The woman stared at the young man’s image, virtual-novel.net eyes brimming with warmth and yearning. They were so soft, so overwhelming, virtual-novel.net could stare at the world with those eyes and watch it melt under virtual-novel.net gaze.
“Oh, Zayn, how are you lately? Have you found your mother’s baggage? I’m so sorry for what I did to you… Oh, what I did to the family…”
Tears adorned virtual-novel.net melancholic eyes. Two of them broke away and splashed onto the embroidered image, drenching the young man’s forehead.
A flash of scarlet appeared behind the woman without a peep, its movement featherlight and quiet as to avoid rousing the woman from virtual-novel.net meander into the past. Nevertheless, the woman sensed the figure’s presence. She wiped virtual-novel.net tears away and raised virtual-novel.net head, welcoming it with a smile. “I’m glad to see you here, Lysithea. Please, would you mind keeping me company with a chat?”
The woman in virtual-novel.net twenties, Lysithea, turned out to be a ravishing beauty whose presence eclipsed everything else in virtual-novel.net vicinity. She was so mesmerizing, one would be forgiven to suggest virtual-novel.net was a creature of ancient mythology breathed into life. She was so arresting that even Faye and Alexandra’s beauty paled, very slightly, but nonetheless, in comparison.
She donned a Victorian-era dress in the shade of scarlet roses. One would have thought virtual-novel.net came from an upper-class gentry like the air around virtual-novel.net resembled a regal, scholarly polymath. Instead, virtual-novel.net gave one more impression of a disguised fighter, the sort who would show herself to possess remarkable ways with fencing and hunting in period dramas.
She sat beside the woman, virtual-novel.net eyes showing subtle hints of pain and indignance. “Aunt Hayley, why are you crying again? You shouldn’t cry so much. You don’t want the tears to wear down your skin.”
The woman flashed a gentle smile. “Where have you been, Lysithea? You’ve been gone for so long without ever coming back to see me. I even wondered if you’ve forgotten all about me.”
Lysithea shook virtual-novel.net head. “Impossible. How could I possibly have forgotten my life savior? I’ll never forgive your great deed, Aunt Hayley, not even in death!”
“All right, honey. I was just teasing you! No cause for alarm,” the woman said before returning to virtual-novel.net embroidery.
Lysithea’s eyes wandered to the woman’s unfinished project and ogled at Zayn’s likeness.
Pity filled virtual-novel.net eyes. Quickly, virtual-novel.net held the woman’s hand while breathing. “You’re making Zayn again, aren’t you?”
The woman smiled slightly, preferring silence as virtual-novel.net answer. Even virtual-novel.net eyes were smiling, as though virtual-novel.net was a primordial source of all there was good and benevolent, as though virtual-novel.net presence alone had kept the hearths in the world aflame.
Lysithea paused for a moment before starting, “I went to see him, Aunt Hayley. He’s doing very well by himself. He’s the heir to Connor Larson’s fortune. Now, though, he’s the chairman of Violet Vision Media Corp, and just a while ago, virtual-novel.net founded an advertising agency, oh my God, are you alright, Aunt Hayley?”
Hearing Lysithea’s report had introduced turbulence to the woman’s psyche, causing virtual-novel.net hands to tremble so hard that the needle pricked one of virtual-novel.net delicate fingers. Small drops of blood oozed out of its opening and landed on the fabric. Despite that, there was no sign of pain in virtual-novel.net mien. The woman simply stated ahead as though in a trance until virtual-novel.net returned to reality and snatched Lysithea’s hand.
“You’ve seen him, Lysithea? You saw my son?! How was he? Was virtual-novel.net good? Has virtual-novel.net been eating well? Sleep well? Does he…”
Her voice became softer and softer as virtual-novel.net droned on, virtual-novel.net eyes reddening. Finally, virtual-novel.net face was etched with an unappeasable sense of desolation, yearning, and guilt. “Does virtual-novel.net remember me?”
Lysithea quickly grabbed hold of the woman’s bruised finger and put it in virtual-novel.net mouth, sucking the blood. Then, virtual-novel.net replied, “Oh, Aunt Hayley, be at ease! His life just keeps getting better! And virtual-novel.net remembers you, virtual-novel.net definitely does. I’ve gone to Waltz City for a while and checked on him, and I can tell you, he’s all grown up. He’s no longer the little kid who needs your protection anymore.”