Lena hurried to Charlotte Lewis's gallery, but Lia Aiken was no longer there.
"Sister Charlotte, you said Sister Lia left? Where did she go?" Lena asked worriedly. "She's not in a good mood, how could you let her go, Sister Charlotte?"
The big brother sent her over to accompany Sister Lia, now Sister Lia's gone, where will they find her?
Charlotte was feeding her daughter porridge, glanced at Lena, and said, "Lia said she wanted to see her mom. Lena, don't worry, Lia is a strong person, she can handle these small setbacks."
After talking heart-to-heart with Charlotte, Lia decided to go home and take a look.
Charlotte was actually not at ease either, but Lia insisted on leaving, so Charlotte could only repeatedly caution her.
"Did Sister Lia go back to River City?"
Charlotte's daughter was very familiar with Lena, and while her mom and Lena were talking, she stretched out her little hands toward Lena, calling out in a baby voice, "Auntie hug."
Lena reached out and picked her up, then sat down next to Charlotte to make it easier for her to continue feeding her daughter porridge.
"Yes," Charlotte scooped up a spoonful of porridge into her daughter's mouth. The little girl wanted to grab the small spoon, Charlotte gently patted her little hand. She blinked and looked at her mom, then said, "Auntie feed."
Charlotte helplessly said to Lena, "Little girl wants you to feed her."
Lena laughed and took the small spoon, "I'll feed her." She really liked children, especially Brother Jimmy's daughter, although she's too young to talk yet, Charlotte's daughter was more fun.
The little girl liked being fed by Lena and quickly finished half a bowl of porridge.
"Do you want more?"
Lena asked her.
The little girl shook her head, touched her small belly, and said in a baby voice, "I'm full."
Lena deliberately touched her little belly, "You are indeed full. Then, do you want to go for a walk? Auntie will talk to your mom."
The little girl tilted her head to look at Lena, put on a thoughtful expression, then nodded after thinking.
Charlotte finished washing the bowl, came out of the small kitchen, and brought Lena a cup of herbal tea, "Lia is a bit lost right now and wants some peace, let's just let her have some peace."
"My brother is very worried about her."
Lena said, "I'm also very worried, she's the only sister-in-law I have a good feeling about."
She was the one who made the match.
Lena thought about how everything was warm and delightful in the morning, but things quickly turned sour, truly unpredictable.
"However, I trust my judgment and my brother's judgment, Sister Lia will get through this."
Charlotte nodded, "Just finding out about her background, she's bound to feel very upset. Her relationship with her dad wasn't good, knowing her background also means understanding why her dad treated her that way. Once, she hated her dad, now she doesn't even know whether to continue hating him. As for her mom, she doesn't remember much but cares deeply, and because she cares, she was threatened by her dad for years, this is what hurts her the most, what makes it hardest to accept."
Lena thought about what she saw and sighed heavily.
…
Lia returned to River City when it was already night.
She didn't go directly to the cemetery but went to her gallery first.
Closing the door of the gallery, she stood alone in front of the easel where there was an unfinished portrait of a woman. Judging by the outline, the portrait resembled Lia herself immensely, but it was not a self-portrait, it was her mother's portrait.
She often went to pay respects to her deceased mother, faced with her mother's photo on the tombstone, she etched her mother's appearance in her mind. She painted many portraits of her mother, unable to capture her well before due to her inadequate skills. Now she could open her own gallery, her painting skills have improved significantly, and the portraits of her mother are strikingly similar.
Picking up the brush, she continued painting, but all she could think about was her deceased mother, she suddenly felt sick.
She couldn't continue painting any longer.
Reaching for the canvas, she tore it off the board, ripped it to shreds, scattered it, and in an instant, the floor was covered in torn paper.
She tried to paint something else but couldn't, not even a blade of grass or a flower.
In just an hour, Lia didn't know how many pieces of paper she tore apart, the floor was blanketed in white, all shredded drawing paper.
Once again dissatisfied with her work, she threw away her brush, knocked down the easel, stood up, found all the portraits of her deceased mother, tore them one by one, and while tearing them, she squatted on the floor, hugged her knees, and cried.
"Knock knock."
A sound at the door arose.
Lia ignored it.
"Lia, I know you're inside, I saw the light on in your gallery. Lia, open the door, I'm your fiancé."
It was Ethan Aibileen.
"Lia, if you don't open the door, I'll have someone break it open." Ethan kicked the door twice, then leaned against it, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, smoking while saying, "Lia, I have something to tell you about your background. Don't you want to know why your dad was so bad to you?"
Ethan thought it was River City's news that Lia hadn't heard yet.
"Lia, I really like you now, no matter if you're your dad's daughter or not, I'm willing to marry you. With such a background, I'm sure Ivan Horne wouldn't be interested in you, so be with me. After all, your dad is determined to marry you off to me."
Having spoken for a while, Ethan kicked the door again, shouting loudly, "Lia, come out. I know you're inside. If you don't come out now, I'll really have my Bodyguards break through your door, and you know my Bodyguards can be a bit rough. If they break your door and hurt you, it'll really make my heart ache."
Lia was in a bad mood, and Ethan still came knocking, so she found a broom inside and went to open the door. Hearing the door open, Ethan turned around, grinning, but before he could say anything, Lia hit him with the broom right on his face.
Caught off guard, Ethan was hit several times by Lia.
"Lia!"
Ethan received a few hits before grabbing the broom, his face darkened as he yelled in anger, "You dared hit me, you, you, you're crying?"
Using force, he snatched the broom and threw it aside, stepped forward wanting to touch Lia's face. That adorable face was full of tear stains, it made his heart ache, but before he could touch Lia's face, she slapped his hand away hard.
"Ethan, if you don't want to die, get out immediately!"
Lia glared at Ethan, warning him, "Don't think I can be easily bullied, if you anger me, who ends up at a loss is uncertain."
"Lia, I really like you, why don't you believe me? Even though I have many women, I only want to marry you. Isn't that enough? Before you were the Aiken Family's first daughter, now, will Tom Aiken still let you hold that title? I'm still willing to marry you, that's true love for you. Don't be ungrateful, alright? Come on, let me wipe your tears."
As Ethan was speaking, he wanted to reach out to touch Lia's face again.
An icy voice sounded, "Ethan, try touching her."
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