CWMBR 140

Chapter 140

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***

She had suspected as much, but hearing it spoken aloud felt different.

Bridget blinked slowly, then let out a low sigh.

"Donna really dislikes me, doesn't she?"

At that blunt statement, Donna forced her lips into an awkward smile.

"It's because I'm young and immature. I'm very jealous. You know that, Miss."

"What could Donna possibly be jealous of me for?"

Immediately after posing the quiet question, Bridget answered it herself.

"My respectable birth?"

Donna's eyes widened. Even though it was a topic slowly being covered in recent newspapers, Donna seemed to have thought Bridget didn't know the secret of her birth.

"Uh, how...?"

"It was foolish of me not to suspect it sooner. Now that you've removed your makeup. I see how much we resemble each other."

Only now did Bridget clearly understand why Donna had obsessively worn heavy makeup all this time. That gaunt face beneath the removed makeup was identical to the one she'd seen countless times in the mirror lately. If Donna had gone out without makeup, rumors about their relationship would have spread within half a year.

"You know Uncle Ronan and my father were twins, right?"

"I'm sorry! I just envied you, Miss!"

Donna, her face pale, hurriedly approached Bridget.

"I... I couldn't even properly reveal who my father was, but you seemed to grow up loved and happy... It felt unfair and irritating, that's why I did it!"

Donna had come to Glynford after both her parents passed away. Yet she spoke as if she knew everything about how close Bridget and her parents had been. Bridget was about to find that odd when she remembered Donna was from Elver. She had visited Elver with her parents once, and at that time, Donna had lived there.

Ah, that's when she saw it.

Bridget was secretly surprised that the other person's dislike for her had started so long ago. Was it because it stemmed from childhood that she could be so cruel?

"Wasn't being an actress beloved by the people of Glynford enough?"

But no matter how much you dislike someone, did you have to treat them like that?

"Had I maintained my marriage properly, perhaps Uncle Ronan and you could have continued living in luxury in Glynford, just as you always have."

Couldn't she have stopped after leaving Glynford? Did she really need to act as if delivering a coup de grâce?

"But did you really have to chase us all the way there and make such a scene?"

Bridget's question was quiet. Yet her green eyes sank darkly, eerily so, as she stared at Donna.

It was a pointless assumption now, but she couldn't help wondering. If only Donna hadn't whispered her malicious lies, if only she hadn't brought up the photo and spewed those absurd falsehoods...

Wouldn't the dead child at least have been spared such humiliation from his own father?

"Ain, Ain stepped in... I was jealous that the girl who should have lost everything and been miserable would end up loved again."

Bridget found Donna's trembling excuse utterly ridiculous. She sneered coldly.

"How could you think that after seeing my wedding?"

At those words, Donna's face twisted as if choked up.

"But he had feelings for you! Everyone was clinging to me, yet he alone chose you—do you know how miserable that made me?"

"Donna was his first love. She flaunted that fact to me often."

"I'm not stupid! I'm not so dumb I can't recognize the look of someone who’s in love! That was just mockery!"

Donna retorted, her face flushed bright red with genuine fury.

"Who looks at another woman like that when their first love is right in front of them?"

Bridget's expression shifted strangely. Her mouth twisted into a half-smile, half-cry as she remained silent, then she lowered her gaze slightly.

"That's funny."

The low murmur slipped out like a private thought.

"That it was Donna who understood that man's heart before anyone else."

The man himself only showed his worst side after everything had become a complete mess, with that utterly humiliating confession.

Bridget tried to recall the time Donna was talking about. The time when she loved him, and he 'claimed' to love her.

She clearly remembered the time spent with him, yet the tender, youthful feelings she'd felt back then had vanished without a trace, as if eroded by time. Surely, on some day back then, there had been something fluffy and fluttering, hadn't there?

As Donna said, that time seemed happy.

"Miss, I was entirely at fault, so please forgive me……."

"Donna."

Bridget cut Donna off and raised her eyes. The fleeting, wistful aura that had flickered as she recalled the past sank completely beneath the surface.

"I have no intention of forgiving Donna."

"Miss!"

"You were here!"

Wayna appeared just in time. Seeing the standoff between Bridget and Donna, Wayna stepped between them and looked at Donna with a cold gaze.

"Who are you?"

Donna flinched at Wayna's sharp demeanor and hunched her shoulders. After confirming the other party carried no suspicious weapon, Wayna politely asked Bridget.

"Miss, what should we do?"

"I'll call the police and hand her over."

Bridget turned away, her tone detached.

"What? Miss! Wait! Let go of me!"

Donna's eyes widened in shock as she desperately tried to grab Bridget, but Wayna blocked her, preventing further approach. Bridget ignored the commotion behind her and walked back into the mansion. She gave a small smile to Jane standing by the front door and murmured under her breath.

"Mr. Rogers' workload is going to increase."

***

Donna now had no one's protection within the police department.

Bridget didn't need to explain her feud with Donna; they understood the situation on their own. Bridget conveyed her wish that Donna not approach her. The officers faithfully accepted that request and issued a threatening warning to Donna.

Now, there were no devoted fans of Donna left in Glynford. To be precise, the only ones remaining were a few men obsessed with her to the point of criminality, and Donna seemed to feel threatened by them instead. Later, she heard that on her way home after being released from the police station, she had narrowly avoided a serious incident. Terrified, Donna couldn't even bring herself to visit Bridget again, just holed up inside her house.

Bridget discovered this fact while trying to find Donna's address to send her a lawsuit demanding alimony.

"Honestly, I don't know if we can collect this money. This woman's already caught the eye of the debt collectors, so..."

Declan explained with a click of his tongue and a tone of dissatisfaction.

The two were discussing business matters over tea at a teahouse. They had met Declan after stopping by a staffing agency to hire employees before reopening the Grand Theater. The teahouse they were in was a quiet shop located on a street lined with offices, its large windows offering an unobstructed view of the street scene.

"Even if the court rules in my favor, it's useless if she has no money? Then how do I get compensation?"

Truthfully, what Bridget wanted wasn't a few pennies in alimony. She simply wanted Donna to take direct responsibility in some way.

After a moment's thought, Declan tapped his papers and replied.

"Well, if she can't provide alimony, we can send her to jail. Maybe this woman would choose that."

"Donna isn't the type to choose that."

"Even though going to jail might be better than facing the debt collectors?"

"She'd rather choose to disappear in the dead of night."

"Oh, I guarantee you that would be the worst choice. At least in jail, there's hope of release someday. But once she vanishes... no one would know if she's alive or dead."

Declan was certain the debt collectors would never let Donna slip away. If the group Ronan was tangled up with was that vicious, it seemed Donna was in the same boat.

Bridget, her lips pressed tightly together, turned her gaze to the large window. A pale-faced woman flickered like a ghost over the familiar streets of Glynford.

"Who looks at another woman like that when their first love is right in front of them?"

Donna's indignant voice echoed in her mind.

Bridget didn't know what kind of look Ain had given her. She couldn't remember clearly. She couldn't even recall her own feelings, let alone someone else's gaze.

But Bridget wondered. Had she looked that happy back then? Had she looked like she was truly loved by Ain?

What kind of face had she made, looking so happy it was infuriating and jealousy-inducing?