Upon hearing a noise, Balfour turned his head towards one of the two rooms that he had deemed off-
limits in the Howard household the former room of his sister, Pearl Howard. The door was ajar, and he could see that Ellinor was in the room, squatting down with a music box in her hands, seemingly deep in thought.
Upon hearing Patriciaâs voice, Ellinor slowly lifted her gaze towards the siblings.
Suddenly, Patricia shrieked, âEllinor, what the hell did you do to my sisterâs music box? That was her favorite when she was a kid!â
Ellinor was taken aback. She wasnât surprised by Patriciaâs accusation but simply stood up and calmly said, âI didnât do it.â
Shock painted Patriciaâs face as she took the now broken music box from Ellinorâs hands. After inspecting it, she exclaimed with regret, âWhat the hell? Itâs really broken!â
Then, Patricia turned to apologize to Balfour, âBalfour, Iâm sorry! I just went to grab a drink for Ellinor, and she wandered into Pearlâs room and messed up the music box. Itâs all my fault. Donât blame her, blame me!â
Patricia was well aware of Balfourâs intolerance for anyone stepping foot in his sisterâs room, let alone damaging anything in it.
Once, a maid accidentally snagged the roomâs curtain with her shoe while cleaning, making Balfour livid. So he punished her severely.
Thatâs why the room was usually locked, and nobody dared enter it.
Everything in the room remained exactly as it was before Pearl disappeared.
Patricia was actually displeased with this room, but she didnât dare go against Balfour. So she never touched anything in it.
Today, under the pretense of Ellinor, she seized the opportunity to cause some havoc in the room.
Now, with Ellinor âbreakingâ Pearlâs favorite music box, even as the woman who saved their grandfatherâs life, she would surely face Balfourâs wrath.
While Patricia couldnât completely be rid of Ellinor, at least she could take some satisfaction in seeing her get a taste of Balfourâs punishment.
Balfour walked into the room and took the broken music box from Patricia. After glancing at the shattered glass bear on the floor, he simply sighed and said, âItâs cool; we can just get it fixed.â
Patricia was stunned; her eyes were wide with disbelief, âWhat?!â
What the hell?!
That was Pearlâs favorite music box, and some stranger just broke it!
And Balfour didnât even lose his cool?!
Balfour had a mysterious look on his face as he told Patricia, âPatri, go check on the kid. Iâll take care of our grandfatherâs savior.â
Patricia didnât get what she expected, so her heart was filled with frustration and confusion.
What the hell was going on? Why wasnât Balfour mad? Why wasnât he blaming Ellinor?
She didnât want to leave, âBalfour, thereâs a nanny taking care of Baber. Can I stick around with you and Ellinor?â