Chapter 111
For three days , Torin had been engulfed in grief and regret .
འ༠à½à½à¾à½¾ རོ
All these years , he had assumed that even if he didnât pay much attention to Elysia , her status as the Drayton familyâs eldest daughter would at least shield her from any bad treatment .
After all , she was Rupertâs only biological daughter .
And Fenwick had always eagerly competed with him for Elysiaâs affection .
But reality delivered a harsh slap in the face , making him realize just how absurd and laughable his assumptions had been .
.
Why does everyone abandon her ? Why are they all bullying her ? Torin suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to collapse on the spot and sleep for days
He hoped that when he opened his eyes again , he would wake up on the day Elysia had returned home and find it was all just a dream .
Then , he would personally pick up his younger sister from the police station and hear her sweetly call him â Torin â like she used to when they were
kids .
And before bringing her back , he would kick Rowena out of their house to eliminate the root of all the trouble .
But he reckoned Fenwick would definitely object , not to mention their father .
Both of them had been blinded by Rowena and wouldnât see the truth just because he said so .
Torin thought the best solution would be to take Elysia to live with him in his apartment , just the two of them would be enough ,
He had already secured his admission to university , so he could stay in the apartment and take care of Elysta .
He would help her walk out of the shadows , transforming her into the happiest little princess in the world .
As Torinâs the
thoughts wandered , he closed his eyes with exhaustion , letting himself sink into the fantasy .
But perhaps it was because he had seen so few genuine smiles on Elysiaâs face over the years that , even in his imagination , her expression remained perpetually somber .
Would she not even smile for me , even in my dreams ? Torin thought .
Suddenly , someone called out , â What are you doing here ! â
A thunderous roar jolted Torin awake from his dream
When he opened his eyes , he saw a tall , middle â aged man standing before him and glaring at him furiously .
â Dad ⦠â Torin stared at the younger version of Rupert , his n
mind going blank for a moment before a wave of unprecedented excitement surged through him .
He had gone back seven years .
He had traveled back in time .
Rut Rupertâs next words struck like a hammer , shattering his euphoria .
â Elysia , if thereâs nothing else , get out now .
Stop interrupting my work .
Only then did Torin snap back to reality , realizing he was still wearing the VR headset and viewing the scene from Elysiaâs perspect , Gradually , the real world came into focus .
He had been too immersed in the simulation .
Removing the headset , Torin rubbed his temples hard , trying to ease the stralp in his eyes from the prolonged lack of rest .
â Why are you sh
shutting the door , Elysia ? The roar echoed in his ears once more , forcing him to reopen his eyes .
On the big screen in the studio , Elysia silently closed the door , then carried a glass of water over to Rupert .
She explained calmly , â Dad , I brought you some water .
Also , I wanted to share something with you .
I got into Ridgewood Middle School â
Fearing that Rupert wouldnât give her a chance to finish or that Rowena might barge in at any moment , Elysia swiftly pulled out her acceptance letter to Ridgewood Middle School and placed it in front of him .
She k
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knew all too well how much her father valued academic achievements .
This letter was her best chance to prove her worth to him .
BAD AM
Chapter III
As expected , Rupertâs eyes lit up at her words .
Eagerly , he opened the letter , and his gaze darted to the bottom of the page .
After confirming several times that the seal was authentic , his mood visibly improved
Rupert casually accepted the glass of water from Elysia , took a sip , and exclaimed , â Good ! Getting in is all that matters .
Well done ! â Smiling broadly .
he set down the glass , picked up the letter again , and began studying it more carefully .
However , the moment his eyes landed on the words â An Program â written after Elysiaâs name , the smile on his face instantly vanished .
â Whatâs this ? Whatâs going on here ? Art Program ? Whatâs the point of wasting time on this nonsense ? Drawing ? Thatâs something you can learn at home ! Schools are meant for academics , not hobbies ! You should tell the school Rupert abruptly stopped .
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Elysia , asked suspiciously .
â Donât tell me ⦠you didnât make the cut ? â
Elysia felt a surge of nervousness under Rupertâs scrutinizing gaze .
Technically , she hadnât reached the regular admission cutoff , but the acceptance letter was real .
by a few points ,
Her fatherâs harsh questioning made her feel a little aggrieved .
Her voice choked up slightly as she replied .
â L ⦠I missed the cutoff b but I qualified for the art program .
I promise Iâll study hard â¦
Elysia trailed off , unsure how to continue , and Rupert wasnât interested in hearing more .
He tossed the letter onto the table with a look of disappointment and said , â So I was happy for nothing .
You didnât even make the cut , yet you dared to mislead me with this nonsense about an art program !
â I shouldâve known .
Since when did you suddenly develop an interest in art ! When we asked Rowenaâs art teacher to teach you as well , you threw tantrums because you couldnât draw well and almost chased the poor teacher away .
And now , you think you can take shortcuts with your poor grades !
As if those words werenât harsh enough , Rupert suddenly slammed his hand against the table and knocked the glass of water to the floor .
Water splattered everywhere , and the glass shattered into pieces
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