What is family?

Chapter 92

Third Person POV

It was a tense night for the sisters.

Angel tried sketching something to steer her mind clear of the panic that was just a thought away.

On the other hand, Aria paced around in her room, unable to sleep.

Her aunt's words kept repeating in her brain and that pained smile of her sister kept flashing in her mind.

She knew that no matter what the reason is, she would never come to dislike Angelina.

That was crystal clear to her.

But, to even think for a second that her aunt's emotions  and actions felt justified was driving her guilt.

She did feel bad for her aunt, but that didn't mean she disliked Angelina.

Along with the guilt that already sprouted in her heart, another one added to it when she asked Angelina to leave her alone.

Aria halted in her tracks and palmed her face in regret.

She had acted on impulse and she knew she messed up.

Feeling suffocated in her room, she walked out and walked to the garden behind the mansion.

A series of small lamps along the garden pathway lit up the dark night.

She walked towards a bench and sat down facing the endless green garden, her back facing the mansion.

In the past few months of her arrival, she had never faced a situation like this.

No matter what the situation was, she always shared it with her sister and now having to keep the truth from her sister was making it hard.

Aria wanted to tell Angel everything that she got to know and all the emotions she felt and all the thoughts that coursed through her brain.

She also wanted to confess that at one point she felt her aunt's thoughts were justified, but later realized that no matter what she can never dislike her sister.

She wanted to tell everything to Angel even if it meant disappointing her, because she can then also tell her sister how much she loves her and how important she is to her.

But to do all that, she would have to tell the truth about her mother and about what the elders in the family thought about Angelina all these years.

And she couldn't do that for two reasons.

One, because aunt Nina asked her to not tell anything she told to anyone of her siblings or cousins.

Two, she didn't want Angel to get hurt. The moment when she doubted if she herself was the product of her mother's rape, cold chills ran down her spine. She couldn't accept it and her heart clenched painfully.

She knew Angel would feel worse if she told her that the elders thought she was the product of her mother's trauma.

She knew her sister would blame herself and that was the last thing Aria wished for her sister.

So, she couldn't tell the truth and without telling the truth, she wouldn't be able to confess her feelings and without confessing her thoughts and feelings, she would never be able to look Angel in the eyes.

The helplessness was eating her from the inside.

Aria was getting more and more restless, not knowing what she should do.

She couldn't call any of her brothers because again she can't tell them what their aunt told her.

She clenched her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.