5 Destiny

"If you want to wear the corset underneath your clothes, I suggest using a satin one," The dressmaker said as she finished taking her measurements. "It would look good on you."

She snorted. The thought of wearing something that might possibly shift her organs inside her stomach wasn't too appetizing. The thought of it made her nauseous. She smiled at the woman in her fifties and pretended to listen to her as she discussed the importance of corsets.

"Pardon my words but the Lady is already twenty-four this year. My daughter got married when she was nineteen. She is currently twenty-six with three young toddlers." The woman, Magda's eyes turned gentle. "Those cute little ones running around the patio is enough to complete my day." She put the measuring tape around her neck just as she recorded her measurements. "It seems that the measurements didn't change since I last made a dress for the young lady. Except, your thighs are a bit bigger. But no worries, I will create the best dress that would hide those thighs."

Cassandra rolled her eyes inwardly. "They are muscles." From kickboxing.

"A proper lady shouldn't have muscles like those…" She gave her an unimpressed tight-lipped smile. Aside from the fact that Magda made dresses for the La Roche Family, she also taught the younger generation about being prim and proper.

Magda was best at teaching the proper etiquette of laughing and talking and having tea. She would also teach women about how to act like a delicate woman in front of their husband's mothers. The respect, the pleasantries, and the fakeries.

Just all the things that Cassandra abhorred.

Growing up to a peculiar mother, Cassandra never learned those things. She never learned how to sew or paint. However, she was taught how to ride a horse, shot an arrow, and drive a car.

She knew how to fish. She knew how to fight, but most of all - she knew how to survive. She could only blame it for the fact that she and her twin brother grew up in the mountains of Zealandia where a portal of the dark world was located.

Her mother was a hunter, just like her father. Thus, she and her brother grew up like one. Just like Carmichael, she was trained to kill demons. The thought of Carmichael made her frown.

It had been three years since she last saw her brother and she would be lying if she said that she didn't think about the past once or twice while she was in London. A sigh escaped her lips.

"Women… shouldn't sigh like that. You are not married yet." Magda smiled at her. "Ah, we are done here. You have to choose a headdress. Follow me."

"I'm planning to cut my hair."

"Pardon me?"

"I said, I am chopping off my hair."

The woman stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. It was as if she had just uttered the most unforgivable word a woman would say. "You— "

"I'm too lazy to fix it every morning." In the last two years, she survived with her thigh-length hair because she always kept it in a bun. She did odd jobs and those people never cared about her appearance or the fact that she was a lady, fighting people in an underground battleground.

However, it was different in Zealandia. People cared about appearance. They cared about how they looked when they woke up and ate their breakfast.

While she never cared about this matter, she felt that her grandfather deserved it. At least, his friends would stop talking about his granddaughter who stopped combing her hair because it was too time-consuming.

"Lady Cassandra… cutting one's hair is only allowed once you marry. You are not married… or engaged. How could you do that?" Magda used her hand to cover her mouth as she stared at her in horror. Her curly eyelashes fluttered as her face pales.

Seeing how the tears started to well up in Magda's eyes made her feel like she had murdered Magda's horse or pet. What was with this exaggeration?

"I need time to process all these," Magda said while turning her back on her.

Cassandra stifled a yawn. It was the reason why she hated talking to 'educated' women like Magda. They were a bit too dramatic and exaggerated for her taste.

Seeing Magda seemed to lose all interest in having a decent conversation not involving the fact that she wasn't married yet, Cassandra decided to leave and go buy some clothes in the mall.

It took Steve a couple of minutes to drive her to the nearest mall where she could buy some H&M and other staples. That afternoon, Cassandra spent her time walking around the two-story mall in Downtown of Hesmor City—one of the main six cities of Zealandia.

After a dozen shopping bags and half a gallon of coffee, Cassandra finally decided to leave the mall to go home.

"What you did earlier was not acceptable!" Almera's screeching voice welcomed her when she arrived home.

Before she could even look at her cousin, Almera already added. "You embarrassed me in front of my friends! Our family already has enough embarrassment by having a single woman like you in the household!"

"Your voice was just awful," Cassandra responded and walked toward the stairs.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me!"

Almera's shrill voice made her nearly bite her tongue off as she restrained herself to tell her cousin about the upcoming tragedy that would strike her life.

Cassandra forced a smile on her face. The visions that she saw were just… too horrendous. She wanted to stop it but ended up sighing and shaking her head.

Even if she told her, she wouldn't believe it—just like how she ignored her warnings all those years ago. "I heard about the divorce," Cassandra said, turning to stare at the woman whose blue eyes resembled hers. "Is that why you are a mess?"

"You— "

"I warned you. You called me jealous."

She watched as Almera paled, tears streamed down her cheeks like waterfalls. Seeing this, Cassandra continued walking. Knowing about the future had its own consequences and… watching people succumb to their destiny was just one of them.