Rift in the perfect picture

Staying in the Hawk manor suffocated me. I needed to escape, so I went to visit my parents‘ graves. It had been so long since I last talked to them.

The cemetery was shrouded in a gloomy overcast sky. The sun hid behind thick clouds, giving no hint of the approaching spring. Despite my thick coat, sitting on the cold ground sent chills through me.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“Daniel has passed away. Nicholas is an orphan now, Just like me. Normally, a husband and wife would lean on each other in times like this, especially when our fates are so similar…

“But I have no one to rely on. I can’t trust him anymore. He’s not the person I can entrust my life to. Dad, Mom, what was the biggest lie you ever told each other?”

I had so much bitterness with no place to express it. Tears streamed down my face, the cold wind stinging my cheeks.

The cemetery keeper recognized me. Seeing my sorrow, he offered me his condolences.

A few days ago, Nicholas locked himself in his study for an entire day and night. When he finally came out, he made a decision that surprised even me.

He chose not to bury Daniel with his biological mother. Instead, he brought me to lay Daniel to rest beside my parents, making him their new neighbor.

I

She made that choice, I couldn’t tell who Nicholas was truly angry with. I asked him why, and his

expression was indifferent as he replied, “They never gave me a complete family.”

I wanted to tell him his mother had passed from illness, but… I said nothing more. I understood it was all his way of clinging to the past

“You’re not planning to have Frances buried here one day, are you?”

Nicholas pulled me into his arms, breathing in my scent with a weary look on his face. “Never.”

His soft lashes brushed against my cheek, and for a moment, my heart softened. Perhaps, just for now, I could believe him.

The cemetery keeper clearly hadn’t seen the names on the graves before me and remarked, “Mr. Hawk Senior was truly lucky to have such a devoted daughter–in–law like you.”

I wiped my tears and smiled at him out of courtesy. To live up to his compliment, I walked over to Daniel’s grave, staring at the man’s smiling face in the photo.

In the photo, his face was kind, and his smile warm and gentle.

For four years, I had called that face “Dad“. But in the end, no one ever truly cared for anyone else without an agenda. Everyone had their own motives. A wave of sadness washed over me.

“Mr. Hawk, I didn’t come here to mourn you. I came to tell you that this is just the beginning.”

People like Frances could be bought with the smallest of favors. Those who were greedy for little things often fell the hardest.

As for Claudia, she wasn’t as loyal to Nicholas as he imagined. From what I knew, she had long since..

Nicholas couldn’t bring himself to deal with them, so I would do it myself. Claudia was my burden to

resolve too.

When I returned to the manor, Frances had just finished making soup and was pouring it into a thermos. Upon seeing me, she seemed to forget our earlier tension. She passed the thermos to me.

“Ari, I thought it over. It’s better if you bring this to Nick. You’re the one who should bring him soup. It just feels more appropriate.”

Her entire demeanor had shifted. She smiled warmly as if she was trying to please me.

“Imade a lot, so you can sit with him and have some together. Seeing you will lift his spirits.”

The pot behind her was still steaming, and the thermos she handed me was brand new.

“I added some herbal tonics to the soup. Just something to help you both recover. You’ve been ill recently too, so it’ll be good for both of you.”

I glanced at the soup for a moment before smiling indifferently. Wasn’t it a little too late for this sudden show of kindness?