Chapter 4

The silence answered my question for Wylie.

I didn't want to argue with him anymore and turned to leave.

Wylie grabbed my arm tightly. "Don't go, Elise. I'll take Aria home in a minute. Can you wait for me?"

He drooped his eyebrows, looking like a big dog that had made a mistake, staring at me with moist eyes.

This familiar tone, Wylie used to talk to me like this often. Every time he made me angry, I would forgive him immediately if he just softened a little like this.

But this time, I only felt that his tone was full of perfunctory impatience.

I broke free from his grip, stepping back two paces to distance myself from him, not looking at the shock and hurt appearing on his face.

Just as the atmosphere froze to its extreme, Aria bounced in.

The swelling on her face had not yet subsided, but she was beaming with joy.

"Wylie! Sam messaged me. I can go see Master Thorn in a week!"

Her cheerful voice came to an abrupt halt when she saw Wylie and me in our tense standoff.

"What are you doing?"

The question came out sounding hurt, as if we had been caught in bed together.

"Wylie, my face still hurts."

Aria looked at Wylie, her eyes brimming with tears that were about to spill over.Wylie made no attempt to console her.

Her fist clenched at her side as her gaze fell upon the box I was cradling protectively.

"What's that?"

I turned, trying to conceal the box behind me, but this action only piqued Aria's curiosity further.

She strode over quickly, grabbing the handle of the box and attempting to wrench it from my arms.

Startled, I gritted my teeth and held on tight.

The dress, the necklace, I could let those go. Heck, even Wylie, I could hand over to her.

But not this box. No one was going to snatch it from me!

I clung to the box for dear life, but Aria's determination was ignited, and she pulled even harder.

With a loud "bang," the aging box finally gave way under our tug-of-war, bursting open.

Quick as a flash, I crouched down, swiftly closing the box and saving most of the small sculptures.

But I couldn't protect the sculpture of three little figures embracing.

It fell to the ground, spinning around a couple of times before coming to a stop.

The world stood still as I stared at the sculpture in shock.

The long-haired figure on the right hit the ground first, its head snapping off almost instantly, separating from the body.

The remaining two figures were preserved intact thanks to her sacrifice, though the taller figure's face still bore damp traces, giving it a sorrowful appearance.Only the small figure in the center smiled towards me, as if wanting to share its happiness with me.

Seeing my reaction, Aria roughly understood that this sculpture was something very important to me.

Her voice, tinged with schadenfreude, came from above: "Sorry, sis. I accidentally broke your thing. Want me to help fix it? It'll be quick."

As she said this, she bent down to pick up the head of the long-haired figurine that had fallen to the ground.

"Don't touch her!"

I screamed, my long-suppressed emotions bursting forth, startling Aria.

She grumbled as she stood up. I sprang to my feet in a flash, pushing her away with all my might.

Cradling the box, I carefully avoided the sculpture on the floor, grabbing everything within reach and hurling it at Aria.

Shoes, keys - just as I was about to swing a nearby chair at her with one hand, Wylie stopped me.

"Elise, calm down. It's just a sculpture. I'll get someone to restore it for you later."

I swung the chair backwards, smashing it against Wylie's head.

Amidst Aria's shocked cry, a large red patch instantly appeared on Wylie's temple.

"Just a sculpture?"

I stared at Wylie in disbelief: "You know perfectly well what this sculpture means to me."He seemed to remember something and didn't answer. Instead, he bent down to pick up the statue that had broken into two pieces and placed them in my suitcase.

"Aria didn't mean any harm. She's just a bit too curious sometimes. Don't hold it against her."