She's My Sleeping Pill

“I’m meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Rule,” Cayenne stated when she saw the waitress at the entrance of the restaurant where they planned to meet. Stefan was walking beside her; his thumb was caressing the hand that he was holding. She wasn’t saying it but she was upset with this meeting and he wanted to console her.

“It will be fine,” Stefan whispered softly and smiled. “I won’t let anything bad happen again.”

“I trust you.”

The two of them followed the waitress and they led her to a private booth where the family of four was waiting for them. Cayenne sat down without saying anything and there wasn’t any trace of joy on her face.

“Sorry for dragging you out here again. I know we talked of cutting ties and going on separate ways but our parents are so stubborn to let things go like that.” Artemis stated as soon as Cayenne sat in front of them. She didn’t forget the agreement they had with her but she couldn’t really stop Mr. and Mrs. Rule from seeing Cayenne.

“So, what’s the matter? Why do you want to see me? I think your daughters have explained everything.”

.....

The couple looked at Cayenne happily when she arrived but the moment she opened her mouth, their faces fell and they looked really sad.

Her uncle sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, “I’m really sorry for what happened to your mother and you. We don’t have any idea since we couldn’t get out of the hospital and there were no gadgets around us as well. If we knew, we would have done our best to help you like what we did to your mother.”

Cayenne only looked at the couple and then at their daughters who kept their mouths shut on the side. “Look, the past is in the past. Mother didn’t say anything about her family because she didn’t want us to look for you and I never did. It was your family who kept chasing us to come back. I don’t care about what happened in the past. As I have said, I already paid for what your daughters did to help me. Amethyst Nile Rule no longer exists. I’m the daughter of Emerald Ardolf and Reuben Montefalco. That’s that. Let’s pretend we don’t know each other. My brothers and I were happy when we didn’t know you and we will continue to be happy.”

“Can’t we really become family?” Mrs. Rule asked which Cayenne gave an instant answer.

“No. The family I know would never put their members in harm’s way. Your so-called family has abducted me and wanted to marry me off for personal interests. I don’t need that kind of family.”

Instead of having lunch to celebrate their reunion, Cayenne never touched the food on the table and the same goes for Stefan. Obviously, they didn’t come to have a happy lunch with everyone.

“There’s nothing else that I want to say. Just forget about us and live your life according to how you want it.” Cayenne stood up and left the restaurant with Stefan. Since they didn’t have much time before her next class starts, they just bought some food from a drive-thru and ate on their way to her university.

“You always encourage me to reconcile with my father and grandpa, but why aren’t you doing the same thing to your maternal relatives?”

“Your mother died because of Clara. It was never your father’s or your grandpa’s intention to hurt her. My grandpa tried to kill his daughter and tried to sell me off by marriage. Although Diana and Artemis helped me with my plan, they only did it because they didn’t want me in their family. They never saw me as one of them. How can I continue to treat them as a family when they can’t do the same? We’re better off without them.”

Stefan nodded his head in agreement. He even had a hard time forgiving his father and grandpa even though they weren’t directly related to his mother’s death. How could he expect Cayenne to do the same?

In the end, the two of them continued with their lives and shoved this meeting to the deepest part of their memories.

When Luiz saw Amethyst at Trine Elite University, he pretended he didn’t know him. The two of them, although they knew they were cousins, never said a single word ever since the day they first met. Luiz actively engaged with his fans and sometimes, he would spend his time with Clarisse or with Jade and Ethan. He never had a boring time on campus.

The days continued to pass by and it was among these peaceful days that Cayenne received an invitation. Ali and Luna would finally get engaged with her family’s approval which was what Luna waited for so long. Cayenne was so happy when she read the letter at home and called Luna immediately.

“I’m getting engaged already and I haven’t received your wedding invitation yet. When will you get married to Stefan?”

“We haven’t talked about it and I’m married to him already. I don’t need a second wedding.”

“No, girl. You have to. Did you forget that something marred your first wedding? You even signed the divorce papers. You have to get married again and live a happy life. I’m sure Stefan would be very happy to do that for you.”

“Nah. We’re happy without the second wedding.”

Luna rolled her eyes on the other side of the phone while someone was cleaning her fingernails. “I thought every girl wants to have a grand wedding since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. I can’t believe you are not one of those girls.”

Cayenne just laughed it off since she didn’t really have anything to retort to that. “Anyway, I just want to congratulate you in advance and you better prepare lots of desserts for me.”

“That’s the top on my list.”

“You know me best. Love you.”

Stefan’s ears perked up when Cayenne said the last two words to someone else. If it was a man, he would have turned a jar of vinegar upside-down. Thankfully, it was Luna.

Cayenne and Luna talked for a very long time since it’s been a while that the two of them talked about their life. Knowing that it would take a long time before they would finish, Stefan went out to get some snacks for her.