270 Ch. 270 Anxiaâs Way Of Comfort
Anxia hugged Elliot tightly while rocking the boyâs petite frame as if holding a crying baby. âDonât cry. Please, donât cry. I donât blame you for what happened, and why are you even blaming yourself?â
Elliotâs hands gripped the cloth of his motherâs clothes, trembling, and his crying intensified when he felt his mother repeatedly kissing the top of his head.
âMama⦠you wonât blame me?â Elliot asked with a trembling voice that could make Anxiaâs heart feel like it was breaking into pieces.
Elliot had always smiled at her for as long as she could remember, and the boyâs black eyes shone like a beautiful galaxy. But the more she got to know this child inside and out, the darker the dark reality she found.
If Elliot had continued to stay in this place any longer, this boyâs mental state would have been crushed beyond measure.
âMy dear, I would never blame you. Whatever happens here, your father and I will never blame you. Remember it well.â
âYou still wonât blame me even if Sister Mei Yin and Aunt Jamie are injured?â
âAre they hurt?â
Elliot didnât answer her and looked at Anxia, biting his lower lip hard. Anxia realized that, at this moment, her son was waiting for her answer and was worried about the answer she would give.
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âNo. I wouldnât blame you even if they got hurt. If someone is to blame, blame the person who hurt them.â
âBut I made them hurt.â
âDid you hit them?â
âNo,â Elliot answered, shaking his head.
âDid you hurt them with hurtful words?â
âNo.â
âThen itâs not you who makes them hurt.â
âButâ¦â
âElliot, you canât blame people for not doing anything.â
âBut⦠arenât I to blame as well for doing nothing? I knew grandma would punish aunt Jamie because I did something she disliked. But I kept quiet and didnât do anything to help her. Now⦠theyââ his sentence was cut off when Anxia hugged him tightly.
âNo one blames you, Elliot. Iâm sure Jamie and Mei Yin wonât blame you either.â
âButâ¦â
âWhat about Mei Yin? She promised me not to leave you alone, but she left and let someone else hurt you. Do you blame her?â
Elliot shook his head, quickly answering his mother. âNo. I donât blame her.â
âThen you must blame me for leaving you alone here.â
âNo.â Elliotâs eyes filled with tears again as he saw that his motherâs expression seemed filled with regret, and she blamed herself for being unable to protect him. âItâs not your fault.â
âNo, itâs my fault. I shouldnât have been fooled and realized I had you with Lori. But someone else had tricked me and separated me from my children. I really am stupid, am I not?
âNo! Donât say that.â Elliot could no longer hold his tears and wailing. âI donât blame you or papa. Itâs grandmaâs fault! It was her...â Elliotâs words trailed off as he realized his motherâs intention.
Elliotâs tears didnât stop flowing when he saw the gentle smile of his mother, who looked at him lovingly as if he was the only person who meant the most to his mother.
âNow you understand, right? Whatever happened in this place was not your fault. You are still young and have a long time to learn many things in this world. No one will blame you even if you do nothing and stay silent. But otherwise, Iâd be pissed off if you hid the fact you were injured or acted alone in jeopardizing your own life. Did Song Lei do this?â Anxia touched the reddish bruise on her sonâs neck gently.
âSong Lei?â
âThe one whose face has a long scar.â
Elliot nodded his head. This was the first time he knew the name of the person who had tortured him. It wasnât like he had never heard of his name, but he deliberately didnât want to find out.
âI will thrash himââ
âMama,â prevented Elliot when he sensed his mother was about to put him down and was planning to beat up Song Lei, âPapa said he won against him.â Elliot continued, relieved when his mother stopped moving.
His father didnât say he had beaten Song Lei to the punch, but Richard said he had dealt more punches than his opponent had hit him. Richard also didnât say that his fighting opponent would be Song Lei, but Elliot suspected and hoped that Richard had indeed beaten Song Lei.
Hence, Elliot didnât want his mother to come out to challenge Song Lei. He felt sad when he saw the purplish bruises on his fatherâs cheek, and he didnât want to see his mother get hurt because she had to fight with that âmonsterâ man.
âPapa? Did he come here last night?â
âEn.â Elliot nodded his head. A faint smile on his face made Anxia realize that her son was reminiscing about the moment he and his father had together last night.
âYou must be happy to be alone with papa, huh?â Anxiaâs teasing made Elliot lower his face to hide his blush. His face was red from crying too much, so his complexion wasnât changed.
âElliot, from now on, I will never leave you. So you, too, never leave my sight as long as we are here.â
Elliot nodded his head in agreement with his motherâs words.
âAnd one more. You can use your acting skills, and I know what role you are suited for today.â
Elliot blinked a few times to process the meaning of his motherâs words. But suddenly, when he saw his motherâs grin that he had never seen before, his body shivered in horror. Elliot even could almost see the two horns on his motherâs head. Why did it feel like he saw a demoness?
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Meanwhile, behind the basement bars, a whisper called Mei Yinâs name, who was still unconscious. Mei Yin groaned in pain as she tried to move her hand. With great difficulty, she opened her eyelids and glanced at the voice calling her.
Liam? Whatâs that guy doing here?
âThereâs a message for you. The time is tomorrow.â
Hearing the announcement, Mei Yin no longer felt pain in her body. âIâll be ready tonight.â
âWhat about your wound?â
Mei Yin turned her body to support her hands so she could get up from her lying position. She groaned in pain as her injured hand hit the ground, but she still tried to stay awake. Then, she looked straight into Liamâs eyes with a gaze filled with incredible determination.
âA wound like this wonât prevent me from leaving this rotten place.â
Liam nodded his head at that. âYour boyfriend will be at his spot tomorrow night at eight.â
Mei Yinâs smile widened upon hearing that, and her pair of eyes that had looked overcast shone again as if they saw a new hope.