Searching “Elisa” on the internet now, one can no longer find the Miss Powell from Bankshire, the eldest daughter of the Powell family. The first result that pops up is a celebrity who has been making headlines all year.
Ivan naturally saw it too. He knew his sister was already dead, but whenever he heard the name “Elisa,” he couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain, lost in thought for a long time.
The year Elisa died, he didn’t dare to come to the cemetery because it was his endless bullying of Elisa, forgetting his mother’s words, that made her leave this world so early.
After Elisa left, the Powell family was left with only him, with no relatives by his side. It’s only when one loses someone that they realize the value of that person. He had thought more than once about how good Elisa had been in the past.
When she first spoke, the first word she uttered was “brother,” but he always treated her with temper and coldness. He blamed Elisa for their mother’s death, yet despite her growing up, he never once embraced her. After Elisa inherited the Powell family, he became increasingly dissatisfied with this sister, calling her a scheming opportunist and using the most venomous words against her. During that time, he cursed her all day, hoping she would fall ill and die soon.
Later, when Elisa did fall ill, she didn’t tell anyone, not even him. He didn’t know how she went to the hospital to get a diagnosis of stomach cancer, he didn’t know when she had a miscarriage, and he didn’t know when she was driven to madness by Hamish due to depression.
What he didn’t know was that Elisa endured deep wounds from Hamish and still chose to stay with him. It was because Hamish used him to threaten Elisa.
It’s ridiculous that only after Elisa’s death did he learn everything from Micah. Clearly, his mistreatment of Elisa and his uselessness as a brother make him wonder why Elisa chose to protect him in this way.
Thinking about the past brings tears to Ivan’s eyes that he can’t help but let fall. Elisa’s memorial day is in five days. It’s been four years since her death.
“Mom, I forgot our agreement, I didn’t protect her, I harmed her. If she were still here, she definitely wouldn’t forgive me, would she?”
“Would her visit be to see you or your sister?”
Some people can apologize, repay, make amends, and forget after making mistakes, while others can only kneel in front of a tombstone, repent, and endure the torment of guilt all day long.
Every time Ivan comes to the cemetery, he kneels for a long time, repenting for the mistakes he made in the past.
“I abandoned her before, she asked me to save her, but I didn’t look back.” If he had turned back at that underground gambling den, fulfilled his duty as an older brother, taken Elisa away, confronted Hamish with her, and protected her, she wouldn’t have died without returning home.
Elisa was used to Bankshire, the hot summers and cold winters of Chiwood. How could she get used to it? Her ashes were scattered in the sea. She was so afraid of the cold, so why did she think about what would happen after death?
Many things about Elisa were told to him by Micah. Since marrying Hamish, Elisa had never had a good day. On the day her father had an accident and was sentenced, she wasn’t out with another man, but was locked in the bedroom by Hamish. He cut off the internet and confiscated her phone, keeping her inside for a full four days. She was in such pain from her stomach that she resorted to eating tissue paper as a painkiller.
Micah said that day, Elisa even kneeled in the pouring rain outside the courthouse for half an hour. When she was taken to the hospital, she was covered in blood. He washed her stomach and all he washed out was bloody pulp, and Ivan knew nothing about this.
When Elisa was notified of her critical condition, and her heart stopped beating, he was outside cursing her and wishing for her to die soon.
Ivan knelt on the ground, bowing his head, because it was his curse that killed her.
Ivan looked at his right prosthetic hand and muttered with a sob, “It serves me right to have it cut off. This is the punishment for abandoning her in the first place.” He looked up again at the two tombstones in front of him, at the photos of his parents on the tombstones.
“Mom, Dad, I really know I was wrong…”
On the morning of the 23rd, Elisa and Louis went to Quokka. They took off their coats as soon as they got off the plane. The average temperature in Quokka is 25 degrees, not too hot or too cold. Louis had already informed Mrs. White beforehand, so someone was there to meet them as soon as they got off the plane.
This was Elisa’s first time spending the New Year at someone else’s home, and the first time she had so many people to accompany her during the New Year. New Year’s Eve was finally not a time for her to silently count down alone.
Louis was worried that Elisa wouldn’t be comfortable, so another house in Quokka had been arranged for her, where they could go after the White family finished their New Year celebrations.
At the White family’s residence, Mrs. White was busy arranging New Year goods. The ordered Christmas tree had just arrived in the yard, and the servants were busy decorating it with colorful lights.
There were quite a few decorations to be put up for Christmas, and Mrs. White loved the variety of colors. However, for the New Year, she preferred the auspiciousness of bright red. The couplets and lanterns were all ready, just waiting to be put up.
Elisa took a nap on the plane and didn’t feel tired when she landed. So, she took Louis with her to decorate the Christmas tree and put up the window flowers.
A star had to be hung at the top of the Christmas tree, and they had to wait until that day to do it.
They spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the White family’s residence. Mrs. White was warm and welcoming towards Elisa, but Mr. White never really looked at Elisa directly.
Elisa noticed the difference early on, but she pretended not to notice. Louis also had a sister, Brittany, whom Elisa rarely spoke to.
She felt uncomfortable the first time she visited Louis’s family. Perhaps she was too concerned about the views of Louis’s family, and everything she did seemed somewhat restrained.
As soon as Christmas was over, Louis took Elisa to another house for some private time.
One day, Louis was called away by a phone call, leaving Elisa alone at home reading a book when the doorbell rang.
Instead of immediately opening the door, she looked outside through the peephole. It was Louis’s father and his sister Brittany. What were this father and daughter doing here? They had come to see Louis? But their expressions didn’t look right.
Elisa didn’t think too much. Since they were already here, she couldn’t just leave them standing outside. So, she turned the doorknob and opened the door.
“Uncle White, hello,” Elisa greeted them, then turned to Brittany and nodded.
Mr. White gave a contemptuous snort. Elisa was completely baffled. From the first time she saw Mr. White, she could feel his hostility towards her, but she didn’t know what she had done wrong.
This time, without Mrs. White present, Mr. White’s hostility seemed even more intense.
Mr. White, with an imposing manner and a hint of wisdom and dignity in his eyes, took Elisa and Brittany into the house.
Once inside, Mr. White sat down on the sofa and watched as Elisa poured tea. His tone was rather disdainful, “Miss Powell, your tricks may have fooled my wife, but they don’t fool me. I didn’t expect you to so quickly get my son in your clutches and have him bring you back to the White family in such a short time.”
It seemed that their visit today was no simple matter. Elisa stopped pouring the tea and, calmly, walked over to sit on the other end of the sofa.
“Mr. White, did you come here just to tell me this?” Mr. White took out a check from his jacket and placed it on the coffee table. “Here is five million. Leave my son.”