140 Mother And Son (1/2)

Jessie's room was impeccably clean.

The white walls had a faint gloss to it; as if it had just been painted. Even an untrained eye could see how much care she had given. At that time, I couldn't help but shook my head in disbelief.

”It's too s.h.i.+ny,” I mumbled.

”Yeah,” Hope nodded.

There was a red couch in that room and both of us sat there. Jessie opened the window before she sat on her own bed.

”Um, I know it's too late for me to ask this, but why me?” I asked her.

Jessie giggled. ”Why not? The moment I saw you two together, I knew you are close with my son.”

”Hehe. Not really. I just love Hope because he's Hope, you see.” I twirled a strand of my dark hair as I spoke.

Hope's mouth twitched. He drew his eyebrows together and stared at me. ”I think of Ava as my own daughter.”

”Huh? Not this again!” I pouted.

He treated me like a kid. I got used to it, but a year had pa.s.sed and he still treated me the same way. Though, I couldn't really blame him. After all, my love for him was something I couldn't actually comprehend. I thought of him as someone that changed me, and I just wanted to be with him wherever he went.

Perhaps the bond that we had formed years ago brought about the change.

”Um, Jessie,” I said. ”If I love Hope, what does it means?”

She smiled. ”Ah, I see. You are not sure about it yourself. I can only say that you have grown attached to him, and you don't like it when he's not there by your side.”

”Yeah! That's the best way to describe it, I think.” My eyes glanced at Hope. ”I want him to be there with me, and I want to support him however I can.”

Jessie nodded. ”I am sure when you spend more time with my son, you will come to understand your feelings.”

”I need to get older quick,” I concluded.

Jessie turned to Hope and took a deep breath. ”Before I answer any of your questions, let me clear something up. Um, I'm sure you two have noticed my family portraits outside.”

Hope and I nodded.

”Just to be clear, Evgeny is not your father. If you have been thinking about it ever since this evening, then I apologize for not telling you sooner.” Jessie said.

”No, no. I am quite certain no one actually thinks Evgeny as my father or anything,” said Hope. ”Though, I know how you came to that question. Despite my hazy memories, my father is dead.”

Jessie forced a smile and then looked down at the floor. Sadness was painted all over her face. ”I only have you, Hope. You are the only family member I have left.”

Hope bit his lip. ”Mom . . . I'm sorry.”

Quickly, Jessie pulled his gaze towards him with gleaming eyes. ”Say it again.”

”I'm sorry.”

”No. Before that.”

”Oh.” Hope chuckled. ”Mom.”

”Ahhh!” shrieked Jessie. Her hands reached out for Hope and pulled him to her embrace. ”I have been longing to hear you say that. Am I dreaming?”

Hope pulled himself away and stood up. ”No. Of course not, Mom.”

”Ohhh. Come here. I'm not finished yet.”

Jessie hugged him again and they both sat down on her bed.

”Er . . . This is kinda new to me, actually,” said Hope. His cheeks flushed, somewhat embarra.s.sed to be seen like that. But, I was the only one there to witness the whole thing. At first, he tried to pull away before he just let Jessie did her thing afterward.

”Um, Mom, about your Aegis's specialty,” asked Hope. He distanced himself a bit from Jessie, but she refused to let go of his hand. And so, he ended up sitting there on her bed.

”Ah, right. My specialty.” Jessie looked at me. ”Basically, I can subst.i.tute any individual's perception of reality with a fake one. I must meet a condition first beforehand. The people I want to be affected with this specialty must be encased in my Aegis crystals.”

I clapped my hands once. ”So, back then at the lobby, you had the entire mansion covered in your Aegis crystals? I didn't notice it.”

”My crystals can be mistaken for gla.s.s. Evgeny's also shares this similar trait,” mentioned Jessie.

”Oh.”

I remembered the gla.s.s display surrounding the city like a dome. Perhaps the outermost layers were made up of their Aegis crystals. If so, the disguise was brilliant.

Jessie looked at Hope with sad eyes. ”Hope, I'm sure you want to know what happened after the car crash a long time ago. It was back in Mansel Island if I'm not mistaken.”