Under the Veil of Night

"Then let me rephrase it. I want you to get out of my sight and never appear in front of me ever again."

Kanae looked at the sharp glare that Laura gave to her. It was the gaze full of determination and conviction. She was extremely familiar with that gaze as she had seen it in herself for a long time. Once she made a decision and unwilling to change it again, it was the same gaze that she would show.

However, when she made that kind of gaze, it was only because she didn't have any other choice. The path she had chosen was not easy, but she still chose to follow it.

She gazed back at her sister.

"Your wish is my command. I'll do as you wish, Laura."

The moment Kanae answered, Laura nodded her head calmly. Although her expression looked unperturbed, her gaze was unfocused with slight pain inside her eyes. It was clear that she was doing all she could to look back at her sister.

"Since you're no longer part of the Nali Family, I'm sure it'll be easy for you to get out, Sis. Our path should never cross each other anymore," Laura remarked.

Kanae nodded her head. "If it's what you want, I'll do it, Laura. Take care of yourself."

"You too, Sis. I don't want to hear any report regarding the death of an unknown girl on the street."

"I also don't wish to read the newspaper just to see the sudden downfall of Nali Family Head because of petty scheme," Kanae smiled softly. She looked at her sister with her clear eyes. "Those elders are not stupid, but I believe you too."

"Of course," Laura replied almost immediately.

The two girls looked towards each other's eyes as if they wanted to engrave the other person's face to their head. Two pairs of eyes reflected what they truly felt. After an unknown amount of time, Kanae broke their stare first. She walked to the door and stopped right before it.

"The mansion and the company are all yours. I already changed the ownership to your name and submitted them to the government's office. The legal papers are all in the safe inside your room. The guards that I have selected for you shall be the last gift from me. From now on, I won't meddle into your life anymore," Kanae said unhurriedly.

Her hand gripped the door handle before swinging it open and left the room.

Klek (Sound of door closing)

Right after Kanae walked out of the door, tears poured out of the corner of Laura's eyes. Her cheek became wet as the tears continued to pour out of them.

"Stop, please stop," Laura whispered to herself.

She used her hand to wipe her tears, but it continued to fall down like rain. Even the blanket on her lap became wet because of the tears that poured out of her eyes.

"Don't cry, it's your decision, hu…hu…." Laura's voice became estranged. Sitting on her bed, tears continued to pour out like a rainfall. No matter what she did, she could not stop them.

The fact that she drove her sister out of her life was enough to send her into immense sadness. However, it was something that she knew that she had to do. Still, it was not easy.

She wouldn't be able to play with her sister anymore.

She wouldn't be able to talk with her sister in the future

She wouldn't even be able to meet her sister because their path will not cross.

For Laura, her sister was always an existence that couldn't be lost from her side. Ever since they were young, it was always her sister that accompanied her, encouraged her, and helped her. The thought of having her sister disappeared from her side never occurred to her.

She knew that they would surely die, but she could never bring herself to think of that possibilities. They always promised each other that they would survive no matter what and never leave each other.

"Uuu…" as the tears continued to fall down, Laura felt all of her feelings came out. All the sadness, pain, and desperation that she felt just came out through the tears.

Time passed by. She still could not fully calm down as the tears continued to pour down. Her face was completely wet from the tears that streamed out.

Knock! Knock!

"Laura? Are you there?"

Hearing Jason's voice, Laura quickly took tissue from the box and wiped her tears. She didn't want to show this messy appearance to that man.

"Come in," her voice cracked.

Jason opened the door and saw the messy appearance of Laura. Even though the girl tried her best to calm down, it was apparent that her effort was for naught. Her eyes and nose were red with tears' trace left. At the same time, the tears were still pouring out like a waterfall.

"It's okay, Laura," Jason came over to the girl's side. He caressed the girl's head as he tried to console the other party. Kanae had told him to take care of Laura. At first, he didn't understand, but seeing the girl's appearance, he came to understand that something must have happened.

"...It's not… okay," Laura replied while gasping for breath. Crying for a long time caused her breath to turn uneven.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Laura's eyes welled with tears again. "I can't meet…. with Sis… again."

"Why? She's outside."

"I can't," Laura shook her head. "I drive…. her out of my life."

Jason's eyes widened. "Why would you do that?"

Laura didn't immediately answer. She gasped for breath for a few seconds before answering. "Because I'll always tie her down, my existence alone is enough to make her consider me to be the first in her every decision. I…. I don't want to be a burden. I want her to be happy without worrying about her little sister anymore."

Jason's movement stilled for a moment. He understood why Laura said that. As someone who had been accompanying Kanae for a long time, he knew how much that girl cared for her sister. For her sister, she had sacrificed a lot of things, including the love relationship with someone whom she cared about.

Without Laura tying her back, Kanae would surely take the decision to stay with Kevin. However, it was impossible for Kanae to choose him so suddenly. That girl didn't want to lose her sister and what she had had so far.

Laura understood this very well. This caused her to take the action first and forced her sister to take the other path. Even though this meant that she wouldn't be able to meet with her sister again, she still decided to do it. It was all because she understood, Kanae could only pick one.

The two choices were on completely different pages. It would be completely impossible to pick one while still holding the other one in the other hand.

She had to pick.

And this is her decision.