat on the couch where Stefan sat earlier. Stefan sat beside her while intertwining their hands together. It was his form of support at this point where she's facing the person who broke her family. But he knew that Cayenne wasn't holding a grudge towards the woman.
When Stefan came back to see her few minutes ago, Stefan told her about the guests waiting for her downstairs.
"Your father and his wife are currently waiting for you in the living room." Stefan said without adding anything.
"Is she a good person?"
"As far as I've heard, she's a good person."
"Okay. I'll come and see them." Cayenne stood up and Stefan helped her change her clothes.
"Are you really okay? It's not painful anymore?"
"I'm a lot better now."
Stefan nodded his head and just assisted her. He didn't want to stop her from meeting them either; he just wanted to delay it a little bit.
Sitting across them now, Stefan observed his wife and the people in front of them. Ingrid was a little tense. Reuben was laxed but a bit worried. Cayenne? She was sitting like a queen, dignified despite the painful dysmenorrhea she was feeling.
"Do you want to stay for lunch? I don't get visitors every day so I'm happy to have you for lunch." Cayenne invited them to disperse the cold and awkward atmosphere hovering over them.
"Are you going to cook?" Reuben asked her, anticipating to taste a dish made by his own daughter.
Cayenne scratched the tip of her nose while shaking her head. "My husband and Erwin will be cooking today."
"I see." Disappointment reflected on his face upon getting the opposite answer to what he wanted to hear. "Can I help, then? I want to let you taste a dish that I'm proud of."
"I don't mind." Stefan answered when Cayenne wanted to refuse it. "It would be great for me to spend time with my father-in-law, don't you think so?" Stefan asked Cayenne who had no other choice but to agree.
"Sure. I'll be keeping Auntie company here." Cayenne let go of his hand and smiled at him. "We'll take a walk outside."
"Okay. If you feel uncomfortable, just let me know." Stefan kissed her head and walked to the kitchen with Reuben following him.
Cayenne looked towards Ingrid, sizing her up to feel what kind of woman she was. "Do you want to take a walk with me outside? We have a lovely garden here."
"I heard that you're spending time with your vegetable garden. Can I see it?"
"Sure." Cayenne led the woman to the backyard of her house where her vegetable garden was located. In the morning, she will water the plants with the help of Stefan and Erwin to make it easier for her. "These are the veggies that we have so far. My husband and Erwin helped me with it and sometimes, my brothers would come home to help me as well."
"Do you like planting?"
"I'm not sure but I enjoy doing this recently."
Ingrid was silent for while staring at the plants in front of her. Based on the leaves, she could tell what they were and she thought that Cayenne was very practical in life.
"Did you plant these because you don't want to go to the market?"
"Bingo!" Cayenne smiled as she touched the leaves of the tomatoes in front of her. "The malls or supermarkets are quite far from this place and the veggies being sold by them are expensive. Thus, I came up with this idea. How did you know that I was busy planting these veggies here?"
"That's because Erwin reports to your father every day. He's worried about you after what happened to your mother." Ingrid waited to see Cayenne's reaction but she was silently staring at the green leaves in front of her. "Cayenne, are you not angry with me? I took your father away and broke your family."
Cayenne raised her head to look at the woman in front of her who looked so frail and weak. "Are you happy with my father? Are you living a good life as a married couple?"
Ingrid bit her lips and shook her head. She looked for a place to sit but couldn't find anything aside from the green grassland under the huge tree at the garden. "I wanted to return your father eight years after our marriage but your mother was already happy with someone else. I didn't want to ruin her happiness again so, I decided to keep our marriage."
"When my father left, I didn't know how my mother felt that time but I could still remember how happy she was with me and she was happier when Jonas came. Although life was hard after some events, she never looked for my father again. It wasn't because she hated him but because she was afraid that my father would take me away from her."
"Did you ever ask her about your father?"
"I did. However, at some point, I gave up and never mentioned him again. I didn't know I'd still find him and meet him when I almost lost everything." Cayenne led the woman to take shelter under the huge tree and sat on the grassland under it. "It must have been hard on you, too."
"It was but I accepted my fate. I was selfish and only thought of myself which is why I won't ask him to do anything for me. I'm okay with our current situation in life."
"But he's not treating you badly, right?"
"Nope. He's always been respectful to me and he tried to understand me oftentimes. We never argued as well."
"Aren't you hurt when he comes to see my mother secretly?"
"It does hurt but I can't do anything about it. Your father loves your mother so much. I can only allow him to do that in order to ease my guilt." Ingrid looked up on the bright sky and blinked her tears away. "I wouldn't mind if you get angry with me, you know. I already prepared myself to face your wrath but I didn't prepare myself to receive your kindness."
"Why should I be angry with you? It all happened in the past. Maybe, my mother and my father weren't bound for each other. Maybe he was really meant for you but he just happened to know my mother first before he found you. You know, if you're not fated for each other, no matter what you do, you won't end up together. And it's the same thing for fated couple.
No matter what happens, if they're fated together, they will still end up together – no one can separate them."
Ingrid couldn't hold back her tears anymore. They burst out like a dam and flowed down her face. The strong current of her guilt and conscience that she had been holding on for decades has come out.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Ingrid chanted these words again and again while wiping her tears with the back of her hands.