Chapter 84 My Older Sister

Chapter 84 My Older Sister
“It can’t just be a dream... I can really feel your warmth,” her voice trembled in broken fragments as tears streamed from her swollen eyes. “I’m really hugging you!”
Ariana let out a soft laugh at that. She gently stroked her back. “That’s right. You’re not dreaming, Sophia.”
This reunion was something she had never expected, and the overwhelming longing between them was drenched in emotion. The small, frail girl clung tightly to Ariana, her body shaking violently, as if she had finally found a way out after being trapped for so long in the darkness of life without her.
“You’ve grown so tall and beautiful, Sophia,” Ariana whispered, her voice hoarse, her eyes shimmering with tears.
“None of this means anything at all,” the embrace broke apart, their eyes met. It was obvious the girl was struggling to steady her emotions before speaking through trembling lips. “If you were really gone forever, I would’ve followed you, Ariana. I hate this world.”
Ariana froze. She was genuinely shocked by Sophia’s honesty. The unwillingness to live was painfully clear in the darkness of her eyes.
“Please don’t say that,” she replied, her voice catching as she tried to suppress the tightness crushing her chest. She wiped the tears from Sophia’s flushed pale cheeks. “Your life means more than anything. Now that we’ve found each other again...” her head turned toward her son, “did you give her your candy, Lucas?”
Lucas nodded innocently, his sweet face filled with confusion. “Who's she, Mom? Why is she crying and hugging you?”
Ariana smiled softly, stroking Sophia’s arm before reaching for her son’s hand and holding both of them gently. “She’s your older sister, ah no!” she quickly swallowed her words, stopping herself as her eyes shut briefly, remembering the promise she had made in her marriage contract.
“What Mommy means is, she’s the daughter of Mommy’s former employer. Her name is Sophia Matheus.”
“That’s a lie!” Sophia shouted as she quickly grabbed Lucas’s tiny hand. Ariana’s eyes widened instantly, and the attention of the surrounding people immediately shifted toward them. “I’m Sophia. Call me big sister from now on.”
“Sophia... do you already know everything?”
“Yes, Ariana,” she answered firmly and clearly before continuing. “Ariana is my mother too. She’s the one who gave birth to me.”

“If this keeps going, the Matheus family will become nothing but a name,” Marley hissed anxiously, his teeth grinding in fury after Crownbridge Group’s disastrous presentation results leaked to the public. They had been humiliated. The history of their untouchable wealth had now become media mockery after losing several business tenders. At this point, they could barely even secure small contracts.
“What am I supposed to do now?” he groaned in growing frustration. His eyes sharpened in desperation. “That idiot Christian!”
“Sir, you have visitors.”
At that moment, the private study that had been filled with nothing but his own voice was interrupted by his assistant standing outside the door. Marley slammed his cane hard against the floor.
“I don’t want to see anyone! Haven’t I already told you that?” he snapped.
“There’s something I couldn’t refuse.”
“Are they our hired people?”
“No, they came from...” his sentence was abruptly cut off. “Hey, what’re you doing? You two can’t just barge into Mr. Marley’s office!”
Right then, the office door swung open. Impatient footsteps entered the room.
“You’re quite difficult to meet, sir.” A sharp smirk spread across his lips, his tone blatantly disrespectful. “I’m Mackenzy, CEO of Sterling & Strathmore Assurance.”
“You! How did you get into this house?” Marley’s voice sharpened, his glare filled with disgust as it pierced Cedric’s mocking expression. Cedric chuckled while stroking his chin.
“What about me?” the man standing beside Cedric spoke up. David was no longer wearing his fake face mask.
“We used to be part of this household, so it’s only natural we’d enjoy coming back, right?” he smiled faintly. “I wanted to thank you for getting me out of prison.”

“You really can’t come with me.”
With a heavy heart, Ariana said those words in response to Sophia’s request to stay with her.
“Why?” Sophia asked, her voice turning hoarse again. “Do you hate me that much, Ariana?”
“How could I?” Ariana cupped Sophia’s cheeks warmly in her hands. “I love you very much. But you can’t stay with me.”
Sophia tightly held Ariana’s hand against her cheek. “Wherever you go, I’ll go with you. I won’t complain, Ariana. Please. Take me with you.”
Drawing a heavy breath, Ariana tried to force a smile through her confusion.
“Your dad will be heartbroken if you do that. He loves you very much,” Ariana said as she handed Sophia a glass of water. Eventually, she brought her over to their table, under the confused stares of Edward and Anne. “Drink slowly.”
Instinctively, the corner of her eye darted anxiously around the room, searching for Christian.
Only then did she realize that the commotion from earlier had come from Christian and Sophia’s table, along with some unfamiliar woman.
“But where's he now?” Ariana wondered, her brows knitting together. “Did he leave with that woman and forget about Sophia? Unbelievable. He really hasn’t changed at all!”
Sophia remained silent, her lips tightly sealed and her face lowered sadly, but her hand continued clutching the fabric of Ariana’s shirt.
Seeing that, Ariana quietly let out a long breath before turning at the touch on her shoulder.
“She really seems like she wants to be with you. Do you know her family? Or are you distant relatives or something?” Edward asked, tilting his head slightly as he studied Sophia’s sweet face. “She looks like you.”
“I’m her daughter.”
“Really?” still unconvinced, his stiff gaze shifted back to Ariana. “She’s really your daughter, Ariana?”
“Yes, Uncle. She really is my older sister,” Lucas chimed in while poking at the food on his plate with a fork. “We just met in the bathroom. Our dad’s name is Chris... hmph!”
Edward’s brows instantly furrowed in confusion as Ariana quickly covered her son’s mouth and flashed him an awkward smile.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain everything later. We'd head back to the room now.”

Ariana had no choice but to bring Sophia with her. She didn’t have Christian’s number, and the little girl admitted she didn’t remember the phone numbers of Christian or anyone from the Matheus family.
The situation was giving her a splitting headache.
“Ma’am, I’ll head back to my room now. The work matters are finished,” Anne said, bowing respectfully before turning toward the door. “I’ll send the rest to your email.”
“Anne, wait,” Ariana stopped her, and Anne turned back immediately. “Please buy a change of clothes for Sophia. I’ll send you her size.”
Anne nodded. “Of course, ma’am.”
Then Ariana turned toward Lucas and Sophia, who had been staring at her the entire time with pleading innocent eyes.
The moment Anne truly left the room, the two of them jumped excitedly onto the bed while holding hands.
“We’re finally together again, Ariana! And I've a little brother now! I’m so happy!” Sophia shouted joyfully. “I don’t want to go back to the Matheus family! I don’t want to!”