Chapter 520 Call me Big sister, alright?-1
While Samuel was busy preparing for his eventual face, there was another 'war' going on in his family's back garden. Elise, who had just come back, was surrounded by three children: Anya, her little brother Basmus, and Graysen, who was watching from the back.
Graysen was still resentful of her because he blamed her for the conflict with his big brother. It was a childish pride, and he had thought a lot about apologizing to Samuel, but every time he saw her, he was reminded about the time when they would play happily together, completely ignoring him.
He was exaggerating like most children of his age, but in his mind, he was convinced that she was not a good influence on his brother and justified not meddling even when Samuel told him explicitly to protect her in his absence.
" Where did you go? Did my go out with our mother?" Anya asked. She had seen Elise arrive with Karoline, Mayra, and Laura and knew they had taken her instead of her.
" Really? I wanted to go to the toy store with Mom, but she refused, saying she would take me later." Basmus said regretfully. He didn't know or care about their tension because it never interested him.
" Why should I tell you? You constantly yell at me." Elise faced away from Anya, which only made her mad.
" Tell me!" She shouted.
" See? Alright, we went to a place with lots of food! Then I ate a burger, and we walked around a beautiful building where many people greeted me. It was really cool!" Elise, despite her hesitation earlier when talking about it, was beaming and told her with animated arms. She wanted to tell anyone, even if it was Anya, that she didn't like much.
" Wow, I remember it was the same when I went out with my father. I really want him to take me there again." Basmus was enamored by her story. It was rare, but Oscar did take the children out to his office on occasion.
It was to nurture them about what he did and what their future could look like if they decided to pursue the family business. He didn't want to pressure them, but he also didn't want them to be ignorant of what the real world looked like.
" Go find Father then; I have something to talk to her privately." Anya, seeing her little brother was already 'bewitched,' decided to send him away. It would give her some time to make Elise understand the difference between them, and with Graysen not meddling in her affair, it was easier for her to do it in secrecy.
" Alright." Basmus left, leaving them alone.
" Right then, I don't think you completely understood what I wanted to warn you about yesterday. It's nice that you are getting along with everyone, but that doesn't mean you are one of us!" She glanced toward Graysen, who was still ignoring her despite her yelling it out.
" What do you mean?" Elise didn't understand the underlying meaning.
" Are you stupid or something? I am telling you that you are not family. Your family is dead!"
" Anya! You shouldn't say that-"
" Keep quiet; it's harder for her to understand because there was no one that could teach her about it. Am I right?" Anya looked at Elise with a malicious smile because she could see her expression changing.
" That's not true, I have Sami..and Aunt..and-"
" Big brother is not your family! You casually speak his name like you are friends. Do you even know who he is? Even your aunt is not your real family!" Anya paused to see that it was working before continuing.
" I heard they picked you up from the Orphanage, where people with no family go. They are only taking care of you because they feel sorry-" Suddenly, her voice cut off as someone slapped her face. It was not of a playful type, but the bang was heard by everyone present in the garden.
Anya looked at the one who slapped her. It was Karoline looking at her with a sad expression." Mother, why?" She asked.
" I am only stating the." Another slap came to her other cheek. Her whole face turned red, and with tears in her eyes, she looked at her mother with a questioning look.
" Go to your father; I thought I raised you better, but.. I am sorry." Karoline didn't say much; she just stood aside, facing her back toward her daughter. Anya didn't understand why her mother hit her, but she followed her orders and walked toward her father, who was standing a few feet away from them.
She had seen such expressions before, but it was from her brother, who was disappointed about the gift that he received last Christmas. Disappointed? Was Mother unhappy with me? Anya's mind was a mess.
Oscar took his two children and walked out of the garden. There were only Elise and Graysen left to deal with Karoline, who was still lost in thought. She looked toward Elise, who was a little scared of what had just happened. She disliked Anya, but it was brutal to see her getting slapped so hard.
" Elise, come here, baby." She went on her knees, making her look smaller, and called out for the little girl, who was still hesitant.
" It's okay, no need to be scared. I will not hurt you." Karoline thought that her roughing up her kid awoken latent memory of what Elise must have gone through in the past. She didn't know much, but she was able to see her scarred body, which immediately made her angry when she first saw it. How could any would be so cruel as to use her body as an ashtray?
Elise came closer with her head to the ground, fearing something terrible would happen to her, but Karoline just hugged her tightly.
" It's fine. I am sorry for what that idiot had said to you, alright? You are not alone. You have Sami and others to look after you. You understand, right?" She kept rubbing her back, consoling her. Eventually, Elise started crying, and after a few more words, it turned into an ugly cry.
" It's fine, baby, it's fine. No one will hurt you. I will teach them a lesson if they ever threaten you, alright." It took some time, but she was able to calm her down. She didn't know if it was stress or because they walked a lot, but Elise fell asleep in her arms.
She pulled her up in her embrace while looking at Graysen with contempt.
" I am disappointed in you. You should have stopped Anya when you knew what she was up to." She didn't wait around to hear his reply and left him lost in thought. Graysen, who was feeling better earlier, was left feeling conflicted.
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