But Brantley was still a minor.
Elissa was his only relative, making her his guardian and responsible for managing the estate until he came of age.
After the will was read, Elissa sat alone in her parentsâ house for a long time.
The boy was about seven or eight, very good-looking with delicate skin and adorable curly hair.
He stood beside Raphael, timidly looking at Elissa.
Everyone told him Elissa was his sister, but he could sense she didnât like him.
In fact, she seemed to hate him.
Was it because of his mother? The thought of his mother saddened him.
He didnât even have a mother anymore.
Elissa sat quietly in the hall.
She hated the boy with every bone in her body.
She thought about how she could abuse her guardianship to donate all his assets before he came of age and leave him penniless.
She wanted to leave him where he was and let him live a miserable life all alone.
These thoughts wrapped around her like vines.
Raphael came over and gently pressed her shoulders, saying softly, âLetâs keep him.â
Elissa looked coldly at the boy and said, âIf you come to live with me, you wonât have a fancy house like this.
Youâll live in a small apartment with us, and your life wonât be as good as it used to be.
Itâs up to you whether you want to come with us or not.â
She thought he would make a wise choice and leave them alone for good.
But as she turned to leave, a small hand grabbed her dress.
Elissa was stunned.
Turning around, she saw the little boy staring at her with his bright and timid eyes.
He didnât say anything.
He just held the hem of her dress tightly.
His eyes looked so much like Yousefâs.
Elissa had to admit that the boy resembled their father even more than she did.
In his younger days, Yousef was a handsome man and there were a lot of women who admired and pursued him back then.
Marcia was one of them.
Perhaps this was why their marriage didnât last long.
While they were married, one of them got accustomed to manipulating others, while the other cared was blindly in love.
Looking at the little boyâs face, Elissa couldnât help but have mixed feelings.
She had met his mother before, who was one of Yousefâs best students and seemed to be a very proud woman.
As a result, Elissa never expected her to have an affair with her teacher, a married man, and even give birth to Brantley.
Elissa made up her mind to get rid of him, so she tried to shake off his hand.
But the child refused to let go of her dress.
He even called her his sister and promised that he would be a good boy.
When Elissa heard this, she tried but failed to suppress the disgust in her heart.
Eventually, she told him, âIf you want to live a good life here, then stop following me around! I donât want to have anything to do with you at all.
Do you understand?â
The boy stared at her with a pitiful look on his little face.
Then he loosened his grip on her dress and sat down on the sofa.