Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 391 - Chapitre 400

Giana's question made Elara tilt her head in thought."I know!" She clapped her hands together, grabbed Giana's arm, and set off at once."Hey... wait..."Giana found herself questioning the nature of reality. How was she, the healthy one, struggling to keep up with someone who was supposed to be unwell?Elara's destination was a bookshop. It was a perfectly ordinary store on an ordinary street. It sold books, but also everything else, from stationery and souvenirs to small toys and miscellaneous odds and ends.Giana didn't spend much time in shops. She preferred cafés and lounges, the kind of places where you could sit for hours without anyone noticing.She loved reading, but she had never warmed to bookshops. Most of her books came from online orders. More often than not, she read on a screen. The only paper books she bought in person were the ones that felt worth owning, worth returning to.As a result, she found the place oddly disorienting, and a low-level anxiety settled o

Thinking about those forged marriage documents, Giana finally rose from the ground and took Elara by the arm. "Elara, he's not here. Let's try somewhere else."She had already accepted what this afternoon would be. She could not tell the truth, so she would simply spend the time instead.They weren't going to find Oscar. She just needed to run out the clock until Amara arrived to take Elara home.Disappointment crossed Elara's face as she got to her feet. "He's not here either."She didn't bother wiping the dirt from her cheek. Turning toward the gate, she started walking.By now, Giana had figured out the pattern. She wasn't about to spend the rest of the afternoon chasing after her."Elara, there are so many places he might have gone. Let's take it slowly. One place at a time. We'll find him."That seemed to work. "All right."They continued at a slower pace, and Elara talked a lot. She told stories about the time she had been sick, when the medicine tasted terrible and Oscar

Oscar stood not far behind her when Giana broke down in tears.By now, he had learned through his own channels what the two sisters were doing.'Selective amnesia…' The term lingered in his mind as he frowned.Of all the illnesses in the world, those rooted in the mind were the hardest to treat. With ordinary conditions, at least you knew where you stood. If they were treatable, you treated them. If they were not, you managed them. In the worst case, you waited them out.Mental conditions were different. There was no true cure. Human emotions seemed endlessly complex, but beneath the surface, the same patterns repeated themselves again and again.No one's life was genuinely rich and varied every single day. Even with eating and sleeping, could every meal be an adventure? Could every night feel new?It was all repetition, and that was exactly what made mental conditions so unpredictable. A single word, a single sound, or a single moment could strike the wrong place without warning

Giana watched Oscar lead Elara away and considered following.Sirius stepped into her path before she could move, and the look he gave her was flat and cutting.She stopped. 'Oscar has always been good to Elara, and our family is not the right environment for her recovery right now.'She repeated the thought to herself and let it settle.By the time Sirius caught up with Oscar, Elara was laughing at something. Whatever joke Oscar had just made, it had her giggling nonstop.Sirius opened his mouth, then closed it again. He said nothing.The intelligence behind that girl's eyes was currently on par with that of a three-year-old. He would never say that aloud, but he couldn't help thinking that the man who had once made the entire country hold its breath was now standing here making faces to keep her laughing. It was rare.'No wonder Caleb listens to him without question. No wonder he's willing to step onto a public stage for this man,' Sirius thought.Oscar had that kind of prese

When Helena saw Oscar hesitate, she softened her tone. "Oscar, I know what you're capable of. If you step in, you can solve the Chamberlains' problems. I know that."But that's not how this works. I understand that your connection to the family runs deep. But they threw you out."Even when it's your own flesh and blood, once a wound cuts deep enough, everything you've done for them stops mattering. They won't remember your kindness. They'll call you weak. They'll say you never had the strength to stand up for yourself."This isn't me being cruel. It's just the way people are. You're still young. You haven't seen enough of these things to know how they usually end. That girl has a sweet tongue. I'm afraid she'll say a few words, and your heart will soften."Over the past few weeks, Helena had watched him closely, and she knew exactly what kind of person he was.She had not read many books in her life, but in her eyes, Oscar was the finest grandson anyone could ask for. He was filia