Those words descended upon Fati like a devastating thunderbolt; her frame recoiled, the corner of her lips trembling in profound disbelief, as her delicate hand gradually descended, lowering the fabric rabbit she had been waving so childly mere moments prior. She hastily concealed the plush toy behind her back as though safeguarding her innocence from the gazes of strangers, paralyzing in her tracks without daring to advance a single step toward them.
Jaguar's back was positioned toward her, rendering Fati utterly incapable of deciphering his facial expressions; he had pivoted entirely toward the young woman the instant he registered his grandfather's proclamation, holding his gaze upon her youthful features without the slightest blink. Fati questioned internally with bitter agony: Is he pleased?! Does this surprise find favor with him?!
Yet before she could digest her initial shock, her grandfather detonated a secondary bomb that severed every lingering doubt, solidifying her conviction of Jaguar's contentment at the revelation, declaring in an exuberant tone while gesturing toward the stunning girl:
- Jaguar... do you recall her?! She is your childhood friend... Miranda!
Jaguar's response emerged terse, his low baritone devoid of visible shock:
- Yes...
Yet his eyes failed to stray from the face of his gorgeous childhood friend, Miranda, for even a fleeting second. In that agonizing instant, Fati sensed the very ground constricting beneath her, that this opulent mansion in its entirety held no sanctuary for her presence; she retreated a subtle step backward, utterly persuaded within her core that no domain existed for her amidst this meticulously staged family tableau, and that the sole honorable course was quiet withdrawal.
However, her grandfather's voice abruptly fractured the silence as he turned toward her, calling out in a warm yet unmistakably formal cadence:
- Fati, my dear... come forward, so I may introduce you to my longtime friend
A sharp agony seized the depths of her chest, as her pulse accelerated until the tremors of her heart resonated audibly. Fati elevated her eyes toward her grandfather, anchoring a silent, bleeding query within her gaze: Why do you inflict this upon me, Grandfather?! Did you not assure me mere moments ago that you would permit no one to shatter me again?! Why then do you surrender my heart to be crushed so ruthlessly?!
Perceiving that her grandfather failed to grasp the depth of her suffering, she turned her eyes away with a fractured heart, seeking Jaguar instead... yet his profile remained turned away from her, his eyes locked upon that young woman. Fati advanced toward them with heavy, labored steps, struggling against the weight of her exhausted frame, and at that precise instant, Jaguar turned his head and locked his gaze upon her; his features were enigmatic, obscure, and entirely unreadable.
Yet the stunning young woman granted no one an interlude to digest the scene; she glided toward Fati with a serene, confident smile brimming with familiarity, declaring in a playful cadence:
- I had no inkling that another girl resided within this mansion
Extending her hand, she clasped Fati's palm with overt composure, as though she were an intrinsic member of this lineage and the mansion her personal sanctuary. She gently guided Fati toward the space where Jaguar maintained his posture, and the moment they arrived, she released Fati's hand, enveloping her delicate hands around Jaguar's arm, intertwining herself possessively with him as though this imposing man were her exclusive domain! Turning to Jaguar, she cooed in a provokingly intimate tone:
- Jaguar, my dear... will you not introduce me to her
A heavy silence reigned for seconds, wherein Jaguar maintained an ambivalent stance, as though foraging through his mind for the appropriate words to forge an answer. Yet he articulated not a single syllable, nor did he initiate the removal of his forearm entwined possessively within Miranda's hands!
Abruptly, her grandfather's cadence fractured the stillness, declaring with decisive coldness:
- She is my granddaughter, Fati... Rose's daughter
At that precise juncture, the eyes of the enigmatic gentleman and his daughter Miranda expanded with a obscure, suspicious gaze that swiftly evaporated beneath a mask of deception. Exhaling a cloud of pungent cigarette smoke into the atmosphere, the man scrutinized Fati with an analytical, provocative gaze that swept her frame from her feet to the crown of her head, before addressing her grandfather:
- You never disclosed harboring a granddaughter, my friend! Were you concealing her from us all this time?
Only then did the shackles of Jaguar's silence shatter, articulating in a sharp, dry baritone bearing a subtle warning:
- She happens to be my wife
Yet her grandfather interrupted him instantly with absolute authority, ignoring his granddaughter's marital status entirely:
- Jaguar... why do you not escort your fiancée to the exterior terrace, so you may enjoy some private conversation together?
Jaguar was drawn toward the hall's threshold, yielded by the persistence of his fiancée Miranda who maintained her grip upon his arm, while Fati's gaze pursued them with fading light. The instant they exited the foyer, a bitter, contemptuous smirk etched itself across Fati's lips, as her final faith in her grandfather disintegrated, his stature collapsing entirely in her estimation.
Turning toward her grandfather and his companion, she declared in a composed voice veiled in unyielding dignity:
- Since this constitutes a private discourse among friends... I shall excuse myself to leave
Fati attempted to withdraw, yet her grandfather's voice arrested her movement in a commanding tone admitting no retreat:
- No, my dear... come and be seated beside me!
Turning to his companion with a feigned smile, her grandfather justified her reluctance with cold indifference:
- She is merely somewhat timid...
Yet the companion swayed his head with a look far from devoid of malice, exhaling the swirling smoke from his cigarette anew, articulating in a satirical cadence:
- Yet I distinctly registered Jaguar proclaiming merely moments ago that she was his wife?
Her grandfather countered without employing the slight effort of gazing into Fati's face, pouring his words with a poisonous laughter that struck her ears like a physical blow:
- Indeed... she is, yet they shall divorce exceedingly soon
The companion's laughter erupted in harmony with her grandfather's amusement, pursuing amidst his provocative chuckles with overt condescension:
- I hardly reproach Jaguar in the slightest... for it stands as entirely natural for a man of his stature to grow weary of an ignorant lady, a child who continues to cling to her fabric doll despite the age she has attained!
Those words descended like burning coals upon Fati's spirit; her fingers constricted fiercely around the plush rabbit concealed behind her back until she nearly shredded it, as her pulse ignited with wounded dignity, while the man exhaled his smoke into the atmosphere anew, deriving gratification from fracturing the young woman standing before them!
Her grandfather's features contorted abruptly, and only then did his eyes register the fabric rabbit resting upon Fati's lap, articulating in a tone saturated with disdain and arrogance:
- Fati... what is this dilapidated junk you are clutching?
Fati recoiled subtly, attempting to hastily conceal the rabbit amidst the folds of her soft skirt, responding in a gentle cadence struggling to veil her agony:
- Grandfather... it is not junk! It is...
Yet her grandfather interrupted her in a decisive, unyielding baritone, sweeping all her emotions away:
- Depart and dispose of it outside immediately!... Butler! Come forward and confiscate this item from the young lady
In that sacred instant, Fati severed her alliance with fear, rising to a proud, sudden stance, locking her eyes upon her grandfather with an unyielding composure that astonished all present, declaring in a voice as incisive as iron:
- No one... no one in this entire world shall touch a doll my mother crafted with her own hands in her final days for me! Not you, Grandfather... nor any other person, whoever they may be
Pivoting her frame entirely toward the arrogant guest, she aimed a penetrating gaze that stripped him of his condescension, uttering with unyielding dignity that paralyzed his lips:
- And I am by no means ignorant as you presume! And were you truly a genuine friend to my grandfather who genuinely feared for his health as you claim... you would not have exhaled your poisonous cigarette smoke before a man who merely emerged from a coma devoid of the slighter consideration like this
Fati pivoted toward her grandfather, who abruptly rose from his seat amidst the sheer magnitude of the shock and the escalating tension; her eyes glistened with the luminescence of suppressed tears, echoing the precise, vulnerable gaze that invariably consumed her mother "Rose's" eyes whenever sorrow overwhelmed her and no soul existed to receive her grievances. Yet Fati proved far more resilient; she brushed away her solitary tear with unyielding dignity, proclaiming with elevated nobility:
- I desired to present to you the doll my mother hand-crafted for me in her final days, Grandfather... yet I shall never grant you the privilege of touching it so long as I live
Turning to the chief butler positioned directly behind her, frozen by the raw intensity of the scene, she articulated in a commanding, unwavering cadence:
- Butler... prepare a vehicle for me immediately; I am departing
She advanced toward the threshold with resolute strides, yet prior to crossing beyond the mansion's portal, she pivoted one final time toward her grandfather whose hands remained suspended empty in the atmosphere behind her, as though attempting to grasp her shadow or reclaim lost time. Scrutinizing his extended, trembling hands with chilling indifference, she declared in a composed voice veiled in absolute detachment:
- Grandfather... tend to your health, and thank you for hosting me within your mansion today... yet I shall never return here again!
Pausing for a fleeting interlude, the vision of Jaguar and that girl Miranda possessively entwined around his arm flashed through her consciousness; she smiled with profound bitterness, delivering her definitive parting blow:
- ...and convey my regards to my... ex-husband