Then, she retrieved her phone and sent a message to Blayze, saying, “Blayze, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to attend the award ceremony. I have an urgent matter to attend to. Please find someone to accept the award on my behalf. Thank you."

After sending the message, Sabrina powered off her phone, collected her bag, and rose from her seat.

She began to walk aimlessly along the streets.

Although it was early spring and the weather was warm, she felt an unrelenting chill that seemed to permeate her very being.

The coldness wasn't merely a result of the weather. It emanated from deep within her heart. She couldn't help but reflect on her childhood when some insensitive adults had questioned her about her mother's departure.

They had implied that her father might not be her biological parent.

She also remembered the occasions when, during New Year gatherings, some relatives had attempted to persuade her father to remarry, suggesting that she might not be his child.

She had overheard these conversations, fearing that her father might abandon her, but she could only pretend not to hear them.

Her primary school years were no easier, as her classmates, aware that her mother had left her, had shunned her. She had formed a close bond with a boy next to her, but when her peers found out, they had bullied that boy. Eventually, he distanced himself from her as well.

Even when Sabrina stood up for the boy when he was bullied, the outcome remained unchanged.

She recalled the sympathy in her primary school teacher's gaze when learning her family situation.

She had lowered her head and remained silent, growing accustomed to her solitude as she grew older.

Sabrina couldn't forget the times when she was bullied mercilessly, and her dreams would offer an escape. In those dreams, her mother returned home, cradling her lovingly, promising never to leave again.

In those dreams, she imagined making friends at school, with nobody daring to bully her again.

But reality always brought her back. Upon waking, she'd find herself alone in a dark, cold room, embraced only by the frigid embrace of her bedsheets. She would curl up and cry in solitude.

During her primary school years, those dreams were frequent. As she grew older, they occurred less and less.

She couldn't recall the last time she had such a dream. Perhaps it had been a decade ago.

In the past, she had often wondered about her mother's whereabouts.

Had she remarried? Why had she been so cruel as to abandon her? Had her mother perhaps started a new family and thus left her behind?

At times, Sabrina held her mother responsible for her loneliness, while occasionally, she contemplated the difficulties her mother might have faced.