Fati froze in her tracks as if a lightning bolt from the past had violently struck her frame. Her gaze was locked onto Rosetta, who instantly stood up the moment she saw Fati enter. Fati stared down at her own intensely trembling hands, suddenly feeling as though her legs were utterly incapable of carrying her forward even a single step. Amidst her disorientation, Jaguar's powerful hand draped securely behind her back, gently yet firmly encompassing her waist urging her to lean against his solid build and walk. Leaning into her ear, he whispered in a warm, resonant tone,
- Last time... you didn't get to know her properly, nor did you ask her the right questions regarding the truth of your family and your late mother... Now, it is time.
Fati's eyes widened in sheer, trembling realization. It struck her at that exact moment that the entire truth had been right before her eyes that day, yet she had fled from it in sheer panic. A faint, strained smile traced her lips, accompanied by a veiled embarrassment for how childishly she had behaved during their previous encounter.
Jaguar calmly guided her, seating her on the chair directly beside Rosetta, while he moved to occupy the seat opposite them, granting them the necessary intimacy. Extending his hand, Jaguar presented the velvet bouquet to Rosetta with a warm, respectful smile. He had previously orchestrated a private agreement with the old maid to open her heart to Fati, unveiling the absolute truth without omitting a single detail the reality of the tragic incident her mother, Rosie, had endured, and the cruel, oppressive treatment she used to receive from her father in the past.
The moment Fati extended her trembling palm to nestle it within Rosetta's warm hands, the old maid's composure violently shattered, and she dissolved into bitter, heartbreaking tears. Within a matter of mere seconds, Fati's own defenses collapsed entirely, and she too burst into a violent, sobbing weep a torrent of tears driven by a mysterious, deep-seated agony that Jaguar couldn't completely decipher.
Staring at them, Jaguar felt a searing lump restrict his throat; Fati's tears were scalding his very soul like burning coals. At that exact moment, his desire for control completely evaporated, supplanted by a fierce, pure urge to rise from his seat, wrap her fragile frame within his arms, and crush her against his chest all to whisper into her ears that every ounce of sorrow rooted in her past would vanish, as long as he stood by her side.
After a brief interval of bitter weeping that washed away a fraction of the years' agony, the two women began to converse. With every syllable that escaped Rosetta's lips, the dark mist finally cleared and dissolved away from Fati's stunned, disbelieving eyes. The brutal truths began to unveil themselves, entirely naked before her. She learned that her late mother, Rosie, was the absolute, rightful, and true wife and that the cruel woman she had spent her entire life believing was her mother was, in reality, nothing but her father's scheming mistress! A mistress who had maliciously registered Fati under her own name, utilizing forgery to secure her position and legally become the official wife after Rosie's demise.
Fati's eyes widened, her chest heaving as she gasped for air like a drowning soul with every hidden truth pulled from the debris of the past. A deadly chill seeped into her extremities as she listened to how her biological mother her precious Rosie had died entirely consumed by grief, her heart utterly shattered by her father's sadism. That man had stripped himself of the slightest shred of mercy; he had tortured her, striking her repeatedly, treating her with the absolute worst and most degrading cruelty a human could endure. Good God... what kind of heartless monster was her father?! And what boundless oppression had her mother swallowed in absolute silence?!
At the end of this psychological tempest, Rosetta's warm, weathered hand—steeped in wrinkles and memories reached out to rest with profound tenderness atop Fati's hair. She caressed it with a gentle stroke, as though cradling her very own daughter, and murmured in a strained, tear-choked whisper,
- Forgive me... forgive me, my darling, for burdened your small shoulders with such searing, painful truths... Yet, there is one absolute, vital truth I need you to plant into the very depths of your soul: Your mother, Rosie, loved you immensely... She loved you far beyond what this entire world could ever hold.
Rosetta slowly opened her old handbag, her trembling hand searching inside until she pulled out an object that caused Fati's breath to catch flat in her throat. It was a toy rabbit made of wool, incredibly ancient and weathered by the passage of time. The woolen stitches were entirely uneven and poorly aligned; its head was comically yet heartbreakingly large in comparison to its tiny, frail body, its ears were excessively long, and one eye was visibly larger than the other.
Extending her hands, Rosetta presented the deformed rabbit to Fati, murmuring in a voice vibrating with tears,
- My precious Lady Rosie tried so hard to craft the very first toy for your life... Even though she didn't possess the slightest clue on how to knit wool back then, she taught herself entirely on her own, solely for your sake. Especially since your cruel father forbade her from stepping out or taking lessons; instead, he would lock her away in her room for days on end. For that reason alone, she birthed this rabbit for you with her own hands within the confines of her prison. I tried to assist her multiple times to ease her burden, but she fiercely refused... She insisted that every single stitch in this toy must be crafted by her own fingers so it could carry her warmth straight to her daughter's heart.
Gently placing the woolen rabbit into Fati's lap, who stared down at it with eyes completely flooded with tears, the old woman continued in a tone dripping with deep sorrow,
- Take it, my dear... I know it is profoundly late, late by long, agonizing yearsbut it belongs to you. Your mother poured into every single stitch of this toy all the love, tenderness, and hope she possessed in this world.
Then, Rosetta rose from her seat with her exhausted frame, wiping her tears with the edge of her garments, and uttered in a choked whisper,
- I apologize to you both... but I cannot remain any longer. My old heart can no longer endure resurrecting this agonizing past.
She turned and swiftly exited the restaurant, weeping bitterly, leaving a tempest of silent sorrow in her wake.
As for Fati, she remained frozen, staring intently down at the modest, deformed woolen toy resting in her lap the toy she now recognized as the very first and final gift from her late mother. She did not reach down to clutch or embrace it; she simply remained transfixed, tracing the uneven stitches of wool. Throughout the long years of her life, she had lived under the bitter conviction that she had been denied true love, yet she discovered at this exact moment that she had been granted a pure, monumental reservoir of affection from her mother... an amount vast enough to keep her soul warm and fulfilled for the rest of her days. She was happy so overwhelmingly happy that her strength utterly failed her, to the point where her exhausted body lacked a single ounce of energy to manifest that joy. The heavy price of this realization was the sudden, sharp awareness that she had permanently lost that magnificent mother with the boundless heart.
Slowly raising her tear-flooded eyes, Fati locked her gaze onto Jaguar, who sat directly opposite her. The chaotic thoughts in her mind finally aligned, and she comprehended for the very first time the absolute motive behind his grandfather's and his own fierce desire to strip her old family of their peace, seizing her father's wealth and tearing his legacy apart. It had all been a justified vengeance, a sacred retaliation for their oppressed daughter, Rosie. Deep within her soul, she acknowledged that her sadistic father deserved an even harsher retribution. As her eyes held Jaguar's, a faint, fractured smile traced her lips a silent, veiled apology for every misconception she had harbored against him, though her shattered composure couldn't summon the strength to voice it aloud.
The lavish dinner was served upon the table, yet Fati didn't stir, leaving it entirely untouched as if her physical form had detached from reality. Jaguar didn't test her silence for long. Rising from his seat with rigid grace, he bypassed the table to occupy the chair directly beside her, obliterating the distance between them. Extending his powerful hand toward the plate with immense gentleness, he lifted a small bite, tenderly placing it into her mouth. He murmured in a deep, warm voice dripping with profound solace and security,
- Your precious mother is finally at peace in her resting place now that her very first toy has made its way into your hands, Fati... So, please, stay strong and resilient for her sake.
After concluding their dinner, of which Fati had only managed a few small bites with immense difficulty under his tender insistence, they stepped outside instantly met by the piercing, freezing gusts of the night. Jaguar stood in the foreground with his customary, towering stature, waiting for his luxury vehicle to be brought around by the security team. Fati remained directly behind him, perfectly still, serene, and enveloped in a calm he hadn't experienced from her in long years. The headlights of the approaching car glinted from afar before slowing to a smooth halt right before them.
And suddenly... without a shred of warning, Fati stepped forward, pressing her entire frame flush against his broad back. Her slender arms reached around from behind to encircle his waist, her trembling fingers interlocking tightly right at his navel. Surrendering entirely to his warmth, her palms rested over the pristine white shirt visible beneath his unbuttoned luxury jacket. In the midst of that tight, warm embrace, the deformed woolen rabbit dangled softly between her fingers acting as a silent witness to this monumental instant.
Jaguar froze on the spot, entirely paralyzed, his body stiffening in a state of sweet bewilderment as he looked down at her hands holding him, clinging to him like a lifeline. A second later, he felt her delicate face rest against the fabric of his coat from behind, burying herself into the depth of his back as though shielding herself from the entire world. Amidst that roaring silence of emotions, her husky, warm, and utterly exhausted voice drifted into his ears, murmuring with a tender tone that nearly killed him with sheer, overwhelming ecstasy:
- Thank you... Jaguar.