Chapter 283 - Family or Power?

In the living room, Aerie is rubbing Little Sho's cheeks. "Don't poop so much."

"Don't tell him that." The maid tells her gently, "Babies shouldn't hold it back. It hurts them."

She blinks her eyes. "A.d.u.l.ts don't get hurt if they hold back their poops?"

"It does," The maid says to her, "They get constipated."

Little Sho raises his arms and legs, grabbing his sister's hair.

"Ow!" Aerie loosens Sho's little fingers. "Sho, if you don't stop pulling my hair, I am going to dress you like a girl and take your photos. I am sure that Elder Brother would love it."

Standing near the door, Yuta's lips tremble when he hears her words. Though he can't think of her as a younger sister, she still thinks of him as an elder brother. 

What is the right thing to do?

The baby squeals on the couch as if he can understand Aerie's words and he is fine with girls' clothing.

"Maybe we should dress him as a girl." Aerie runs her fingers through Sho's hair. "His hair is so soft."

Feeling her fingers in his hair, Sho dozes off on the couch with a trail of drool starting from the corner of his lips.

"I will bring you something to eat, Young Miss." The maid goes to the kitchen. Yuta knows that this is an opportunity. 

"Aerie." She turns her head toward him when he calls her name. "Come with me."

With a clueless face, Aerie comes to him. He grabs her hand and takes her toward the storage shed. 

"Elder Brother, where are we going?" Aerie asks him with a meek voice. Elder Brother often makes her nervous. He's unpredictable, and sometimes, he looks at her with a weird gaze.

Children are often s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to hate and disgust, but it takes them a while to understand what it could be.

"We are going to…" He pauses for a moment. "Aerie, what would you choose? Family or Power?"

"What is power?" Aerie stares at his back. When he doesn't answer her, she hesitantly adds, "I don't know what is power, but I will always choose our family."

That's what she's saying right now, but what about the future?

***

When the door of the shed is opened, Mira turns around to look at the boy. There's a wire in his hand and blood is dripping on the floor. She gazes at the drop of blood on his face.

"Did you kill her?" She inquires pensively.

He doesn't answer her. Instead, he takes quiet steps toward her. His brown eyes are calm and cold. Mira doesn't struggle when he coils the wire around her neck and tightens it. 

"If I kill you right now," He says to her with a chilling voice, "everything should be over, right?" 

"It should be," She utters through clenched teeth. 

"Why aren't you begging for your life?" He pushes her on the floor, sitting on the top of her. His intentions are clear to her. Killing her is as easy as twisting a chicken's neck. "Beg me. Ask for forgiveness, Mira. Why aren't you doing it?"

She laughs at him mockingly. "I don't fear death."

"What do you fear then?" He loosens the wire. It has left marks on her neck. She's bleeding beneath him. "Tell me how I should torment you. I want to hurt you, woman. I want to see you in pain. Everything is going wrong because of you."

Kirishima Mira grabs his hands and takes them to her throat, watching him with clear grey eyes. "Kill me if it makes you happy."

"You are the cruellest woman in the world." He lowers his head, touching her forehead with his. "I couldn't kill her."

What? She widens her eyes. "Then, whose blood?"

"I killed your companion." He tells her, "He will be found dead in the car by the police after some time."

She doesn't care whether Furutani is alive or not. But…"Why? I thought that you chose your family."

"I can't kill a person who can't make a choice yet." Yuta sobs. "She's also a part of my family, Mira. It's not a choice anymore. I can't kill someone from my family."

A fool! Mira pushes him off her and stands up. "You! Have you gone insane? You are only seeing the present. Then, Maddox shouldn't have died either. He didn't kill your mother in this lifetime."

"I didn't kill Maddox." Yuta meets her angry gaze. "However, he was an a.d.u.l.t who was capable of making a decision. Aerie is a child. She doesn't even know what power is."

"Why are you being like this?" Mira grabs his shoulder and shakes him. "Get a grip on yourself. She's a dangerous person. Your entire family will be in danger. Let me kill her, Yuta. Please."

"So, this is what would get you begging." Yuta removes her hands from his shoulders. The chill in his eyes makes her step back. "I have decided to stand by her side."

"What are you talking about?" She clenches her teeth when he shakes off the dust from his clothes and straightens up. 

"You are something." He grimaces at her. "Coming here and trying to manipulate me into killing my adopted sister… Kirishima Mira, you think that you can do whatever you want with me?"

"All I want is to see her dead." Mira screams at him, "Why can't you understand this simple thing? Do you think that I am bad? If I start telling you about her deeds, Maddox and I will seem nothing to you."

After a long time, he declares to her, "I don't care what her past was. She's not Valerie Kang anymore. Since she got adopted by my parents, she's Aerie Kamiyama. I was worried about the heir battle for sure, but I have no choice anymore. You killed me because of the Consortium. I am sure that you will do the same to everyone from my family. To protect my family from the likes of you, I must stand by her side."