"Sister!" Esther pounced on Ella the moment she spotted her.
But in two seconds, the sisterly affection on her face turned into disgust.
"AHH! What is this?" she glanced at the black soot that covered her body.
When she stepped back, she saw Ella dressed in some casual loose fitted pyjamas, covered in soot head to toe. Her hair was messy and at places, she was covered in dirt.
Suddenly, Esther’s eyes widened, ’’Sis, did... Mr. King try to burn you...? You...’’
Even though her eyes were filled with concern and disbelief, they revealed a hint of glee that did not go unnoticed by Ella.
Ella had seen this girl’s colors in her past life but even then, she did not understand why Esther hated her so much? Was it all because of Adrian?
"Sis! Are you really fine? Are you hurt somewhere? This... Please don’t blame Mr. King for this... You must have said something that angered him but...’’
’’Miss Yu, we have finalized the list of books to be kept in the library for this month based on what you picked. The list changes every month so I will be sending it over to you for approval,’’ Ji Yan’s voice came from behind.
Ella looked at the man gratefully, understanding his intent of helping her out from the awkward situation.
This assistant of Adrian was as considerate as ever. He was an all rounded man, part time butler, part time assistant, this and that.
But most of all, he had been a part time nanny, dealing with her tantrums in her previous life. However, she had humiliated him again and again, putting him in the same category as Adrian.
’’Ah, library?!" Esther grabbed Ella’s elbow, ’’What did he mean by that?"
Ella gently pulled her elbow back from Esther’s grip, ’’I had burnt down a floor in anger last time. They were fixing it today so I wanted to help with the library plan.’’
Esther’s face turned blank, ’’You... Mr. King did not hurt you?" She looked at Ella from head to toe, seeing that she was indeed covered in dirt and soot but there were no visible injuries on her.
"Hmm? Why would he hurt me? Or even go as far as trying to burn me?" That’s more of your hidden desire.
Ella smiled a little, ’’Earlier, you said that I must have angered him somehow that caused me to hurt him. Even if I angered him, do I deserve to be burnt?"
Esther panicked a bit, ’’No, that’s not...’’ In private, she would have badmouthed Adrian to anger Ella and trigger her into acting up against him. But with the servants and Ji Yan present, she could not do that so she tried to be diplomatic with her words.
Before, Ella would never have noticed these subtle changes. How could she suddenly pick up on them now?
’’Be careful what you say, Essie. People will think you are his sister, not mine.’’
Esther’s face switched colors, starting from blue to ending with green.
’’Haha, sister, don’t joke around!" Esther hooked her arm around Ella’s and led her to the couch area as if she was the mistress of the house.
As they sat there together, Esther passed a bag to Ella, ’’Here, I brought you your favorite food. And you don’t even see my efforts but only mess with me.’’
Ella accepted the bag and ruffled Esther’s hair, ’’Thank you.’’
Esther fixed her hair, her eyes containing disgust at the sight of Ella’s dirty hands.
But seeing that she still did her old affectionate gestures, Esther was reassured knowing that Ella had not realized anything about her motives yet.
Suddenly, Esther grabbed Ella’s hands and spoke up in a sad tone, ’’Sister, in the future, you should not be so wilful anymore. It’s unfair to Mr. King when you meet with Max behind his back. No matter how much you love each other, things are different now. You are married and he is also engaged. You should not ruin the name of the King Family...’’
Ella’s brows furrowed.
’’I am also guilty here... I cannot strictly advise you against things when you pour your heart to me because we are sisters. But this is not right after all. These past few weeks, you had been desperately asking me to reach out to Max and my heart ached for you but sister, no matter what, you should not be seeking him out. In doing so, you are betraying Mr. King...!"
"That’s right. I have indeed been trying too hard to meet Max for some time now,’’ Ella sighed softly.
From the corner of her eyes, Esther looked at Adrian who was standing on the staircase and struggled to hide the smile on her face.
’’But that is the past. I have realized my mistakes and come around now,’’ Ella continued.
Esther’s brain glitched, ’’M-Mistakes?"
’’Of course, what else then? Max was indeed my fiance at some point but we were young and immature then. Now, we have our own lives. I was merely being foolish in the past!" Ella waved her hand nonchalantly.
’’S-Sis, that’s not what you said before... You said you loved...’’