Chapter 34
Suddenly , Torin remembered that on this particular day , Rowena hadnât called Rupert to come to school but had called him instead .
And what had le said to her back then ?
Ely * Torin spoke up , his tone sharp .
â Yesterday , you begged Dad to let you start school .
And now , on your very first day , youâre late ! â
Rowena , noticing that Torin had entirely missed the paint , rushed forward with a few dramatic solis .
â Torin , donât be mad anymore .
Itâs all my fault I shouldâve kept it a secret for her , she said .
Turning to Elysia , Rowena whimpered .
Tâm sorry , Elysia .
I donât know Mr.
Janes would call Torin
David , bearing this , gave Rowena an unusual look , thinking .
Hasrit she just told me that Mr.
Drayton is too busy , which is why she asked me to call her brother instead !
But then again , Rowenaâs just a kid .
How much scheming could she really manage ? Itâs probably just a slip of the tongue , saying in a moment of panic .
Deciding to go along with her story , David sighed and said , â Torin , your little sister was late , and when she got into a fight , I tried to step in , but she hit me .
Look here â
David rubbed his arm absentmindedly , wincing as if he could still feel the faint ache of the bite .
Then he gave Turin a pitying look
Torin , after all , was the high schoolâs living legend , top of his class every y year , winner of cureless competitions , and already accepted into Storford University .
Yet here he was , burdened with a rebellious sibling
Elysia , who was listening nearby , had tears welling up in her eyes .
Feeling the sting in her eyes , she lowered her head to hide her emotions quickly and kept quiet
Also , Elysia dared not interject a worl .
After all , David was a teacher at this school , and having already crossed him once , further displeasing hum might really result in her being expelled .
Meanwhile , Torinâs icy gaze bone into her , sharp enough to freeze anyone in their tracks .
Her silence only confirmed her guilt in his eyes .
Mr.
Jones .
Iâll handle this with them Torin said evenly ,
David thought , â Fine .
Youâre the academic star here .
Whatever you say goes
As soon as the door shut beland David Torin ruled Rowenaâs hair gemily , silently assuring her everything would be okay
Then , Torin asked Elysia coldly , â What does Rowena ever do to you ! What could she possibly have done to deserve being treated like this over and over again !
When Elysia didnât respond , Torin pressed on , his voice heavy with accusation â Say something Yesterday , you had plenty to say when you tried to explain yourself .
â Whatâs the matter now ? Cargo your tongue ! Or are you just trying to come up with another excuse to pin in all on Rowena ! â
Even though Elysiaâs chest tightened with every word , she said nothing .
She thought bitterly .
What can I say ? That I havenât bullied Rowenu ? That Ä° havenât skipped school ! â
Yesterdayâs confrontation replayed in her mind , and Elysia couldnât stop hearing that single , devastating word Torin had used .
Ridiculous
And now Elysia took a deep breath , trying to steady herself , but her thoughts spiraled out of control .
She thought .
If even my own brother doesnât believe me , then who in this world possibly could ?
â I didnât bully Rowena ,â Elysia said finally , her voice steady but pleading , â I didnât skip school , 1 swear I didnt .
Torin , you know me .
Canât you ⦠trust me , just this once ? â
When Elysia said that , her eyes were ablaze with emotion , carnest , raw , and tinged with unshed tears , But not a single tear fell .
e the same .
Torinâs brows furrowed further .
He replied , â I donât know you , Elysia All I know is that youâre my sister .
To me , you and Rowena are Thatâs it
Beyond her shared bloodline with him , Torin truly knew nothing about Elysia .
Torin thought .
What I do know ! That sheâs selfish , heartless , and cruel .
That she has left me to be taken by kidnappers And now , here she is , asking me to trust her again .
Donât know me .
Thatâs it Elysia thought , ber heart shattering into a thousand pieces .
In Torinâs eyes , she was no different from a stranger , just someone tied to him by family .
If not for our blood relation , would he rather I donât exist at all ?â Elysia wondered .
She had endured coundess hardships and clawed her way back to
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Chapter 34
them .
But now , she stood trembling like a flame on the verge of going out .
Unbeknownst to her , Torin was feeling just as broken .
Tim sorry .
.
Iâm so sorry â he muttered under his breath , his hand shaking as it covered his aching eyes .
Meanwhile , Torinâs mind raced with memories from ten years ago , memories that haunted him now .
He snapped to himself , Torin , not believing Elysia is bad enough .
But why do you have to hurt her too ?
Torin swore and there that when he saw Elysia again , heâd apologize , no matter what.
Heâd make things right .
In the meantime , the livestreamâs comment section exploded .
[ Why donât you believe her , Torin ? WHY ? ]
No investigation , no right to speak .
Torin , are all those books youâve read just for show !
Ugh , my heart .
This hurts so much .
I want to pull Rowena out of the screen and slap her !
[ Elysia has been so humble .
Torin , how could you say something so hurtful ? I wish I were her sister ! By the way , where does that shameless traitor Odessa runoff 10 ]
[ Odessa ? Junât that the quite famous singer ? Does she also do something wrong to Elystal )
Just watch the replay of yesterdayâs livestream to find out .
The things this woman did are much worse than what Torin and Fenwick did .
â Sull refusing to admit Torin asked , his cold voice snapped back to the present .
Fine , 111 take Rowena to the mineâs office .
But you ? Stay here until youâre ready to apologize to her â
and the door .
With that , Torin turned , scooping Rowena up from the couch and heading toward
However , Elysia just was standing there like a feless shell , her silent protest the only way she knew to declare her innocence .
Just before he stepped out , Torin paused and glanced over his shoulder .
â Not here , Stand outside .
Donât get in anyoneâs way , â he said coldly .
If Elysia had any bape left , it was extinguished entirely by those words .
[ Wow .
I take back everything .
Both of them are awful .
Standing in front of the whole school and apologizing to Rowena ? Really ?
[ Why does Rowena need the nurse every time ? Isnât that embarrassing at some point )
[ Itâs called pretending to be sick .
And judging by her tears , sheâs probably great aric )
[ Alright , maybe you guys have a point but I still think Elysia betraying Torin over such a small matter is wrong .
Iâm just a low â level employee arthe Drayton Group , but Iâve seen enough to know what Elysiaâs really like .
)
[ Yeah , Iâve got something to say too .
Iâm one of Elysiaâs classmates .
Sure , she might be innocent in this case , but sheâs definitely guilty of the bad things sheâs done later .
We didnât make those up ! I
Torin stared at the endless stream of cominents flooding the screen , his heart burning with a surge of unexplainable anger .
Why do people always try to dismiss the injustices Elysia has suffered by bringing up her past mistakes ! Even Fenwick isnât any different , Torin thought
â Torin , donât you remember ? Elysia tore up your exam admission ticket before .
She stole Rowenaâs hairclip .
Oh , and thereâs more .
Fenwick said , his tone utterly devoid of guilt or empathy .
Fenwickâs face was cold and indifferent li seemed eager to fast â forward to the parts where Elysis was at fault .
But this wasnât some silly puzzle game ! Did Elysiaâs future mistakes somehow erase the unfair treatment she was enduring now ?
â Sheâs your sister , Fenwick ! Your real sister ! Not some enemy youâre trying to take down ! â Torin shouted .
Fenwick flinched at the outburst , clearly unprepared for Toninâs anger .
It was the first time in years since heâd become an adult .
Torin had shouted at him so many times .
Being a public figure , Fenwick couldnât help but feel a flicker of indignation .
Yet that annoyance , instead of turning inward , redirected inelf toward Fi
â In just two days .
Torin defends her above all else .
Finel Fenwick thought bitterly .
If thatâs how it is , then Rowena can be my only sister
Then Ferwick glanced at the unconscious Rowena and sighed .
He couldnât help but wonder when she would finally wake up .
Not that it mattered , it was all Elysiaâs fault anyway .