Chapter 109 - Little Star

Mark sat on the chair beside Emily's bed in the dimly lit room as he waited for her to finally wake up.

It had been more than two hours and she still had to wake up.

He once again recalled Sam's assurance that she was perfectly fine and just needed a little time to rest.

He took her small hand in his large ones as he thought about how he ended up hugging her two hours ago when she was almost on the brink of a breakdown.

He was afraid of disturbing her thoughts but at the same time, he knew that he needed to stop her.

That's why without thinking about the consequences anymore, he ended up finally hugging her for the very first time since she returned.

"I don't hate you, Little Star."

Mark whispered softly as he rubbed her fingers with such gentleness as if he was holding porcelain.

He drew in a deep breath before he continued in a soft voice.

"You know when you were born and I first got to see you....I was so surprised to see such a cute little thing bundled up in Domenic's arms. He refused to let go of you and no matter how much the rest of us quarreled with him to hold you even once, he did not back down."

A huge smile was covering his face as he recalled those memories. He was barely five years old at that time but he still remembered everything very clearly.

"Your arrival filled our mansion with happiness. Your small smile held so much power. Your eyes were like the emeralds as they used to twinkle when you looked at us." 

He shook his head as if he was trying to bring himself out of his thoughts.

"Even back then, I was used to be too afraid and hesitant around you. I was afraid that I would end up hurting you I won't be careful and because of that fear, I lost my chance of spending those beautiful moments with you. The day Jianna took you away, I was left shattered. I just wanted my little star back with me. I remember very clearly that all of us brothers cried in dad's arms that night, requesting him to bring you back."

The room was filled with silence for the next few moments as Mark tried to get a grip on his emotions.

Recalling the past was definitely not a good feeling, especially when it's a past full of pain and suffering.

"Years passed after that day but you never returned. And when almost most of us gave up the hope of ever finding you again, you returned..."

".....but you were no longer that small baby who could barely utter a word of understanding. You were almost seventeen and I could not find my Little Star in those green eyes that were so familiar but at the same time looked as strange as one could."

His hold on her hand tightened as he thought about the day when Domenic brought her home.

She looked nothing like his Little Star whose emerald eyes used to shine like stars. Rather, her eyes were filled with insecurity, sadness, and a lot of pain.

His heart immediately refused to recognize her. Even though she looked like his baby sister, she was nothing like her.

"I was harsh towards you in the beginning because I wanted to keep my distance from you, but then I started seeing glimpses of my Little Star every now and then."

He went silent as he looked at her sleeping frame. She looked so innocent and naive, just like a little girl who was unaware of all the darkness that was filling the world.

"But no matter how much my heart was ready to accept you back in my life and this family, my mouth refused to say these words out."

"And then I realized that in the middle of all the love that you were receiving from others, you needed someone who can help you get out of your comfort zone and make you challenge yourself. And when the others refused to do that, I decided to help Domenic and react harshly towards you."

Once again he stopped to collect his emotions before he continued his confession.

"I know that my way of doing all this was nothing like Domenic. No matter how cold and harsh he reacted towards you most of the time, he also showed his warm side to you when you needed it. But I'm not as strong as him. If I've let my care for you come out even once, I don't think I would have been able to go back to my harsh and indifferent behavior..."

"...that was why I reacted so coldly towards you. I decided to be the bad brother to help you because I know that the others would never let you down. What I did not expect was that you were actually affected by my cold behavior to such an extent. I want to see you strong and independent, not sad and full of pain."

His eyes were filled with pain as he looked at the sleeping girl. How much he wanted to wake her up and tell her that he did not hate her.

He had never hated her. She was the most precious person in his life along with the rest of his brothers and he could do anything for her happiness.

"I won't continue this stupid act of mine anymore. I just want to see you happy and if it means that I need to become the brother on whom you can rely on and put your faith in, I will do my best to become just like that." 

His eyes held the promise and there was no hesitation in them.

His attention was pulled away from his little sister when he heard soft knocks on her bedroom door.

"Mark, Domenic is calling you downstairs." 

It was Crist who appeared in the bedroom to inform his brother about the meeting that their eldest brother had called to share something important.

His eyes landed on the sleeping form of the little girl and a small sad smile appeared on his lips.

"She looks so calm right now."

Crist whispered as he kept watching his baby sister with eyes filled with immense warmth and love for her.

"She does," Mark replied as he rested her hand on the bed before pulling the duvet to cover her hand.

He gave a last look at her before he stood up to face his brother.

"I don't know what's going on with you, Mark. But one thing that I know for sure is that you don't hate her as she believes. We can see it very clearly bro, you care about her just as much as we all do. I just hope that whatever you are doing, it won't hurt her in a way that will be impossible to cure."

Crist's words were soft but the meaning behind them was filled with a harsh reminder.

Mark nodded his head before the two young men left the room.

The room was silent for the next few moments and it was not until it was clear that no one was going to enter the room, did Emily finally opened her eyes.

A tear rolled down from the corner of her eyes while a small smile bloomed on her lips.

She heard every single word that Mark just confessed. The way her heart filled with warmth after hearing him speak his heart out to her, only she knew how she kept the facade of sleeping.

All the anger, sadness, pain, and suffering that she went through because of his cold words in the past few months, all had vanished, leaving her heart light and warm.

All that she wanted to do was to run after him and threw herself in his arms, forgetting the past and celebrating their reunion.

However, she knew that she could not do that. She had decided, she was not going to ruin his hard work.

He had done so much for her, going as far as to become the bad guy just so that she could become stronger. How could she let him down after knowing all this?

She was going to give her hundred percent to become stronger and independent. 

"So you are not sleeping anymore, are you?"

The sudden voice that filled her bedroom made her jump as she hurriedly sat up on her bed to look around.

Her eyes landed on the figure of the man who was standing next to her study table while looking through her notes.

"When did you enter my room? I did not saw you enter." 

Emily asked as she switched on the lamp sitting on her bedside table.

A small twitch appeared on his lips as he looked at the girl while answering, "You are forgetting that I'm not a human, Princess. By the way, go get a shower. Then we will head downstairs for dinner."