Chapter 109:Like father, like sons

Chapter 109: 109:Like father, like sons

Seeing Susan staring at Nova in a paralyzed daze, Mrs. Darson gave her shoulder a light, prompting pat. "Greet your sister properly," she gently scolded.

Susan blinked twice, violently snapping back to reality. She immediately forced a wide, trembling smile. "Sister... w-welcome back to our family," she stammered, her heart hammering against her ribs as she struggled to shake the suffocating sense of familiarity rolling off the quiet Nova.

Nova nodded meekly, her facade of a fragile, broken orphan never cracking for a fraction of a second. "H-hello, Susan," she replied, her voice laced with the perfect pitch of nervous hesitation.

"Alright, let’s go inside first. We can do the rest of the introductions in the living room," Mr. Darson suggested, taking the lead as the rest of the family followed him through the double doors.

Inside the lavish living room, two young men were slouched on the expensive sofas, intensely focused on the video game playing on the massive flat screen.

"Oh, Mum, you’re back," the older of the two noted, pausing the game and standing up.

The younger brother followed suit. "Mum... Dad," he greeted casually, completely ignoring the timid, masked Nova standing by the doorway.

"Boys, let me introduce you," Mrs. Darson announced, her voice brimming with joy. "This is my biological daughter, Jenifer. David, Corinthian—she is your younger sister."

Nova peered at the two brothers from beneath her lashes and gave a small, trembling wave. "H-hello, brothers," she whispered.

David and Corinthian stared back at her with expressions of unconcealed boredom and distaste.

"What’s with the mask?" David asked coldly, his eyes raking over her plain clothes. "Don’t tell me you’re infected with something. If you’re sick, get out. Don’t bring some gutter disease into our house."

"What kind of nonsense are you spewing, David?!" Mrs. Darson snapped, her face flushing with immediate fury. "Where are your manners?!"

Corinthian simply snorted. Walking closer to where Nova stood huddled, he reached out without a single word of warning and violently yanked the medical mask from her face.

The room plunged into an absolute, deafening silence.

The air was sucked from the room. Everyone froze, utterly stunned by the devastating, ethereal beauty suddenly exposed to the light. There were no hideous scars, no deformities—only a flawless, breathtaking face that seemed entirely out of place on a destitute orphan. Even Mrs. Darson was struck speechless, completely forgetting to scold Corinthian for his rudeness.

Mr. Darson’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. He stared at his supposed daughter with a slack jaw, gazing at her as if he had never seen a woman in his entire life. David and Corinthian were equally paralyzed, a dark, unsettling hunger instantly replacing their previous disgust.

Only Susan stood apart, all the blood draining from her face until she was as pale as a corpse. She stared at Nova, her eyes wide with terror.

"It’s... it’s you!" Susan shrieked, her voice cracking in panic, violently jolting the rest of the room out of their hypnotic daze.

For a microsecond, the temperature in the room plummeted as Nova’s dark eyes flashed with lethal, icy warning. But just as quickly, the coldness vanished. She threw her hands up to cover her face, shrinking back and attempting to hide behind Mrs. Darson’s frame.

"Don’t... please, don’t look at me," Nova stuttered, her voice breaking into a flawless, pathetic sob.

The spell was broken. Mrs. Darson surged forward, snatching the mask out of Corinthian’s hand with a furious glare.

"Why are you so incredibly rude to your sister?!" Mrs. Darson yelled. She gently helped Nova secure the mask back over her face, murmuring soft words of comfort before turning her wrath back onto her son. "Apologize to your sister right this instant!"

Corinthian swallowed hard. A sudden, flushed heat crept up his neck, a disgusting spark of arousal igniting in his veins as his eyes remained glued to Nova’s trembling figure. "I’m... I’m sorry, little sister," he murmured, his tone entirely too soft. "I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just joking around."

From the safety of Mrs. Darson’s shadow, Nova’s gaze drifted downward, catching the subtle shift in Corinthian’s posture as he tried to conceal his physical reaction. "What an animal," she thought with disgust, though she outwardly nodded in meek acceptance.

"Mum... she... she’s not—" Susan stammered, pointing a violently shaking finger at Nova.

"Take your sister up to her room so she can rest," Mrs. Darson interrupted sharply.

"Mum, you have to listen to me! She’s not who you—"

Susan couldn’t finish the sentence. Mrs. Darson shot her a glare so dangerously sharp that the words died in Susan’s throat. Swallowing hard, Susan looked back at Nova, paralyzed by fear.

"L-let’s... let’s go, s-sister," Susan stuttered, immediately turning and rushing toward the stairs.

Nova cast one final, sweeping glance at David and Corinthian—who were still staring at her with unexplainable, sickening lust—before her eyes flicked to Mr. Darson. The moment she made eye contact with him, the older man flinched and quickly looked away.

"Hmph. Like father, like sons," Nova sneered internally. Outwardly, she maintained her timid persona, following Susan up the grand staircase. She took each step with extreme caution, as if terrified her cheap shoes might ruin the pristine marble.

Once the girls were out of sight, Mrs. Darson marched over to the long couch and sat down, glaring at David and Corinthian.

"Don’t... don’t be angry, Mum. I had no idea she would be so timid. I really was just trying to joke with her," Corinthian defended himself, flashing a harmless, boyish smile.

"Yeah, Mum. We were just trying to welcome her in our own way," David added smoothly. "We didn’t expect her to be so jumpy. We’ll never do it again, we promise."

Mr. Darson exhaled heavily and walked over to sit beside his wife. "Don’t be angry, dear. I’m sure the children will all get along soon enough," he placated.

Mrs. Darson nodded firmly. "My poor Jenifer has suffered in the outside world for so many years. You all need to make her feel wanted in this house. If you don’t, I will personally cut off your living expenses. Am I understood?"

"Understood, Mum," David and Corinthian echoed in unison.

Mrs. Darson sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright. I am going to my room to rest." She stood up, and Mr. Darson followed her down the hall.

Left alone, David and Corinthian exchanged a long, heavy glance before collapsing onto the sofas, each completely lost in their own dark, twisted thoughts.

Upstairs, Susan pushed open a bedroom door and stepped aside.

Nova walked in, her dark eyes sweeping over the decor. The room was sickeningly girly, draped in overwhelming shades of pink and ruffled fabrics—completely and utterly repulsive to her tastes. She casually reached up, unhooked the mask from her ears, and dropped it carelessly onto the plush bed.

Susan stood near the doorway, staring at Nova in absolute horror. She was practically vibrating with terror. "Why... why are you pretending?" Susan stuttered.

Nova turned to her, the fragile orphan act melting away to reveal a bored, glacial expression. "Go ahead. Run downstairs and tell all of them," Nova replied, her voice dropping to a cold, sociopathic drawl.

Susan clenched her fists at her sides until her knuckles turned stark white. "My mother... my family is being sincere with you! They have been looking for you this whole time! Now that they finally found you, you’re pretending to have suffered while you clearly haven’t! You are richer and more powerful than everyone in this entire house combined! You’re lying to us!" she cried, desperately trying to blink back her tears.

Nova rolled her eyes, entirely unbothered by the girl’s hysterical breakdown.

"Get some maids up here to strip this room. Burn all this pink nonsense," Nova commanded, her tone slicing through the air with absolute, unquestionable authority. "Everything in this room is to be replaced with black."

"Y-yes..." Susan stuttered. Two stray tears finally escaped, tracking down her pale cheeks as her heart hammered against her ribs in terror. Unable to withstand the crushing, predatory pressure radiating from Nova, Susan spun on her heel and sprinted out of the room.