Before I could speak, Lavinia smiled at him gently and coaxed, “Hmm, I’m yours, forever yours. Come, put on the groom’s suit.”
Only then did Cedric look satisfied. When he turned his eyes back to me, they carried open provocation.
My fists clenched so tight the sound of bones cracked. I had once told Lavinia that, since he was sick, why not send him to Greenville for treatment?
She said she couldn’t rest assured leaving Cedric alone inside. He had no family left, pitiful enough, and instead she blamed me for lacking compassion, for being petty.
Every time we quarreled, the topic always circled back to Cedric.
I was exhausted, unwilling to keep entangling with them. If she loved taking care of him, then she could take care of him forever.
But the crowd burst into laughter, pointing at us, whispering and mocking as if watching a play.
My mother couldn’t stop crying from guilt, while Cedric still refused to let her go.
Just then, a group of doctors in white coats rushed in from outside. “We heard there’s a mentally ill person here trying to kill someone?”
No one knew who had called the police or alerted the mental hospital staff.
Frightened, Cedric gripped my mother tighter, the knife tip pressing into her skin, making her frown in pain.
“Cedric, calm down, don’t hurt my mother.
Lavinia slapped me across the face, her expression full of anger. “Phineas, why did you call the police and let people come? Didn’t I already tell you? You cannot send Cedric to that kind of place.”
I tried to explain it wasn’t me, but she wouldn’t listen.
Cedric had already lost control, the scissors stabbing toward my mother’s throat as blood spurted out.
I froze, struck as if lightning hit me, then rushed forward and used the moment to knock Cedric down with a single punch.
He fell hard into the wine rack, bottles shattering and liquor spilling over him.
Always claiming to care so much for my mother, Lavinia ignored the blood pouring from her neck and only worried over the uninjured Cedric.
I held my mother, pressing her wound with trembling hands, my face pale with fear as I shouted, “Save my mother, quickly!”
But Cedric, humiliated and furious after being knocked down, staggered back to his feet, grabbed a shard of glass, and stabbed it hard into me while my hands were tied up holding my mother.
The police finally reacted, guns raised, shouting at Cedric to stop.