“She just stayed home all day doing laundry and cooking, she didn’t even want to go out, and she ever dressed up. We absolutely didn’t want her there.”
“Exactly!” Mia chimed in. “Auntie Cassie always dresses beautifully, and all our classmates are so
envious of us!”
Cassandra smiled shyly, pouring Dominic a cup of coffee.
“Dominic, try this. I specifically asked the housekeeper to brew it to your taste.”
Dominic took a sip, his brow furrowing slightly-it was too sweet.
His coffee used to be hand-ground by Elara, and she never made such a mistake. She knew he drank is coffee black with just a spoonful of milk.
“What’s wrong? Not to your liking?” Cassandra asked with concern.
“It’s nothing.” He set down the cup, ultimately saying nothing more, simply adjusting his cuff links. ‘I’m heading to the office.”
In the days that followed, everything in the Thorne household seemed normal on the surface, but subtle changes were quietly occurring.
Cassandra had never done housework. After a few attempts, she simply handed everything over to the household staff.
3:49 pm & D
<
Although everything in the house still seemed to run perfectly well,
Only Dominic and a few others subtly noticed that something had quietly changed.
There were no longer comfortably soft, hand-ironed clothes, nor the pre-bedtime glass of milk, or the meticulously prepared meals tailored to everyone’s taste in the morning. These things simply
vanished.
While no major issues arose in their daily lives, the familiar sense of warmth in the home seemed to
be gone.
Until one day, Dominic attended a business banquet and returned home late at night.
He stumbled onto the sofa, waving off his assistant.
“You can go home now. I don’t need you here.”
After the door closed, the room fell silent. Dominic wearily rubbed his temples, then unconsciously
called out:
“Where is everyone?”
As the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized that everything felt different tonight.
No wall lamp left on for him, no steaming hot hangover soup on the coffee table.
“Mrs. Gable? Didn’t I say I had an engagement tonight? Why isn’t anything prepared?”
He dialed the staff quarters, asking in a deep voice.
Soon, Mrs. Gable rushed into the living room, flustered.
“I apologize, Mr. Thorne. Everything you needed when you returned at night used to be prepared personally by the Mrs., so we forgot to get it ready…”
