I just want to be with you

"And here."

Nodding, Gianna looked through the elementary questions and realized they were indeed quite tough for a young girl of Aurora's age. They were quantitative and required significant thinking.

Gianna pulled a chair closer to the bed, settling beside Aurora as she studied the questions. "Alright, let's take them one at a time," she said, grabbing a pencil. "Number three… okay, this one is about fractions. Do you remember what we learned about denominators?"

Aurora nodded eagerly, but then, realizing something, immediately scrunched her brows in uncertainty. "Uhm… they have to be the same when adding?"

Gianna smiled. "Exactly. Now, look at these two fractions—how do we make the denominators the same?"

Aurora stared at the numbers, chewing on the end of her pencil. "I think… we have to find a common number?" she finally said, looking up at her sister for confirmation.

Gianna nodded. "Yes! A common multiple. Let's find one for these two numbers."

"Sure! So for 12 and 24... their common multiple would be what?"

"Mmmm, 24?"

"Yup, 24. You are so smart. You got it."

"I took after you, Sister." The young girl smiled, her eyes twinkling.

Gianna stared at her for a few seconds and end up chuckling. And her smile made Aurora's smile deepened, to faint dimples showing on her cheeks.

When they reached the second question, Aurora put down her pencil. "Sister, I need to go to the bathroom for a moment."

"Okay, sure." Gianna nodded.

Getting down from the bed, Aurora immediately headed to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Gianna continued looking through the questions, checking the ones Aurora had completed by herself to see if she got them right or if there were any error. But to her surprise, Aurora actually got all the ones she has done by herself correct.

She finally focused on question seven. Needing space to scribble some calculations, she absentmindedly grabbed the workbook, flipped it open, and was about to write when she suddenly noticed something—the question she had just solved was already written there.

What's going on?

She adjusted her posture and flipped through the workbook, realizing that all the questions, including the ones Aurora had claimed not to know how to solve, were already completely answered. And the handwriting? It was clearly Aurora's.

"Sister! I'm done—" Aurora's tiny voice rang out as she returned to the room.

"Mmm..." Gianna lifted her head. As she did, Aurora's gaze landed on the workbook in her hand. Her eyes widened momentarily, and her face turned pale.

That reaction confirmed Gianna's suspicions.

"You already did it by yourself?"

"I—I..."

Gianna tilted her head, observing the young girl, who was now staring at her feet.

"Why did you lie?"

"I—I..." Aurora twisted her fingers together, visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed as she kept her gaze on her toes. Her voice was even softer now, barely audible.

Gianna set down the workbook and said gently, "I won't scold you, okay? I just want to know why."

Her comforting tone seemed to calm Aurora a little. The girl finally lifted her head and spoke properly this time. "I just wanted to be with you."

Gianna froze for a moment, her expression darkening.

"Why?" After a few moments of silence, she finally managed to speak, though her voice came out hoarse.

Aurora pursed her lips, her eyes darting around before she finally admitted. "Mommy is always busy and doesn't have time for me. Andrea prefers playing games instead of spending time with me. You're the only one who always asks how I'm feeling and if my day and night went well... So uhm, I just wanted to spend some time with you."

Gianna's heart clenched at Aurora's words. The little girl looked so small, so vulnerable, yet so sincere. Gianna hadn't realized just how lonely Aurora must have felt all this time—growing up with an absent father and a mother who was physically present but emotionally absent. It must have been so tough.

A wave of guilt washed over her as she thought about how easily Aurora had been overlooked—to the point where she had to pretend just to get a little attention. She was just a child, still growing. It's often said that how you're treated when you're young shapes who you become as an adult. Hopefully, it wasn't too late.

Slowly, Gianna reached out and took Aurora's small hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "Aurora," she murmured, her voice softer than before. "You don't have to pretend to struggle just to spend time with me, okay? You can always come to me whenever you want."

Aurora blinked up at her, a flicker of surprise and happiness shining in her wide eyes. "Really?"