"She said that I love sour candy?" Chloe asked. She unwrapped one and put it inside her mouth. The sourness hit her tastebud and put her in a better mood instantly.
"Yeah, Gran said that Aunt Chloe loves sour candy, when you were a child, you'd often ask for sour candy as a reward for every housechore you did!" Aaron said.
Chloe laughed freely, "Well, she wasn't wrong. I loved sour candy so much when I was your age. Your Gran would buy me a pack of sour candy, but always hide it somewhere so I can't just grab it and eat it all. I'd have to do chores in order to get one sour candy per day."
Aaron nodded, "Gran told me to give the sour candy to Aunt Chloe in case I meet you again, so…."
"I see," Chloe smiled bitterly. "I wish she could give it to me by herself."
Aaron knew that Gran and Aunt Chloe's relationship wasn't good. They had a big fight when Aunt Chloe left Uncle Vincent, and after that, Aunt Chloe never visited them anymore.
Now that Gran wasn't here anymore, Aaron felt that Aunt Chloe had to know how much Gran missed her.
"Aunty, do you know that Gran always told me one thing about you?"
"Hm? What did she say about me?" Chloe asked. She was on guard instantly. She feared that her mother might've said something slanderous, mean, or even downright humiliating about her to Aaron.
"Gran said that you're her sweetest little girl," Aaron said. "You're forever the sweet little girl she carried, and the most beautiful!"
Aaron noticed that his words had a huge impact on Aunt Chloe because his Aunt's eyes began to glaze with tears. So he thought this was the right time to utter what Gran always wished since that last time Aunt and Gran had a fight.
"She loves you so much, and wishes to meet you again, because she wants to apologize for what she said wrong…." Aaron's voice began to shake as well. He truly loved his Gran. Though his Gran might not be the most perfect, she took care of him and his brothers when they were abandoned by their parents. "S—So, please… Aunty… please forgive Gran. She regrets everything she said to you, wu… wu…."
Aaron started sobbing as the fond memories of his Gran flooded his mind. He also remembered how his Gran tried her best to stop his Mommy from catching her. It was the biggest sacrifice that Aaron would never forget.
So he wanted to fulfill Gran's last wish: to reconcile with Aunt Chloe.
Chloe quickly wiped the tears on Aaron's cheek, but she herself started crying as well.
Though she didn't have a good relationship with his late mother. But Chloe always had a fond memory of Judith when she was young.
It was also the reason why she could never hate her mother, because she knew that deep down, Judith still had some good in her.
Aaron lifted his hands and tried to wipe the tears on Aunt Chloe's cheeks as well. They were wiping each other's tears, but in the end, they just hugged as Aaron cried in his Aunt's warm embrace.
Aaron had a lot of emotional trauma right now. He had been trying to stay tough in front of his brothers because he was the oldest and had to protect his little brothers.
But he was just a six-year-old kid. He was scared, traumatized, and wanted to cry like his brothers did.
Chloe held her nephew so tight, sharing the pain of losing the same person they loved. It was the first time Aaron felt peace after experiencing months of endless torment by his mother.
He truly wished he could turn back time and give Aunt Chloe's number to Gran, so she could call Aunt and they could be saved.
But there was nothing he could do now.
It was all too late.
"Aunty, can we meet with Gran again?" Aaron asked with his weak voice.
"We sure can. Your Gran is a good person. She will go to heaven and we will meet her there, okay?"
"Um…"
Aaron calmed down after getting hugged by his Aunty for a long time. Honestly, he wanted to be hugged for at least the whole day, but he knew that he couldn't hog his Aunt all for himself.
Aunt Chloe had to take care of his brothers, as well as Boss Mackie and Uncle Vernon.
Thus, Aaron separated himself from Aunt Chloe and said, "I feel better now, Aunty. I will eat with my brothers now."
Chloe wiped the dried tears on Aaron's cheeks and wiped hers as well. Then she smiled at him, "That's good, you should eat a lot. Don't worry about food here, okay? You can eat whatever you want as long as you brush your teeth after that."
"Okay! Thank you, Aunty!"
Chloe was relieved that the boys at least had an appetite, even after what happened last night. All of them were too thin for their age, especially Aaron, who looked scrawny and malnourished.
'I have to make sure they get enough nutrition. They've suffered long enough,' Chloe thought.
They went out via the connecting door together. Aaron joined his brothers to eat pancakes for breakfast.
Meanwhile, Chloe was about to leave when she was approached by Dorothea. The old woman held Chloe's hand and asked out of concern, "You cried just now. Is everything okay, Chloe?"
"Everything is okay," Chloe smiled. "I just had a heart-to-heart talk with Aaron. He told me about my late mother and how she wanted to reconcile with me. I know it's too late, but at least, I got to know that she didn't hate me in her last hour of life…."
"Oh, Chloe…" Dorothea hugged her daughter-in-law and patted her back. "You still have me. I may not be the best mom, but at least you should know how much I also want to make things right between us."
Chloe nodded, "Thank you, Dorothea. I know that you want to fix your mistakes. That's why I give you a second chance. Please take care of the boys, okay?
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