Aster Veren
Episode 31

- Ansel

It turned out that there was no need to spend a week to find out the true nature of Kalea yes, my inner self while getting a report from Rigel.

I turned my attention to the door of my study when I heard a knock from the outside.

"Lake in." I said to someone out there.

"I'm coming Ansel." Claretta's voice stole my attention, which was diverted back to the new incoming message I got from Rigel.

I saw that Claretta had covered her big smile as she walked over to me.

"Sit down." I let him sit on the sofa by the window, and I walked towards him and filled the empty space before him.

"It looks like you're so tired, have you had lunch?" Ask when I meet you.

"You don't want to know why I called you here?" I asked back.

"Eh? Why why anyway? Didn't you call me to talk about our wedding?" He looked confident with the smile of his feet.

"Well that's true, but .. You know my mom never agreed to our wedding plans? And I agreed to marry you only for Kalea's sake, but if my mother took Veren's name off me, would you still want to marry me?" Obviously I was grabbing a cup of tea in front of me.

"I–it ... You're kidding right? Hahaha, how could your mother do such an evil thing to her son," he said, forcing his bland laughter.

Did he never think of that possibility? Of course I can do it, and nothing can stop his anger. My mind can't shake my mother's shadow when she's mad at Arsel.

"Ta–pi if that happens, I won't mind your name. After all, from the beginning we agreed to marry for the happiness of Kalea, right?" The next sound reassuring coupled with his wide smile that was different from before.

"You know, right? I hate lies." I said after drinking my tea.

"Te–of course." The answer sounded nervous.

"Are you sure you're not gonna take my name?" I was wondering I couldn't take my gaze off Claretta just like that.

"Yes, te–of course." He looks doubtful.

"Is there nothing you want to tell me?" I asked again while keeping the tea cup in my hand in place.

"Related .. Your lie may be?" I managed to get him to flinch.

"Ha~ah I thought all this time you were very good for not expecting anything from me other than the happiness of your own daughter. But I'm wrong .. You're just like any other woman." I said after a long breath.

"A–what do you mean? I—" He immediately stopped when my eyes met him again.

For some reason I'm looking at him so cynically now, I'm sick of the mask he's wearing that I can't control myself right now.

"Do you think my name doesn't matter until I'm willing to give up Veren's name to marry you?" I asked to surprise him again.

Then I lazily put my headphone on the table after pressing the play button of the sound recording player.

".... I'll take it easy, I can control Ansel. And she agreed to marry me for Kalea."

"You have to run fast before he loves his son ...."

"I'm working on it, I don't have to worry about it. .. Besides Ansel's nature is very cold on the boy."

"So about him not admitting his daughter is right huh? Good then, your chance to make Kalea the successor to the Veren family can run smoothly."

"Well, let's hope it's smooth to the end ...."

"But I still don't believe in the appearance of the child ... Helen really hid it well huh."

"With this our marriage will never happen." I ended my conversation with him.

I quickly got up from my sitting position and walked towards the door intending to leave it.

"Tu–wait Ansel, listen to my explanation first." His words stopped my steps.

"I don't think there's anything more to explain. Everything is pretty clear to me, if you think you can make Kalea the successor to the Veren family you're wrong, because the next Veren family successor has been decided by my mother." Obviously, I stepped back to the door with my mother's voice still ringing in my ear.

This morning my mother called me and told me about her decision that would make Aster the next successor to the Veren family.

"But didn't you say you loved Kalea very much? You can do anything for Kalea, even say you want to marry me and make Kalea happy" Claretta's voice broke my daydream.

"Well I do love him more than I love my own daughter .. that's as stupid as I am." I said as I grabbed the door.

"I don't care about the Veren family's successor, that plan. I–I only want to marry you, even if Veren's name is taken away from you. I still want to marry you!" His screams really make me sick.

"Lied!" I murmured while clenching my palms, trying to hold back my emotions through my fist.

"Unfortunately the name Veren is more important to me than you. You can't stop me with that shit!" I immediately closed the door to my study and went to the elevator after seeing the incoming message from Rigel that I had not read, and left the woman in my study.

I should have asked people to drag him out of my room, why would I have to leave my own room? this is really stupid! My grunts in my heart.

***

- Esther

"Stop confessing to me as my father's daughter!" Shouted Kalea while pounding the table in front of me, attracting the attention of everyone who was enjoying a break in class while eating lunch.

Since morning he's been bugging me on the school corridor. He kept stressing about the father who loved him and asking me not to get close to him.

Even without being told I already know, even Kalea himself has often shown his closeness to father when father picked him up. What else does he want to show me?

I think Kalea has changed, given how worried she was about me when my illness came back in front of her. But it turned out that my mind was wrong, he even acted as usual as if he had never seen me in pain.

He was obviously worried about me at the time. My mind recalled Kalea's faint worried expression.

"What's Lea?" Tanya Nadin who just returned from the cafeteria, seen from the snacks she brought.

"This, Aster's time as my father's son." Clearly testing my patience, judging from wherever Kalea deliberately lured me with his words. Though he himself knew that I was my father's daughter, and his mother would marry my father, taking my father away from me.

"You hear? Aster claimed to be Kalea's father's son, is that real? Then they're dong's sisters?" Whisper some girls near me.

"Given, as much as you want to have a father, you've confessed to me like that. Aren't you ashamed to acknowledge someone else's father as your father?" Nadin said with his sarcastic eyes silenced all the whisperings that had filled the classroom.

"justified? He kept pestering me and told me that my father was his father. And we all know he doesn't have a father." Kalea continued with her teary eyes.

Ah, I'm really upset right now. Is it okay if I fight him once in a while? I've had enough of being treated this way by him all this time. But .... My mind sighed tiredly and relaxed my stiffened shoulder muscles.

"I have to calm down, I don't want to feel shortness of breath anymore" I muttered after finishing sighing.

"Why should we reverse such a fact as Kalea?" I asked after gathering all my courage, "didn't you keep bothering me since morning?" I continued while commenting on my thin smile making everyone shocked.

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Thanks for reading...