"Lady Tremaine, how did you meet my father?" A young woman with medium-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair complexion asked. To that question, an older woman's mind flashed back to the past as she retells her story.
*****
It was over two decades ago. The young woman's father, Mr. Tremaine was a distant relative of her first husband, Francis Tremaine and they had met during one of the family gatherings. Back then, Francis was still alive and was the light of her life. So at that time, Mr. Tremaine was just another guest passing by in her life.One day, her beloved Francis was gone. He had disappeared from her life. Life had drastically changed. All the color seem to fade away and filling her with hollowness. She was still young and had many more years ahead of her. Her family couldn't bear for her to drown in sorrow. They arranged for a therapist.
The therapist helped her adjust to her new life. A life without Francis. It was a struggle at the start, but it did slightly turn for better. After a few years, she was a frequent visitor to the therapy center and eventually became a mentor there. She had two girls put into her charge. Their parents couldn't find the time to give them love and warmth, making them depressed and emotionally unstable. So it was up to her to open up their heart.
By chance, she had bumped into Mr. Tremaine in the therapy center. He was coping with the death of his wife. She understood the pain he was going through. His therapist believed he need help with raising his daughter and referred her to him. That was when they started meeting in regular interval.
Usually, they would chat over a cup of tea at her house. He would reminisce the memory of the deceased wife. How his wife would bake treats for him to take during his business trips or buy frilly shirts for him. He would also dotingly chatter on about his daughter, Elena. Half of it is mostly brag on how cute she was.
He excessively pampered Elena. Why would she say that? He had bought her a horse just because she wants one. She was only five. How could she possibly ride one? It makes more sense to start with a small pony and hire riding instructor first. With this kind of behavior, she worried about his daughter's development. She had warned him not to spoil her too much, but it went in his left ear and out the right ear.
At that time, she was thinking, 'I can see Elena becoming another replica of Drusilla and Anna.' It also passed her mind that Mr. Tremaine would very likely put Elena into her care like Drusilla's and Anna's parents.
*****
"Wait!" The young woman interrupted Lady Tremaine. Her blue eyes widened in surprise as she cried out, "Drusilla and Anna aren't your daughters!?"
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