Ch. Ch 24 Don’t come back Ch 24

For the first time, Axel heard eleven–year–old Willow speak with such vicious malice: 

“That bitch Ember called last week, and I answered. 

“I could tell from her voice that she’s never coming back. 

“From now on, they’ll have only one sister–just me!” 

“Who cares if she’s their real sister! 

“I’ve broken so many of her things over the years, and her brothers only ever defended me! 

“When I pretended she pushed me, that idiot tried to catch me. 

2/4 

“She fell and got hurt herself, and then got slapped. She deserved it!” 

“She wanted to go to the Northern Forest, but I insisted on Norway, and they took me to Norway instead! 

“Everything will be mine now. Everything belongs to me alone!” 

Perhaps she felt these accomplishments were too impressive not to boast about. 

As Willow spoke, her eyes gleamed with triumphant satisfaction and wild joy. 

Her face twisted into an expression far too malevolent for someone her age. 

Their argument continued endlessly. 

Axel wanted to rush forward. 

He wanted to tear them apart, to cut them into a thousand pieces. 

But he couldn’t move. 

If he killed them, would his Ember come back? 

Could the outcome still be changed? 

No, it couldn’t. It couldn’t… 

It was too late. Far too late… 

Countless images flashed through his mind like slides in rapid succession. 

Ember the first time she told Willow to get out, desperately trying to explain that Willow was an impostor. 

Ember the first time her photo frame was broken, the first time she broke down in tears. 

Ember the first time she covered her face and chose to swallow her tears in silence when she felt most helpless. 

Ember falling down the stairs. 

The first time he had slapped her. 

Each moment, each incident, had paved her path to departure. 

Never before had Axel realized so clearly that he had lost Ember. 

She was gone, never to return. 

Axel didn’t know how he made it back home. 

When he entered, he saw Ryker slumped on the sofa. 

The housekeeper sat across from him, her expression cold: “I’m not just revealing the truth now. 

3/4 

“How many times did Miss try to tell you the truth herself?” 

Ryker stared at her blankly, his eyes hollow and lifeless. 

He must have heard the same things Axel had. 

The housekeeper’s voice was filled with sorrow: “I’ve cared for Miss for many years. 

“I believe that although she could be willful sometimes, she always knew right from wrong. 

“When she shouldn’t lie, she never did.” 

They had once believed this too. 

So why, after Willow arrived, did they stop believing Ember? 

Ryker stood up and staggered upstairs. 

Axel followed, watching as he entered the bedroom, opened a suitcase, and took out a Moon Goddess dress. 

Ryker mumbled as if talking to himself: “I promised her. 

“When she returns, I should give this to her.” 

Axel’s voice was hoarse: “She’s not coming back. 

Ryker’s thin lips trembled, and finally, for the first time, he broke down in tears. 

His tears silently soaked into his scarf, his voice shaking until it became almost inaudible. 

“Yes. She’s not coming 

back.”