Then, she heard Celia whisper, “I’ve never seen them since I was little. I don’t know why they abandoned me, or even if they’re still alive…”
“Unlike Alisa, who has a mother who loves her.”
Celia spoke, lost in thought. Lena offered no reply, merely embracing the girl’s waist as her own spirits dampened considerably.
Suddenly recalling something, Celia furrowed her brow and pursed her lips into a disgruntled pout, complaining:
“That Orl, he might care about me, but he never bothers to understand my thoughts. He just takes everything I say literally. His simple-mindedness is truly infuriating.”
“What’s more, I always suspect his concern for me stems not from affection, but purely from a sense of duty.”
“He’s the butler, and I’m the young lady. No matter how mischievous or headstrong I become, he never scolds or punishes me. He simply indulges me, unless my demands are exceptionally outrageous.”
Although Orl had been a constant presence in her life since childhood, Celia struggled to forge any genuine closeness with him.
To her, he remained nothing more than a stern butler, certainly not a paternal figure.
Over the past two months, Lena had gleaned essential information about the Fiona family through Sharlene. She was aware that Celia’s parents were the nominal heads of the family.
However, they had mysteriously vanished over a decade ago, their whereabouts unknown to anyone. They had left behind only a single letter, bequeathing the family inheritance to their young daughter, Celia.
Until Celia reached an age where she could competently manage the family affairs, Orl, the butler, functioned as the de facto authority.
Despite Celia’s grievances about Orl, Lena recognized that the butler was genuinely fulfilling his responsibilities. He showed no inclination whatsoever to embezzle the Fiona family’s considerable assets.
After all, altering the will or secretly eliminating Celia would have been effortlessly simple for him.
The peculiar intricacies of this family were beginning to give Lena a slight headache. Setting the matter aside for the moment, she leaned in and softly asked Celia, “Do you envy Alisa?”
Celia paused, a conflicted expression clouding her features. She bit her lip, mulling over the question for a considerable time before finally responding:
“I suppose so. Sometimes I wish I’d been born into an ordinary family. I wouldn’t have to spend all day mastering noble etiquette or constantly attending tiresome banquets. I’d have time that was truly my own, just like this moment.”
“Most importantly, I’d have loving parents waiting for me at home.”
Imagining such a life, Celia’s face broke into a smile. Her grin was undeniably charming, yet Lena found it heartbreakingly poignant.
Simultaneously, a sharp pang of sorrow pierced Lena’s heart, and guilt surged through her like an overwhelming tide.
For a fleeting moment, her hand hovered, unsure whether to gently embrace Celia’s waist.
The room gradually settled into a profound silence. Celia closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling softly. Lena remained quiet for a long, contemplative period before finally speaking, her voice imbued with a fragile trace of hope:
“…If your parents were still alive, would you hate them?”
Lena knew perfectly well that Celia could not possibly be without hatred for them, yet she clung to a minuscule hope for a different response.
‘What if, just what if…’
“Yes.”
Celia’s answer was delivered with chilling indifference. She uttered the two words without a moment’s hesitation or reflection.
Lena unconsciously bit her lip, then abruptly averted her gaze.
‘She should have known all along. What right did a mother who abandoned her daughter like her possess to expect forgiveness?’
Celia had been a mere infant when Lena had left her.
Compared to Mrs. Josephine, she, this cruel mother, was truly beyond terrible.
Yet, despite this crushing truth, she shamelessly yearned for her daughter’s affection and longed to remain by her side. Even if Celia could never forgive her, Lena desperately wished to compensate for the maternal love she had been deprived of.
Lena embraced Celia from the side, drawing close to her ear and murmuring in a muffled voice, “You can think of me as your mother. That way, you won’t have to envy Alisa anymore. From now on, I’ll take care of you.”
Lena’s current state struck Celia as profoundly strange. It was the first time she had witnessed her usually composed landlady appear so vulnerable, tinged with a hint of desperate pleading.
However, no matter how pathetic Lena seemed, Celia knew she could not possibly agree.
“I’m sorry, Sister Lena, but you and my mother are different. Our current relationship is already wonderful as it is.”
‘A relationship between a landlady and a tenant? Or perhaps, confidantes?’
Upon receiving such an answer, Lena instinctively tightened her embrace around Celia.
Greedy as she was, Lena would never be content with such a limited connection.
“Sister Lena?” Celia couldn’t fathom why Lena was behaving so unusually today, but she sensed that Lena was in profound need of comfort.
Consequently, she hugged Lena back with equal fervor.
“Do you know? I actually have a daughter, about your age…”
Lena’s words detonated in Celia’s mind like a thunderclap. Her eyes widened in utter astonishment, and she found herself half-doubting her own ears.
Yet, seeing her landlady speaking with such profound sadness and baring her heart, Celia refrained from pressing her with questions. She simply settled into the role of a quiet, attentive listener.
“I am truly sorry to her. Back then, due to certain circumstances, I left her, allowing her to grow up alone. We haven’t seen each other since that day…”
“I’ve missed her terribly throughout all these years. There were moments I desperately yearned to go back and find her, but, but I…”
Lena trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished. However, Celia intuitively understood that these were Lena’s unspeakable burdens.
“After you all arrived, I became so much happier. You are all as lovely as my daughter. If she were to ever appear before me again, I swear I would never let her go, no matter what.”
“Sister Lena…”
Feeling Lena’s warm breath against her back, Celia softly murmured Lena’s name, a strange pang of tenderness stirring within her.
Lena was so incredibly gentle; Celia never would have imagined such a heartbreaking event could have befallen her.
‘Abandoning her daughter must have been an agonizing torment for her, surely?’
No wonder she had never once mentioned her child in front of them.
‘And what about her husband? Why had she never spoken of him either? Could he have been a faithless scoundrel as well?’
‘Perhaps she had always regarded her, Isha, and Aurora as her own children, which explained why she meticulously prepared dinner every night and cared for them as if they were her family?’
As these thoughts intertwined, she found herself feeling increasingly pity for Lena.
Celia conjured numerous comforting words for Lena, yet they remained trapped on her tongue. Finally, she gave Lena a forceful push, crossed her arms over her chest, and huffed softly:
“Honestly, there’s no helping you, Sister Lena. Since you’re so determined to have me as your daughter, I’ll agree. But only for tonight.”
After delivering her statement, she stole a quick glance at Lena, as if meticulously observing her reaction.
Just as Celia anticipated, Lena’s beautiful face lit up with unbridled joy. Lena even opened her arms once more, drawing Celia into a tight embrace, her soft chest pressing against Celia’s delicate face, causing it to subtly distort.
‘It wasn’t that she lacked the desire to struggle free, it was just… it was solely out of concern for potentially hurting Lena’s feelings that she didn’t break away from Lena’s embrace!’
With this rationale, she settled comfortably into Lena’s arms, contentedly savoring the floral scent and plush softness.
The room fell into a tranquil quietness. Their mutual embrace dispelled the autumn chill, and for a fleeting moment, Celia almost wished Lena truly was her mother.
“Thank you…”
The soft words whispered near Celia’s ear. She feigned indifference with a slight huff, yet in the corner unseen by Lena, her lips curved into a high, secret smile.
‘Even the gentle landlady, it seems, has a vulnerable side.’