Tears welled up in her eyes. But she tried her best not to let them fall. If she also broke down here, it would only aggravate the sadness that Casey was feeling. As the older sister, she should not fall apart and make her younger brother feel even worse than he did now. But it's taking everything in her not to do just that.
In the more than 20 years that they had been separated, she had thought countless of times how the other was doing. If he was eating well, if he was sleeping at night with no problems, if he was growing up properly, all kinds of thoughts that had always filled her mind.
The sadness of not knowing the answers to that was only covered up by the love she received from her husband and children. Because of her new family, she was able to be happy.
But what about Casey?
If he knew what their father and older brother had done, he would definitely feel angry and even more alone than he already did. The loneliness could have easily eaten away at him, bit by bit, until none of his former self remained.
But thankfully, Emmy could see that, in some way, Casey was still the same Casey she knew. This showed how much tenacity he had. With the things he had experienced, he could have easily gone on the wrong path. But from the things Astrid had told her, as well as what she's seeing now, she could tell that Casey had grown up into a well-adjusted adult.
She clenched her fists, and she tried to smile as best as she could. "I miss you too, Casey."
Casey sobbed even more. He couldn't even properly articulate the words he wanted to say. He could only cry silently.
"I'm sorry, Casey. I'm sorry for not being there for you. I'm sorry for making you think that I was gone. I'm just... really sorry about everything," she said, trying hard not to let the tears welling up in her eyes from falling.
Casey shook his head. "No, no, Emmy didn't do anything wrong." He wiped away his tears and looked straight at his sister. "In this family, you're the last person who should feel the need to apologize."
That's why he could only ask;
"Is he good to you?"
Emmy seemed to be surprised by the question. Then she smiled. "Very. He's a foolish man who wouldn't hesitate to dig out his heart and give it to me if it was physically possible. He loves me and our children. There's nothing to worry about on that note."
Casey was relieved when he heard that. As long as his sister was happy and loved, then that's enough for him. "You have raised two lovely kids."
"They are indeed lovely. But they could also be a big pain in my ass sometimes. I still wouldn't trade them for the world, though," Emmy said. "I'm sure they will be glad to have an uncle like you."
Casey smiled a bit, hoping that would indeed be the case.
"How about you? I heard you've taken over EMMA?" Emmy asked. She had been holding back from asking how the other had been doing these past 20 years or so.
"I've been good, for the most part." Except during days that he couldn't help but wallow in his own melancholy. He didn't want to tell that to Emmy, though. That one outburst was enough. He didn't want this semi-reunion to be ruined by sad memories. "As for EMMA..."
Astrid, on the opposite chair, silently stood up and walked out of the private room. He should give them their privacy. As he stood outside, he was thinking about how he could help the two meet without any complications.
And the only answer he could come up with was Wulfric.