Chapter 16
Selene couldn’t believe it. She was determined to enter the orphanage.
“She looks so much like my Ellie, and her name is Eleanor too. How could she not be my daughter?”
Kane’s patience snapped.
“Your daughter was already lost in the fire Lillian set!”
Selene paused for a moment, tears streaming down her face, yet she resolutely stepped into the orphanage.
Kane watched her go, choosing not to stop her.
Firstly, he couldn’t keep blocking her path forever.
Secondly, some walls needed to be hit before a person could learn to turn back.
Sure enough, two hours later, Selene emerged, looking utterly defeated.
She seemed bewitched, muttering incessantly to herself:
“It has to be my Ellie, how could it not be?”
Kane climbed back into his car, and Selene joined him, both engulfed in silence.
Since uncovering Lillian’s true nature and learning all that Eleanor had endured over the years, they hadn’t spoken to each other.
Even if they crossed paths in the street, they would pass by as if strangers, burdened by the mutual blame for the harm done to Ellie, and even more by their own guilt.
Finally, Kane broke the silence.
“Mrs. Yates, I hope you won’t come here again.”
“She’s not Ellie, and I don’t want her peace disrupted.”
Selene huffed indignantly, “If she’s not Ellie, why do you keep coming here, showing such concern?”
“Besides, whether she is or isn’t, what I choose to do is none of your business!”
“Kane, you can’t be so selfish. You’re not the only one who can’t let go of Ellie!”
She finished speaking, got out of the car, and walked away.
Their disagreement meant they parted on bad terms.
The next day, however, both Kane and Selene returned to the orphanage.
They exchanged glances, sharp and unyielding, yet it didn’t stop them from showering Eleanor with affection.
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Chapter 16
Eleanor, in turn, remained indifferent, treating them as if they were invisible.
Whether they visited for a day, a week, or a month…
She remained unmovable, as solid as a rock.
Until one day, Lillian, having followed Selene, showed up there as well.
That day, Eleanor had just finished grading the children’s assignments when she looked up to see Lillian at the door.
Dressed in punk attire, Lillian’s rebellious nature was evident, not just a stylistic choice but a reflection of her core.
Her look towards Eleanor was sinister and mocking, like a cat toying with a mouse.
“Eleanor,” Lillian called, her tone leaving no room for doubt.
It was as if she was certain this was the Eleanor who had been donating bone marrow for over twenty years.
“Weren’t you supposed to be ashes by now? How are you alive again?”
“Could it be that there’s something to this soul–swapping nonsense?”
“And you said life was so exhausting, why not just end it all? Wouldn’t that be easier?”
Eleanor had once been baffled by how her own sister could be so cruel.
Now she understood that some people are born without a heart.
As Lillian approached, Eleanor suddenly raised her hand and slapped Lillian across the face.
Confronting Lillian’s shocked and venomous gaze, Eleanor regarded her as one would view trash.
“You urged me to die. Don’t you think you deserve a slap for that?”
“Eleanor!” Lillian snarled through clenched teeth. “If I could push you to death once, I can do it again!”
“Is that so?”
Eleanor suddenly grabbed Lillian and pinned her against the windowsill, her body half–dangling outside, swaying with the breeze, as if she might fall at any moment.
Lillian struggled frantically, “Let me go!”
Eleanor released her grip slightly.
“Ah!”
Lillian screamed, immediately clutching Eleanor’s arm for dear life.
Eleanor looked down at her, speaking softly:
Chapter 16
“I’ll say this once–1 value my life dearly.”
“If you have a death wish and insist on tempting fate, I might just oblige”
