Chapter 244 - Accepting Death

By the time Mimi woke up, the sun had already risen. Knowing her head was currently lying on Tobias's arm, she gently leaned back against the man's strong chest.

"Are you hungry?" His husky, and low voice rumbled beside her ear.

Mimi nodded her head.

"I want pancakes for breakfast." She said tiredly while her eyes were still closed.

Tobias chuckled. "I'll be right back."

She felt Tobias's lips press softly against her forehead before he left the room. Hugging a pillow in her arms, Mimi stared absently at the wall. Even now, she couldn't shake the pain away in her heart. Her arms squeezed the pillow.

When Tobias came back in, he brought in a tray of fresh, fluffy pancakes with think orange syrup and fruits. Mimi enjoyed her evening eating and being spoiled by Tobias.

"Tobias, by any chance, have you seen my phone?" She searched beneath her bed covers for the small device.

When he didn't answer her, Mimi turned her head slightly to the door. Instead of Tobias, Mimi was surprised to see another figure standing by the door.

"Big brother?" She blinked her eyes rapidly. "What are you doing here?"

Alec smiled faintly. "Tobias invited me for breakfast."

"Where is he?"

"He went out to buy you groceries. He said the fridge was empty."

"Oh." Mimi nodded her head and continued to search for her phone.

She felt her brother's eyes watch her movements with an intense gaze. He appeared hesitant about something. After a while of his silent staring and twitching, Mimi gave up with a loud sigh.

"If you have something to say, speak. Otherwise, quit standing there twitching and help me find my phone."

Stiffening a bit at her words, Alec cleared his throat.

"Mimi, can we talk for a bit?"

Glancing at her brother's tense expression Mimi sighed but nodded her head in approval. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she silently waited for Alec to speak.

"When dad took you...did anything happen?" He asked cautiously.

With no particular change in expression, Mimi replied, "If you happen to mean did he strap me to a chair and try a bunch of simulation tests on me, then yes, something did happen."

When Alec heard her words, his complexion visibly paled. For a moment he was silent, slowly processing everything in.

"That bastard..." He grits his teeth. "Mimi, I-I'm so sorry."

Mimi tilted her head. "What do you have to be sorry for? It's not like it was your fault. Besides, it didn't do much to me. If anything I was a little disappointed."

Alec was stunned at her lack of emotion in the situation. The words of comfort he thought to say were held back.

"Still, that kind of thing can be damaging to someone." Alec looked at her with a pained expression.

Mimi just smiled and said nothing. It would be to someone normal. But as someone who experienced that once before as a child, she was used to it.

Seeing her silent response, Alec's lips pressed together.

"Did anything else happen? Maybe something regarding Em—"

"Big brother, what exactly is it you want me to say?" Mimi's tone came out sharp, her eyes slightly bored. "That he tried to bargain with me to enter the family after he finally saw me useful in the last eighteen years I've been alive? Is that what you want me to say?"

"I—" Alec couldn't find the right words to respond.

Mimi laughed bitterly. "Or do you want me to tell you that I know everything. How Emily died and why...that he didn't kill her."

At this, Alec's eyes widened, caught off guard by her words. Violet eyes locked on him with such intensity, he unconsciously felt even more apprehensive. It was as if she could read every emotion within his mind and soul. And yet, despite the visible smile on her face, he couldn't read a single one of her emotions.

Mimi smiled at Alec, flashing her dimples and darkening violet eyes.

"She killed herself."

Mimi felt as if he had been stabbed directly through the chest. Her brows furrowed in pain. "Big sister killed herself, didn't she? When the car drove by in the crosswalk..."

Before she passed out, those had been the words Shen Jue whispered to her. Ever since then, her heart was shattered all over again. Her sister's death was now fresh in her mind.

The smile on Mimi's face cracked little by little, her lips trembling. "It's the typical love story, don't you think? She fell in love. He died. She could no longer live without him in this cruel world so she..."

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her. Alec hugged her tightly against his chest and squeezed.

"Mimi, I'm so sorry." His voice stammered.

So he knew. Mimi's eyes shook. Her throat felt tight.

There was silence between the two. Even now, Alec could hear his sister's heart beating calmly – as if she felt nothing of the situation. That was until he heard her soft, small voice.

"Was I not enough for her to stay?"

"No!" Alec pushed her away slightly to look into her eyes. "Mimi, believe me. No one loved you more than Emily did. Everything she ever did was for you."

Mimi stared into her brother's eyes, seeking the truth in his words. She took a shuddering breath, and her voice shook with intensity.

"Then why...Why did she leave me?" Tears began spilling from her helpless eyes.

At that moment, the sure knowledge that life would go on without her big sister by her side, that time was only stopped for her, undid her completely.

All pretense of quiet coping was lost and she sank into the bed. Mimi's fingers clasped the sheets tightly as the muffled sobs wracked against her chest. The world turned into a blur. The sounds. The taste. The smell. Everything was gone. The last raw emotion slammed against her before she disregarded all feelings.

Alec's heart trembled. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gently touched his sister's head as she cried in front of him for the very first time.

Outside the bedroom door, Tobias leaned against the wall with crossed arms. His fists clenched tightly as he listened to the sound of the girl's suppressed, heartbreaking cries.