Chapter 29: Tired of keeping the secret.


"Wait...why Mom did that kind of thing?"

"So you do want to know..." Rau smirked while glancing at Fllay with the edge of his eyes.

The redhead felt this man was trying to get on her nerves. She wanted to shout at him but she refrained herself from doing so.

"Okay, I give up..."

"Cheh...you're no fun." Rau put down his newspaper. That guy stared right into his foster daugther's eyes.

"Oh wait-" He paused to think. Then, Rau got up from his seat in a haste. He moved towards Fllay and sat in front of her.

"Truth should be told like this." He chuckled. "You must feel it..."

Fllay rolled her eyes. "You always like to beat around the bush."

The raven-haired man lightly flicked her forehead for that remark. "Enough with the shenanigans, shall we?"

"Now listen. Your mother went married with another guy. That's why she left us, remember?"

"No need to jog my memory. I still remember."

Rau didn't bother to answer her. "That happened while Murrue is still married to me. We planned this whole thing, you know. And that guy is filthy rich!"

Fllay's eyes widened.

"He's actually very old. Close to death..." Rau paused, smirking. "We were short on money-"

"Are you telling me Mom sold herself to this old man for money?"

"You are close to the truth but not that close."

Then, he lowered his head, scratched his scalp for a few seconds before lifting up his head again. He frowned.

"That old man wanted to marry. A bachelor, that bastard. Your mom, being a good samaritan-"

Rau paused to laugh. Somehow, Fllay felt a bit unnerved with him grinning scornfully like that.

"...offered herself to be his wife. Well, after that geezer is dead, that woman is supposed to inherit his wealth."

"Fuck you, I don't believe that kind of shit." Fllay hissed at him. "Mom is a good woman. What you did is throwing mud at her!"

"I won't be so quick at judging people, if I were you. I'm not finished yet. We're getting into a very interesting part..."

Without warning, Rau grabbed Fllay's throat and pinned her down. The action was too fast for her; all she could do was letting out a small gasp.

"What...are you doing?" Fllay struggled for air.

"He died and...your mom was supposed to return to us with lots of cash." Rau growled as he continued to apply pressure on his grip. "She didn't."

Fllay struggled and struggled. At the same time, memories came flooding her frantic mind as she tried to make sense what Rau was saying.

That old man died...Mom disappeared...the money...gone...I...I

"D...ad! Stop...it!" She earnestly appealed for mercy. That feeling of helplessness became familiar once again. Even her kicks were not strong enough; her feet were tied, too.

"Please...it really hurts..."

As sudden as his attack, Rau stopped. His heavy breathing dominated the room.

"Now you get it..." His right hand caressed Fllay's crotch. She jolted, trying to run away from his touch.

"...why I used you after that. As a revenge on Murrue for forsaking me and running away with that old bastard's wealth, I...I!"

Rau couldn't finished his sentence. He was too angry to continue.

Fllay didn't want to listen, either. She knew. Her mom's betrayal of Rau fucked up her life, robbed her of her innocence...

Then, the unexpected happened. The older man shed a tear.

"I love Murrue. We had no choice...we really need the money. Of course-" He stopped as more tears flowed.

The redhead seated herself with great pain as she watched her stepfather cried his heart out.

"...of course I don't want her to be with that old bastard, but, but...why she left like that? Why she disappeared without telling me? Why she didn't come back? Why...am I...not good enough?"

When their eyes met, Rau's temperament turned for the worse.

"You!" Both his hands trembled, as if ready to strangle Fllay again. "You will bear the sins of your mother! That traitorous bitch!"

She hung her head low. Not for long, though. Fllay started to be defiant again.

"That doesn't mean you have the right to destroy my life!"

Several days later...

Murrue noticed someone was standing outside her gate.

"Ah, a mailman."

Without wasting any time, she went out from the house.

"Ah, good sir. It must be a mail for me, right?"

"Yup. Here you go."

Murrue smiled as she received the mail. After thanking the man, she went back inside.

"I wonder what it is..."

After she tore open the envelope, Murrue took out a letter with one swift move. Then, she left it on the table as she went to turn down her laptop's speaker. Her house was filled with some music earlier.

Reading needs to be nice and quiet, she thought.

She took the letter again and sat down on her comfy sofa.

"So...it's a letter for me." Her eyebrows came to life as she was reading.

"Murrue...I have your...daughter."

Meanwhile...

"She got the mail." Rau smirked as he drove home. "Now, what would you do...Murrue."


"Kira."

"Yes?"

He noticed that something was different with Stellar today.

"Why so serious?" Kira smiled, trying to thaw the ice.

"I'm tired of hiding. Tired of keeping a secret."

The brunette frowned.

"What secret?"

"It's my mom. You are Mwu's friend right?"

Kira nodded.

"Mwu has a woman with him, correct? She-" Stellar fidgeted. "...she's my mother."

"That..." Kira was too shocked to finish what he wanted to say.

"Look, both of us knew my father took Fllay nee-chan. And I'm sure you knew who my sister really was..."

He knew what Stellar meant by that. Just by looking at her eyes, Stellar's guilt became his guilt. The guilt for not meeting Fllay much earlier.

Kira knew it wasn't possible. If only...

"Yes..." He let out a long sigh. "Your sister told me once. Are you telling me that your father gonna put my Fllay into prostitution again?"

"I'm truly sorry for what my father did..." She hung her head low.

"No, it's not your fault." Kira patted the petite blonde's head.

"But, I'm sure that's not his intention. It's strange, you know. Look, my mom disappeared when we were small and reappeared again with no memories of me at all. I'm sure she don't remember Fllay nee-chan as well. Then, father did what he did. There must be something. Should we meet Mwu-san?"

"I think we must. This must be the answer."

Stellar smiled bitterly. "She must be suffering somewhere..."

Kira couldn't help but to hug her. He was worried as well.

"Somehow, I missed your old self."

Stellar gently broke off from Kira's hug.

"She's dead, my dear brother-in-law." She said with a smile.

Kira smiled as well. "I understand. Now, let's go. I need to call someone first."

He took out his handphone and started dialing.

"Yzak? I need your help."


A/N: THe next chapter will be the last for this story. Finally, we are almost there :3