ID Chapter 37: The change

Marienne paced back and forth in her room. The sound of the ticking clock resonated with her steps. Heaving a deep sigh, she sat down on the bed and glanced at her face in the mirror. The dark bags under her eyes stood out on her pale, almost-bloodless face.

The tiny figure molded out of wriggling flesh waved its tentacles. Despite having the otherworldly eldritch abomination around for days—each of which felt like months—she found her brows sinking and nose scrunching.

“Why so impatient, kid?” It, or rather, he asked.

“Because I want to meet my daughter.”

“You love your daughter, then why don’t you agree to that deal?”

Marienne shook her head. “I’m not doing it.”

“Ah, you mortals and your foolish bravery. You’ll give up your life to protect what was always yours.”

“At the cost of what? My daughter’s sanity? Fuck off,” Marienne spat, holding her anger from shredding the thing. “I’ll slit my throat if you try to bring my daughter into this shitshow.”

“You know you can’t do that.”

Marienne clenched her fists. He was right. Marienne couldn’t do anything against him after that night. He had taken control of Marienne’s soul.

Knock! Knock!

“Ma’am, young mistress has arrived.”

“Tell them to wait in the living room.”

“Understood.”

Marienne grabbed the makeup kit and tried to hide the signs of exhaustion from her face. Instead of improving, she colored her cheeks so rosy that they looked artificial. She regretted never putting on makeup her entire life.

“Why is this so hard!”

She splashed a handful of water and wiped the makeup. With shaking hands, she grabbed a pair of sunglasses lying by the bedside and put them on. Hiding her eyes was the last thing she wanted to do.

‘Why did it have to choose me?’

The question lingered in her mind as she entered the living room. Her daughter and her bespectacled streamer boyfriend talked in whispers. She had nothing against the boy. On the contrary, she had a decent impression of him. He never tried to take advantage of Celia, and had the balls to reject Celia before an entire classroom.

‘How dare he reject my daughter first, then date her later?’

The black-haired Asian girl looked her way with eyes sharper than her maid-cum-secretary Ellis. It was quite an accomplishment for a high schooler to be compared against a retired homicidal maniac.

‘She must be the lovestruck sister Ellis mentioned. She’ll be with her stepbrother if the states didn’t forbid any sexual acts between step-siblings in 2003.’

Marienne couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her daughter smiling so brightly. Taking a seat on the couch, she motioned Ellis to give them some room. The maid bowed before leaving the room.

“Celia dear, sorry for calling you out of the blue. And Ethan, welcome to the Densford family,” Marienne said with a fond smile. “You used to come here all the time when you were little.”

“Sorry, Aunt. I haven’t been here for years,” Ethan apologized with a soft smile.

“Mom…” Celia said. “Why are you wearing glasses?”

‘Wow! She called me Mom!’

Marienne’s fingers twitched. It took eons of willpower not to walk up to her daughter and pull her in for a long, never-ending hug.

Marienne brushed her eyes with her handkerchief. “I was crying, thinking of the day my daughter leaves the home.”

Celia snuck glances at Ethan, blushing profusely. Ethan smiled wryly while Mio stared at Marienne with mild disgust in their eyes.

“Mom, please cut the act. Tell us why you invited Ethan?”

The hint of animosity in Celia’s voice made Marienne sigh. This was the result of her prioritizing her family business over her daughter. Despite her lingering regrets, if she was given the choice to redo her life, she’d do it again. It was her father’s final wish—the man who dedicated his life solely to raise the status of the Densford name. He had given her a fulfilling life without asking anything. So, Marienne couldn’t reject his final wish.

Celia grew from a snotty brat crying for her affection to a young woman rebelling against her for her man. Marienne felt something warm in the corner of her eyes. She wiped it away before they came out and smiled.

“Is he the one you want?”

“I’m sure.”

An instant answer. Celia reminded Marienne of her past self when she drugged her clueless childhood friend into marriage. They had mutual feelings, though the man refused to acknowledge them. Marienne took the matter into her own hands to seal the deal. Celia possessed the same kind of determination.

“And what about you, young man? Are you happy to spend your life with my precious daughter?”

***

Celia stared at Marienne. Her new attitude clouded her mind. This had to be a prank or a strategy to embarrass Ethan.

She took another glance at Ethan, who did the same. His lips curled up softly.

“Yup. She is the one I want.”

His bold declaration numbed her mind before a pink spark exploded, flooding her body with tender warmth. Then a long-forgotten memory resurfaced—her first meeting with Ethan in the elementary grade. He was the opposite of what he was today—a kid with a bright grin always glued to his face. People flocked over to him for his natural ability to dissuade the tensions of those around him. The class elected him as the Class president because of his good grades. This triggered Celia as she wanted the position to impress her elitist mom. In a fit of rage, she approached Ethan and issued a challenge.

“Give me the class president seat or I’ll kick your balls!”

The words of her past self made her cringe.

“Then, Ethan, you’re Celia’s fiancé from now on. Have fun together ~.”

“Huh?”

Celia was dumbfounded at her mom’s easy acceptance of Ethan. Something was wrong here. She found Marienne’s kind smile as distant, uncaring.

‘Why?’

“Why are you stunned, Celia? Isn’t that what you wanted all along—to be with him?”

“I did...”

“Then why the sad face?”

Celia stopped for a moment to wrap her head around the situation. Her mother only ever forced her on a blind date with a young CEO. She only loved Ethan, so she rejected the man after a lackluster date. And that was it. It was her mother’s only attempt to pair her with someone other than Ethan.

“Come on. You can return to school if you want,” Marienne said and winked at Ethan. “Or you can play some naughty games in Celia’s room.”

Celia turned to Ethan with a smile. She was always ready to play that kind of game. She knew Ethan had desires for her. That day when she washed him, his eyes couldn’t stop looking at her boobs. Mio’s mental health was the only thing stopping Ethan from becoming a beast. The stubborn yandere had called dibs on Ethan’s virginity; hell awaited them if they chose to ignore this fact.

“Yes, kid. Why don’t you stay here today?”

It was a voice Celia hadn’t heard since she went to Ethan—her father’s voice.