"Crying wouldn't solve the problem we have on the ground right now" Amelia said in a hoarse voice as she wiped her tears. She forced herself to stand up and reached for her daughter's hand. Estelle's palms were full of bruises and she wondered if Blaise might have caused it too and the thought of it made her heart clenched.
"What we need…" she whispered as she squeezed Estelle's hand. "...is to find a way to pull you out of this mess"
Estelle shook her head, her voice still cracked as she managed to say. "Mom, I don't know what to do. I don't even know where to start from"
Amelia's chest ached at the sound of her daughter's hopelessness. She knew she just couldn't watch her daughter suffer this way all in the name of marriage.
Love?
There was nothing like love in this marriage anymore.
She could still remember what Blaise had said when he came to ask for her hand in marriage. "I will never hurt your daughter no matter what happens. I'll never get tired of her and if eventually, I do… I'll return her back to you"
He had said those words that very day with much sincerity in her eyes. She saw it, she felt it and she was very much rest assured that Blaise wouldn't hurt her daughter.
Lies! They were all lies!
She reached out to cup Estelle's face in her palm. She felt Estelle flinched when her cold palm touched her face and her heart shattered all over again. "My daughter… this isn't about saving face anymore, it's about saving your life. I'll do everything and anything to bring you out of the cage that you are in. I'll help you find a job that you can do, okay?"
"Mom, how–" Estelle began, her voice full of doubt.
"Don't you trust me?" Amelia interrupted that moment she heard those words coming out from her daughter's mouth. "I'm your mother and it's my duty to protect you. I'll do that until my last breath"
Estelle didn't just know how to react to what her mother had just said. She felt all the strength in her body leave her and her legs threatened to give up. She quickly reached for her mother's hand for support. Amelia used one hand to rub her daughter's back while she pulled a chair for her to sit.
—
It was almost one in the afternoon and Estelle hadn't eaten anything. She didn't even think of cooking before she left her place. It was until her tummy started grumbling that Amelia asked her if she had eaten.
"Why didn't you let me know immediately you came here that you haven't eaten anything?"
Estelle only smiled and didn't say anything.
She watched as her mother walked into the kitchen to take out plates and served her. At first, she wanted to decline, but then she changed her mind. She didn't want her mother worrying about her or begging her to eat after what she had found out earlier.
Amelia placed a bowl of chicken and vegetable soup and a plate of rice on the table and wiped her wet palm on the napkin that was on the table. She sat across from Estelle and pushed the food towards her. "If I had known that you would come here without eating, I would have cooked something better than this"
Her eyes softened as a faint smile tugged at her lips. She reached for the spoon, her movement slowed as she scooped a bit of the steaming soup and blew on it gently before bringing it to her mouth. The warmth spread across her tongue, sliding down her throat.
"How is it?" Amelia leaned forward, her words came lightly which was tinged with excitement and warmth.
Estelle nodded her head. She gave her a thumbs up and that made Amelia smile.
She couldn't remember that last time she sat like this, eating her mother's food. Three years felt like a lifetime to her and the thought of it made her chest tightened a little bit.
—
After she was done eating, Amelia told her she wanted to help her check her bruises and where she had other injuries. She knew she couldn't say no; Amelia had already given her that look that left no room for protest. She could only quietly follow her mother to her room and watched as she brought out the first aid box from the cabinet. She sat on the bed. Amelia sat beside her, her gaze on her face before she took out the ice pack she had brought with her earlier and gently placed it on Estelle's cheek.
Estelle closed her eyes.
"Does it still hurt?"
"Hmm"
"You shouldn't let a man treat you this way anymore, okay?"
Estelle didn't say anything.
She wasn't foolish. She knew the right thing to do, but she had no power to fight back… yet. She was just a weakling.
Amelia gently rubbed an ointment on her cheeks, her neck and arm afterwards. She dabbed a little bit of saline solution with a cotton bud on the small cut on Estelle's lower lip. The injury stung, but she had to hold it in. The injury had started to clot already, so she applied a little bit of cream on it after she had cleaned it with the saline solution.
"Thanks Mom"
Estelle didn't spend that long with her mom. When she saw that the sun was starting to set, she visited Rita again and said her goodbye before she left the house. Rita didn't want her to leave. She pleaded for her to stay, and that she misses her, but Estelle knew Rita said that because she didn't want her to go back to Blaise. She was scared that she would be beaten up by Blaise again.
She had to reassure her that she would create time to come visit her again. She also didn't want to go back, but she didn't want to add more problems to the one on ground.