Chapter 135 Punishment for being safe (1/2)

”Love, your mom wants to talk with you,” Jeremy spoke gently, knocking on the door.

No answer from inside the room.

”Catherine, love, your mother is waiting to talk with you,” he called again.

They waited nervously. Would Ryn open the door? She would not ignore her own mother, would she?

It felt like hours before finally the door moved. Unconsciously, everyone, even the butler and the maids, were holding their breath as they watched without blink at the sight of the door slowly opening. They watched as Ryn, with her face wet with tears and her eyes reddened and swollen  from hours of crying, revealed herself.

”Mom?” her hoarse voice crooked. She cried so much she almost lose her voice. Her eyes searched for the face of the long straight-haired elderly woman wearing hippy clothes.

But there was no sign of her mother.

Did Jeremy lie to her? Her heart hurt so much for the betrayal.

”She's on the phone,” Jeremy held out the phone to her. He even had the call on speaker. ”Aunty?”

”Catherine, are you there?”

”Mom?” Ryn choked out. She took the phone from him and entered back the room.

Before anyone could join her, she locked the door again.

”Ryn!”

Ignoring the cries, Ryn walked to the bed with the phone clasped to her ear. She sat on it, backing the door.

”Mom?”

”Sweetheart, how are you?”

”Mom~” her mother's voice brought another wave of cry. She closed her eyes and cried even more.

Her mother just listened as Ryn sobbed her heart out. It was deja vu, the same feeling and condition when her daughter broke up with Jeremy two years ago.

But this time she determined not to let her daughter succumb to her sadness until she forgot everything else. She would do anything to bring Ryn back to her normal self.

It took Ryn almost 40 minutes before she was able to speak again. The tears slowly stopped.

”Do you feel better, now?” her mother asked once she was sure her daughter was getting better.

”Hmm...”

”Are you ready to tell me what's wrong?” she asked her daughter gently.

Ryn looked toward the door, where the others were calling her name, begging her to open the door. She chewed her lower lip.

”Why does it feel like I am being punished for being safe?” she choked out slowly.

Her mother was taken back when she heard it. That was what made her daughter sad? She felt it was her fault, and felt like everyone blaming her?

How could she, as her mother, make her feel better when she could not understand why Ryn felt that way?

”Why... why do you think that way?” her mother asked carefully.

Ryn stood up and moved away from the bed. This time she went to the corner of the room, just near the door to the balcony outside. She stopped and leaned herself against the wall. Her knees were pulled against her chest as she closed her eyes. The phone was still firmly at her ear as she listened to her mother.

”What happened yesterday was part of my fault. If I checked his car plate, I will notice he is not the Grab I called... or if I... if I...” There were so many things Ryn could do to avoid it from happening. It was all because she was being neglected of her surrounding. She took everything for granted.

”Child, stop blaming yourself. It is not your fault.”

”But...”

”What happened, happened. If you keep blaming yourself, does it mean you don't want to move forward in your life? Are you going to keep thinking about the past and how you should be acting to avoid all the bad things from happening?”

Ryn sank her teeth into her bottom lip sadly.

”And I know that is not only what is in your mind. Something is bothering you, isn't it?”

”Mom...”