"But…"
"No buts. It's decided, " insisted Carla to cut Charles's words short. After that, she instructed, "Once we land, you will take all seven of your men back to Erihal. Call me as soon as you learn anything."
"I'll leave after I helped settle you and the kids down. You gave up custody of your kids just to protect Mr. Lierger's children, so I can't ignore your wellbeing, " offered Charles who was still worried.
"I am not that nice, " replied Carla while grinning, "It's just that given the current situation, my kids are safer with Zayn than they are with me. Hence, I am also doing all this for their sake."
"But if it hasn't been for us, you could've gone back to the Giblo family. It would be safer for you, and you'd get to reunite with your kids."
Charles could see things clearly. The truth was that Carla was sacrificing herself to protect all three of Daemon's children. In a way, history was repeating itself. Carla was protecting the kids, just as her mother had protected Daemon all those years ago.
"Oh, stop being dilly-dallying already and man up, " said Carla. She changed the topic and ordered, "The sun is rising. You should go rest up now. We have a busy day ahead after we landed."
"Okay, " said Charles. He stood up and bowed politely to Carla before returning to his seat.
Carla looked out the window and stared at the clouds. A complex emotion gnawed at her. Who would've thought that after all the twists and turns, I'd return to where it all began?
"Don't worry, Ms. Lierger. The trouble will pass, and you are no longer the person you used to be. We can rise back up to the top once this is all over, " said Freda while serving Carla a cup of warm tea.
"Rise back up to the top?" murmured Carla before an exasperated and bitter smile crept up on her lips, "That's true. The assets and resources Daemon left me would allow me to rise back to the top, but…"
Carla tilted her head down and stared at the cup of warm tea she had with her. In a voice thick with tears, she added, "I'd rather give it all up just to have Daemon back."
In the past, all Carla ever felt for Daemon were respect, fear, and appreciation. There was no love whatsoever.
That was why all she could think about was his cruelty and his ambition when she first got reunited with her kids. Carla was certain that Daemon couldn't understand the love between a parent and a child.
That was why she was ready to leave the Lierger family when Daemon asked her about the kids. She assumed that he would never accept them and might even hurt them.
As time passed, she learned that underneath his cruel exterior was a heart that beat with more honor and love than anyone.
His cruelty was only directed at those he deemed an outsider.
Daemon was the kind of man who would sacrifice his life to protect the people he saw as his family.
When it came to the people he cared about, Daemon would reprimand mercilessly but do the most heartwarming gestures.
Carla, however, took too long and had to go through so much to understand how much he cared.
"Mr. Lierger is fine. I believe that he is still alive. He has to be, " said Freda as her eyes reddened with tears.
"Yes, I think so too. That is why we only need to be patient and wait for him to return, " agreed Carla. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Yeah, " said Freda while nodding. Then, she added, "But, Ms. Lierger, are you really not going back to the Giblo residence? Aren't you worried about how Randy, Josh, and Venus would feel?"
"Yavawi is right next to Aymo City, so I can visit them often. I just hope they won't hate me for this, " replied Carla. Thinking about her kids inevitably stung her heart.
"Why not just stay in Aymo City?" asked Freda curiously, "Won't it be great to live closer together? That way, all six kids can hang out and play together all the time."
"Things will never be the same again, so we should just keep our distance, " answered Carla as she grinned bitterly, "It doesn't matter how Lierger Corporation's future is. The fact is that I can never go back to the Giblo family. Besides, before Daemon left, he repeatedly warned me against ever reaching out to Zayn again."
"Okay. The two families have been at odds for generations, so I guess it makes sense that all that bad blood won't go away that easily, " said Freda while nodding in exasperation.
"At odds…" muttered Carla. Her expression took a sharp change when she blurted, "Could it be…? Does the Giblo family have anything to do with Daemon's disappearance?"
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