Chapter 482: Family Drama

They turned their heads and looked at Aria.

The girl looked wrecked. She looked guilty, frustrated, and impossibly sad. She was shaking, looking absolutely heartbroken.

Claire was the first one who moved. She walked forward and pulled the crying girl into a tight hug.

"Well," Claire sighed heavily. "I don’t understand why you are crying. I feel like this is something that Adrian should have told us himself instead of acting like a coward."

Claire frowned. She looked pretty much irritated as she clicked her tongue.

"And why are you crying anyway? It’s not like you did anything wrong. Yeah, I get the fact that you did come back from the future. But like you said, you have no issues with what is going on right now. Right?"

Aria sniffled into Claire’s shoulder.

"And before you even answer that question," Claire continued. "I want to tell you that I don’t have an issue with anything either. Because here’s the thing. From what you said, Adrian took over the body of, well, I guess Adrian? What even is his real name?"

Aria sniffled again. "He said that even in his past life, his name was Adrian."

Claire chuckled dryly. "Well, Adrian then. Based on what you said, he took over this body during the divorce case at the royal court. Right?"

Aria nodded against her. "Yes."

"That just means that he took over this body at the right time," Claire said. "At the perfect time, in fact. And while it wasn’t in his control, and since it wasn’t in his control, we can just call it fate. Since the person that I met the first time was the Adrian that he is right now, I don’t think I have any problem with anything. I fell for the Adrian who was from a different world and that is the same Adrian that we have right now."

Claire pulled back slightly. She looked Aria dead in the eyes.

"But you need to ask yourself a question. Which Adrian loved you? Which Adrian do you love? Which Adrian do you consider your father?"

Aria broke down. She started crying really, really loud. She grabbed Claire’s shirt and hugged her even tighter.

"The one right now!" Aria cried out. "But I think he is mad at me."

Hearing this, Serena slowly walked forward. She knelt on the grass and put her hand gently on Aria’s head.

"Well," Serena said softly. "I feel like his anger might be a little bit of an overreaction. But it is justified. If people have secrets to keep, we must respect them. I understand where you come from, but you must understand his side too."

Aria nodded frantically. "I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t know what I was doing. I got a little sad and also angry when he was keeping secrets from me. And also I think it is because he apologized first. It just feels like he is doing something risky."

Aria wiped her eyes with the back of her small hand.

"Considering the fact that he said he wouldn’t bring me out until he goes back to Oresfall," Aria mumbled. "Right before going back to Oresfall, I mean. So I think he is about to do something really, really risky. And because of what I said, I think he is using it as a reason to... to..."

Serena frowned deeply. "Yeah. He used that chance to put us all here so that we aren’t put in danger. He got three birds with one stone."

Claire’s expression darkened instantly and her hands started shaking.

"Yeah, well he doesn’t have any right to do that shit," Claire said.

Her voice was cold. This was the one thing she dreaded the most. Being imprisoned in a safe place while the person she used her blessing on goes around doing risky things without her. Her soul link tied her life to his. The thought of him fighting alone while she was trapped in who knew where made her sick to her stomach.

Claire gritted her teeth.

"I love him a lot," Claire whispered. "But I hate him right now. I really do hate him right now."

Serena looked down at the grass at her feet. "I just don’t want him to do something dangerous."

Claire looked at her but did not explain anything.

"He can suffer for all I care," Claire said bitterly.

She released Aria from her embrace and took a step back.

Aria looked up at Claire, confused and scared. "What do you mean?"

Claire looked incredibly disturbed and angry herself, and the question just annoyed her even more.

"Well, he can go fight huge monsters and get himself killed for all I care," Claire snapped. "Who does he think he is to make the choices for us? We have our own will. But look at him going around acting like some big savior. Like he has to hold the entire world in his hands to protect us. What are we? Some dolls in the shelf for him to show off and look at whenever he wants? Only to hide us away whenever he pleases?!"

Claire kicked the ground hard. She made a little bit of the dirt and grass fly up into the air.

"Fuck him!" Claire screamed at the empty sky.

She turned around and started running. She just sprinted away across the open plains of the dungeon, wanting to burn off the suffocation in her chest.

Aria just watched her run away while she sniffed.

Serena moved closer and hugged Aria from the back. She held her securely in her embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"Let’s just forgive him," Serena said quietly. "I am pretty sure he will come around. After all, while Claire is not wrong, she is in fact right about him taking our choices. But it doesn’t change the fact that Adrian is trying to look out for us."

Aria wiped her eyes and then also her nose. She leaned back into Serena’s warmth.

"I know," Aria whispered. "But I don’t want him to put himself in danger."