C9 Striking Difference Part 2

Cliff is still having fun playing with his new toy even though it's already 7 p.m. Since this afternoon, Celin had returned to the Hustons' main house, leaving Clara alone with Cliff. These days, Cliff plays and ignores his mother. Clara knew this was happening very well because her son was still angry with her. Clara stepped closer to her son, who was still kneeling on the cold floor. She sat beside her son, and without saying anything, she hugged her son's body tightly. Cliff just silently received his mother's warm hug.

"I'm sorry I scolded you earlier. You want to forgive Mother, right?" Cliff was silent, making Clara wince in surprise. She let go of her arms, held her son's face, and stared straight into her son's eyes. She was always fascinated whenever she looked at her son's face, the perfect sculpture, which always made her curious to see the man who had made Cliff look like. If she saw Cliff's handsome face, Clara could guess the man's face must be the same as Cliff's. She wanted to be able to meet this man even once. Want to curse and scold and curse him because he has given her a lot of suffering? But at the same time, she also wanted to thank him because, thanks to that man, she had a very handsome son like Cliff.

"I'm sorry too, Mom. I lied earlier. Mother is not evil. I don't hate Mom, either. I love Mom." Again, tears rolled down Clara's beautiful face. Cliff wiped his mother's tears with his tiny hands. He cried, too.

"Don't cry, Mom. Forgive me. I promise I won't fight Mom again. It's okay. I promise I won't ask to play outside again. I will play in the house. I will not leave this house, Mom." Instead of stopping, Clara's tears flowed even more when she heard her son's story. She hugged Cliff tighter.

"Mom loves Cliff too. I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill your wish." Clara let go of the hug and quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She also wiped the tears flowing from Cliff's eyes with both hands.

"Do you want to play outside? Come on, let's take a walk outside. Mother will accompany you."

"May I, Mom?" Clara nodded enthusiastically. Cliff smiled and even jumped up and down with joy, making Clara chuckle at the sight of him.

They walked away, leaving the small hut that had been their home for seven years. They walked around enjoying the atmosphere of the night, which was only lit by the moonlight. The cold air from the occasional gust of wind made Clara shiver with cold. But the same thing didn't happen to Cliff. The boy looked delighted because, for the first time, he breathed fresh air outside the hut. He let go of his mother's hand and went to whatever caught his attention. Clara let it go and smiled at her son's behaviour. He looked so happy tonight.

"Mother, what is this? It smells so good," Cliff asked when he saw the colourful thing with a lovely scent. Clara chuckled again. She thought it was funny. Her son didn't even know that the things he was looking at were blooming flowers. It makes sense since Cliff has stayed in the hut for seven years.

"Its name is the flower. Beautiful. Cliff nodded with a smile that added to his handsomeness. His attention from the flowers was diverted when the corner of his eye caught the figure of a boy smaller than him. Maybe the boy was only 5 or 6 years old. Cliff ran over to the boy. He was crouched on the ground, looking like he was playing with something. Of course, Clara was surprised to see him, especially when she realized that the house in front of her was now the house of someone she knew very well.

"Hey, what are you playing?" asked Cliff, crouching beside the boy.

"Who are you?" Instead of answering, the boy asked Cliff back.

"My name is Cliff. Come on, let's play together." Cliff was happy to see the boy. He remembered the scene he saw this morning, where several boys his age were playing together right in front of his house.

At first, Clara only smiled, watching Cliff interact with the boy, but she was shocked when she saw someone coming out of the house and walking quickly toward Cliff and the boy. Clara ran up to them and immediately pulled Cliff into her arms.

"Oh, this child is your son. No wonder I never saw him. Listen, Jo, Daddy forbade you to play with this child," said the grown man who was none other than Maxy, Clara's ex-fiancé, to the boy who seemed to be his son.

"Why can't I play with him, Dad?" This an innocent question from a boy who looked only six years old.

"Because he's an illegitimate child. He doesn't have a father. A child who brings bad luck," said Maxy with a grin at Clara. Of course, Clara was very offended and angry to hear that. She glared at Maxy, ignoring that he once held a significant position in her heart.

"Don't insult my son. You may insult me, but not my son!!" snapped Clara angrily.

"Why are you angry? There's nothing wrong with my words. He's an illegitimate child. He doesn't have a father. I feel sorry for your son. I feel sorry for him because his mother is a cheap woman like you." It was like being stabbed by dozens of swords. That was a description of Clara's feelings at the moment. She knows what happened in the past very well, making Maxy hate her so much. She didn't expect that even though quite a long time had passed, the hatred still hadn't disappeared from within the man's heart. Clara wanted to reply to his words, but she was discouraged because she didn't want to cause a scene, especially in front of her son, who was hugging her tightly. Maxy took his son's hand and led him into the house.

"Mom, what is an illegitimate child? What do you mean by a slut?" Asked Cliff, which made Clara gasp in surprise. She didn't expect Maxy's words to stick in Cliff's mind.

"Never mind, don't listen to what Uncle said earlier," Clara replied, giving a forced smile.

"Is it true that I don't have a father? Where's my father?”

Not only stunned, but Clara was also surprised to hear Cliff's question. A question that had always made Clara afraid of escaping from her son's tiny lips was now a real question he asked.

"Mom," Cliff called with a frown, surprised to see his mother's residence.

"Let's go. Mother will take you to a beautiful place.” Clara diverted the conversation, which made her uncomfortable; she pulled Cliff's hand to follow her. Cliff wanted to hear the answer to his question earlier, but in the end, he still followed in his mother's footsteps. He remembered his promise not to go against his mother's words anymore.