“But it’s still not nice of them to talk about you and your family when they don’t know anything, right?”Evie was amused.“Yeah, it’s not nice. But so what? Can you stop people from talking? Even if you scold them one by one, who can guarantee that they will stop gossiping about you when you’re no longer in their presence?”Of course, James had nothing to say about it. After all, it’s the truth.“Why does she look like Uncle Francis, anyway? That’s weird, no? It’s easy for people to misunderstand,” he grumbled and Evie laughed at his naivete.She secretly flicked her hand towards the driver. It might appear as nothing to others, but she had plugged the man’s ears so he wouldn’t hear any of their conversation. Also, in the man’s eyes, she and James were not speaking at all but quietly sitting at the back. This would cost a lot of her energy, but she did not mind. It’s better than for others to hear them, she thought, before speaking to James.“Ever heard of plastic surgery?” she asked
Just like Hampton Hills, the houses in Emerald Gardens were varied. However, compared to Hampton Hills which only had three types of houses, there were more options of residences in Emerald Gardens, and the designs were more modern.At the front of the community, just inside the gate, there were two six-story buildings with the same design on each side of the street. These were the apartment complexes for smaller families, or single people who wanted to live in an exclusive subdivision. There were ten apartments on each floor, and the type of units ranged from studio type to five bedroom apartments. As for the houses, the owners were free to have the design they wanted as long as the outside color did not violate the regulations on aesthetics. So, it was safe to say that the houses in Emerald Gardens were not uniform, but each one was grand, simple, but beautiful. The residence of the Simmons family was only three streets away from the main gate. The residence was a modern light
“Not really,” James answered as he shook his head. “But we know where they are,” he added.“They’re from Altair University,” Richard supplied. “I heard they are sophomores. I just don’t know which department they are from.”University students?Evie bit her lower lip. It’s not that far from Altair City High School. She wondered if it’s possible to go there.“Why did you ask, boss? Do you want to see them?” James asked.“It’s not like I want to see them,” Evie began before sighing.She guessed she would just have to make Evely’s minions her own minions. There were still many things in this world that she was not really good at— geography for example. She had some memories, but it’s troublesome to go through the strands of recollections in her head all the time. Since these boys followed her anyway, then she could at least open up to them even just a bit.No, she would not really tell them about her celestial blood. But she would have to find an excuse that was more acceptable in this w
“Have you heard of her? My grandma said she was a famous witch hundreds of years ago,” Richard said, and Evie smiled and shook her head.She did not know any Dolya who was a witch. Although she did not believe that the ancestor he mentioned was indeed a witch. At least, if it’s the same Dolya she had in mind, then it’s really the Goddess of Fate, Evie thought. But, of course, there was no way for her to verify this, unless…Unless there’s an awakened or a transcendent among her descendants…But, looking at Richard, although he might be considered as an “awakened” in her world since he could see and sense the dark elementals, he was closer to normal humans than deity. His celestial blood was too little.How did she know? Simple, she tried to release a little bit of her celestial aura, but the boy remained clueless. She wanted to gauge his limit, but she was not powerful enough at the moment and it would be a waste of energy, and so Evie decided to forget about it. In any case, there’s
“It means…”“It means that anyone who had contact with those guys can be infected in the future, and they in turn could also infect others. If left alone, we’ll have monsters swarming the city in months or years,” Evie completed their sentence, and the room fell into silence once more.“I will contact my cousin immediately,” Richard offered, and he took out his phone, excused himself, and left the room to make a call.Left alone, James continued to look contemplative. He remained silent, but his eyes were on Evie, studying her unabashedly. In this instance, Evie admitted that in spite of the colored hair, the scholarly aura he had in his blood and bones radiated from him.“Do you have questions?” she asked, knowing full well that he had tons of things he wanted to ask her.At least, that’s what his face told her— well, that plus logic. After all, she was totally unlike the Evely that they knew. The previous one would not care whether other people lived or died as long as it’s not in f
“Boss, are you alright?” James asked, and Evie’s attention returned to him.“Yeah. Why did you ask?”James did not reply immediately. His pair of blue-gray eyes studied her for a while as if not believing her but could not comment on it.“You just seem distracted so I asked,” he said afterwards.“Ah, I just remembered I promised mom I will not return home late and have dinner with them. Eli will be coming back tonight.”James looked surprised.“Boss, you really made up with your stepmother and call her mom now?”Evie looked at him. James had nothing else on his face and in his tone except for pure curiosity. She smiled.“Is that shocking?”James shook his head. “Not really. But it’s unbelievable considering how stubborn you are about hating her before.”Evie’s smile turned sheepish. Yes, Evely was stubborn and planned to hate Liz until she died. The previous Evely did not know that this promise never came true as days before her death, Evely found out the truth. By then, she had been
“Thank you so much, Miss,” Fanny gushed, followed by the other servants and the guards.It seemed not only the maids were given something, but also the guards. Her parents were really nice, she thought. She just wanted to get rid of Evely’s things. She had told the servants to take them, but it never occurred to her, in order to give everyone equal share, to sell Evely’s things. But, then again, if they sold those, it was fast.“Bernard sold everything so fast?” she asked as she walked towards the house, and the servants followed her.“No, miss. The madam asked Sir Bernard to audit all the things that can be sold. After knowing the price, the madam gave the money to Sir Bernard for all of us to share. But the things were all donated somewhere.”Ooooh…“I see,” Evie smiled, feeling amazed by how Liz was so generous.Evie was a demigod. Supposed to be, there was an ingrained instinct to protect and to make sure her followers were alright and taken good care of within her. But she had to
“Miss!” The nanny carrying Eli greeted her with a smile.She then shifted on her feet so that Evie could see Eli’s sleepy face clearly. Those heavy lashes that fanned his chubby cheeks trembled as he lifted his eyelids. He looked so disoriented that Evie fought the urge to smile at the cuteness, but failed in the end anyway. She now could understand why even the indifferent Evely was not able to resist her younger brother even if he was the son of the person she hated the most.The disoriented gaze became clearer and clearer. In a moment, the pair of little gray eyes similar to Evie’s stared back at her.“Vivi…” the little voice called, and Evie’s heart melted.Vivi was Eli’s exclusive nickname for Evely because he could not pronounce her name properly when Evely first taught him how to say her name. Before, even if Evely liked her younger brother, she was still cold to him and ignored him when her parents were there. This confused and hurt the little boy’s heart. It was a good thing