CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 86: REALITY

"Won’t you tell about your side of the story?" Betty suddenly asked, making Lana surprised. before she broke out in laughter.

"I already told you my story. What’s more is left?"

"Lana, I belong to a rich family myself and know how disgusting and complex politics can get sometimes." Betty’s face was grim, and her words voiced the doubt ignored by many.

If someone ever told Betty that the rich have it easy, she would disagree the most.

Lana arched a brow. How perceptive.

But...

"I lived a carefree life." Lana’s voice hardly betrayed any emotions. "They funded my school. When I requested to attend this university, they even donated a building. As their daughter, I never suffered. Though now, as a stranger... I might see their different face."

Now the entire cultivation room fell silent.

The judgment they felt earlier vanished into thin air, while their heart echoed a single thought, ’Why was Lana so nonchalant?’

If there was someone else at her place, maybe they would have cried, tried to mention their hard life, and might have even revealed the inner politics of the Almond family, but Lana didn’t...

It wasn’t some holy saint moment. No... it showed how sharp Lana was.

She cherished her words and refrained from speaking too much. Like a strategic planner waiting for the right moment.

Another fact that could be inferred was about Lana as a person.

If she can still remain silent, she is either guilty or has deep feelings for the Almond family.

Mr. Crow frowned; he was reminded of the day when he had a vision about Aston and how much Lana had done.

He disagreed with her approach and was about to speak when he found himself in a beautiful pink room.

Though decorated with the color pink, it didn’t look tacky; instead, it had a touch of mature charm hidden underneath it.

At the center of the room was a pink bed, on which only a figure was lying.

Mr. Crow quickly realized that the figure was Lana. Her shoulder shook several times, while her ink-black hair covered her face. Yet, Mr. Crow could say with certainty that she was crying.

His heart throbbed with anxiety as he desperately wanted to check on Lana; however, he couldn’t move at all.

The next second, the room’s door was pushed open, and a figure stepped in.

Aston.

The moment that jerk appeared, Mr. Crow was furious and wanted to scratch his face, but due to invisible restraints, he couldn’t do much and watched helplessly as Aston covered the distance between him and Lana.

"There, there. Why are you crying? Look, I have brought you your favorite chocolates!"

"Brother..." Lana’s voice was filled with raw pain, and she sniffed, "He ignored me again! And even my gifts were thrown away! How can he be so cruel? I won’t like him anymore!"

Lana’s face was finally visible to Mr. Crow. She looked around 15, and her face still had a bit of baby fat, making her appear cute.

Aston smiled faintly at her words, the kind of smile that never reached his eyes but held a softness reserved only for her. He sat beside her on the bed, gently patting her head.

"Don’t cry over people like him," he said in that soothing, mature voice of his, the one Lana always found reassuring.

"He doesn’t deserve your attention. You’re special, Lana. Don’t let anyone make you forget that."

"But, Brother..." Lana’s small voice trembled again. "He said I was just using my family’s name. That I... " she hiccupped, "that I’m spoiled and fake."

Aston’s hand froze for a moment before continuing its rhythm against her head.

"He is stupid then! He can’t see a diamond like you." His gaze darkened briefly, and his voice lowered, almost as if he was talking to himself.

Lana pouted before hugging Aston. "Brother, why can’t he see my sincere feelings?"

"He is blind. Our Lana is the best." Aston murmured and patted her head.

.....................

The next second, the scene changed, and this time Mr. Crow saw Lana going downstairs in the dead of the night to get some snacks and paused when she heard the sounds of whispering.

"Sigh! That boy truly takes our Lana for granted! He needs to be punished!" Aston’s voice, laced with raw anger, echoed, followed by a stern voice,

"Let’s give him a lesson in secret! How dare he mistreat her?"

Lana paused before her lips curled into a huge smile. The sadness lingering in her eyes vanished into thin air.

"And let’s take her out to an amusement park. She loves the thrilling rides!" Aston’s voice was laced with doting.

"Hm! I agree! I will take a day off!"

........................

The next day, indeed, Aston and Leonard took Lana to an amusement park, while Lana smiled like a carefree, spoiled rich heiress.

"Thank you so much!" Lana excitedly hopped and turned toward Aston and Leonard. "I couldn’t believe you both booked the entire amusement park just for me!"

Aston chuckled softly at her excitement, his hands tucked in his pockets as he watched her run toward the carousel like a child who had never known sorrow.

"Of course," he said, his eyes following her. "Our princess deserves the best, doesn’t she, Leonard?"

Leonard smirked from the side, sunglasses resting on his nose despite the cloudy weather. "Damn right!"

........................

They say the most painful thing in this world is to lose something you already had, and Mr. Crow understood Lana’s nature somehow.

A spoiled princess, losing her doting brother, and though acting unaffected and sassy, she still holds onto the memories she couldn’t forget.

His heart throbbed painfully, and his beady eyes turned slightly moist.

Sometimes it’s not the people we can’t move on from, but the memories that leave us reluctant to believe the current reality.

The vast gap made Lana unable to cope with the reality, and still... she puts on a smile and pretends to be unaffected.

Unlike before... this time Mr. Crow felt a gaping hollowness in his heart.