Kelsey's POV
{FLASHBACK — Five Years Ago}
I was twenty. Just a kid, really. I was barely hanging on. Back then, I was quiet, scared of everything and also... everyone. My confidence had already been torn down by years of living under the shadow of Cassian's mother, the woman who made it her mission to break me.
She hated me. It was obvious but I still chose to be with Cassian.
She hated me not because I was rude. Not because I did anything wrong. But because I existed.
My mother and I had nothing. We rented a tiny room above a sewing shop. My mom... a young, beautiful woman with soft hands and even softer eyes, was mute and I understood her signed words like they were the lyrics to a song only the two of us knew. She was the reason I knew and understood sign language. I had to learn from a young age just to be able to interact with her.
