Chapter 87
Elysia said , â No , Caellan , donât go ! Let me explain ! â
Elysia , ignoring the splitting pain in her head , struggled to get up and chase after him .
However , as soon as she stepped off the bed , her legs gave out beneath her , and she collapsed onto the floor .
The dull sound of her fall made Caellan instinctively glance back .
When he saw Elysia sprawled on the ground , his first instinct was to reach out and help her up .
But then Rowenaâs words echoed in his mind , and he quickly withdrew his hand , crossing it behind his back .
Straightening his posture , he stared down at her from above , his voice firm as he said , â Rowena already told me everything .
Youâre just like my brothers , born to my dadâs first wife .
â But unlike them , youâre evil .
You want to drive Rowena away , you want to drive away my mom , and you even tried to hurt me .
Hmph ! I wonât help you up .
â
With that , he turned and ran , leaving Elysia behind , her voice calling out faintly :
Elysia said , â Caellan ⦠Iâm your sister too .
You have promised me ⦠â
But her voice was too soft , and Caellan didnât hear her .
Even if he had , it was unlikely he would have believed the girl heâd barely met .
[ Damn it , Caellan ! How could you treat Elysia like that ? Even if Rowena shares your blood , doesnât Elysia ? ]
[ Itâs heartbreaking to see how brainwashed Caellan was by Rowena at just eleven years old .
Heâs just like his brothers â clearly raised by the same manipulative hand .
]
[ Please , Elysia , get up and chase after him ! Slap him across the face for me , or Iâll be uncomfortable all night .
]
[ Donât worry .
I see Caellan right now , sitting on the rooftop of the opposite building .
Once class is over , Iâm flying over there to slap him myself .
]
Caellan clenched his fists tightly , feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration and guilt .
Caellan thought , â Why ? Why didnât I recognize Elysia then ? Sheâd even mentioned The Little Prince , the story she used to read to me .
I should have known right then and there that she was the one who had cared for me all those years ago .
â Why did I believe Rowena ? Why did I , like a fool , accept her as the loving sister and dismiss Elysia without hesitation ? She must have been so disappointed in me .
â
Reflecting on the past , Caellan realized how blind he had been .
Ever since his eyesight recovered , Rowena hadnât told him a single story , sung him to sleep , or comforted him .
Heâd thought it was because heâd grown up .
But he had pushed away the one person who truly loved him .
Caellan thought , â Just the other day , Dad had mentioned that Mom couldnât eat pork .
â If thatâs the case , how could she have made me pork ribs ? It has to be Elysia â
He felt so stupid .
It should have been obvious , whether seven years ago or just a few days ago .
But he had ignored all the signs until the truth was shoved in his face .
Even when the truth was laid bare , he clung to his fantasies about Rowena , excusing her and hoping for the best .
Worse , he had defended her in front of millions of viewers , spouting such vile words about Elysia .
Caellan thought , â She must have seen it .
Elysia , who was so kind and gentle , must have been heartbroken by his words .
She probably hates me now , doesnât she ? â
â Iâm such an idiot ,â Caellan muttered angrily at himself .
His emotions swirled into a fiery rage â partly directed at Rowena for deceiving him and partly at himself for falling for it so easily .
As the intensity of his feelings built , he let out a loud â Ah ! â and instinctively raised his arm .
Ruby , startled , closed her eyes and shrieked , â Caellan , are you crazy ? If you want to hit yourself , fine , but can you not elbow me ? â
Caught off guard , Caellan stammered , â Who said I was going to hit myself ? â
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Chapter 87
But his guilty expression said otherwise .
He lowered his arm and awkwardly coughed , too embarrassed to apologize .
At least he hadnât given Elysia the milk or candy .
If she had known they were Rowenaâs castoffs , she would have been even more hurt .
What he didnât know was that after he ran off , Elysia slowly gathered the spilled candies from the floor and bed .
Carefully cradling them in her hands , she treated them like treasures and began eating them one by one .
This scene left everyone watching stunned , including Caellan .
â She ate them ? They were on the floor .
So dirt , Caellan thought .
What they didnât know was that in the twelve years between Elysia going missing and returning home , she hadnât tasted a single piece of candy .
Her memories of sweetness were sealed in the past , tied to the last piece of candy Torin had given her at his birthday party all those years ago .
As she sat there , leaning weakly against the wall , Elysia chewed the candies mechanically .
Her frail body seemed drained of all strength , and with every candy she swallowed , she let out a soft , bittersweet sigh .
â So sweet ⦠â
But there was no joy in her tone .
Instead , her words were laced with grief and indignation .
As time went on , she ate faster and faster , her breathing becoming erratic .
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared blankly at the handful of candies , her gaze hollow and lifeless .
While munching , she muttered to herself , â No one believes me ⦠Iâve never done anything bad ⦠Iâve never hurt anyone ⦠Iâve never bullied Rowena ⦠Why ⦠why wonât anyone believe me ? â
Her voice grew softer and softer , until it was barely audible â a question posed to herself , the candies , and the entire Drayton family .
When the last piece of candy disappeared into her mouth , Elysia sat there like a child abandoned by the world , her expression a mixture of loneliness and confusion .
This heart â wrenching scene moved many viewers to tears .
[ Elysia , please listen to me .
Itâs just a bag of candy .
Itâs not worth it .
Iâll buy you a whole box , okay ? ]
[ Elysia , you poor thing .
Are you telling me the Drayton family couldnât even spare a single bag of candy for her ? ]
[ Sorry to shift focus , but the candy looks weird .
My son is eating grape â flavored gummy candy right now , and the shape is a little bunch of grapes .
]
[ Now that you mention it , I feel like Iâve seen that candy before ⦠Canât recall where , but it might be some sketchy brand .
Rowena really knows how to disgust people .
]
Even Caellan started to panic and thought , â The candy was the same brand , so why were the shapes different ? Could there really be something wrong with it ? â
Their suspicions were confirmed when Elysia , after standing up , suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed back onto the bed .
No matter how hard she tried , she couldnât muster the strength to get up .
The dizziness wasnât like her usual fever â it was far stronger , a combination of overwhelming sleepiness and pain .
The sensation spread to Caellan through the shared connection , making him want to collapse into sleep himself .
But he wasnât the only one affected .
Soon , someone in the audience identified the problem :
[ Shit , I know this feeling .
Thatâs melatonin .
No doubt about it .
Caellan , you genius â giving Elysia melatonin candies .
One knocks me out cold ; ten- plus ? Might as well sleep for a hundred years .
]
[ My God .
You canât take that much melatonin at once ! Aside from nightmares and accelerated aging , it can damage your organs .
Caellan , youâre killing your sister ! ]
[ And tomorrowâs her placement test ! Will she even be able to wake up in time ? ]
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