<b>Chapter </b><b>256 </b>
<b>Ka </b>thought to herself, ‘Those memories used to be the sweetest part of my childhood.
‘But now, every single one of them cuts like a knife straight to my heart.
Gloria was about to keep reminiscing when Landon cut in, “Mom, why don’t you take a break and have some water?<b>” </b>
“Alright,” Gloria replied.
Gloria leaned back in her chair, lookingpletely satisfied.
Gloria had never been her mother–inw’s favorite, so of course her heart always leaned toward the Ger family.
When the kids were little, the Ger family was there to help take care of them.
After Ka went missing, the Ger family did everything they could to help find her.
And when her husband passed away and Henry’s family started giving her.a hard time, the Ger family had alwayse to support her.
“Landon, Ka, you two should be filial to your grandparents and treat your aunt better,” Gloria said, wrapping things up.
Her words left both Landon and Ka at a loss for words. They just sat there in silence.
Amelia broke the silence. “Gloria, how long has it been since youst saw your sister?”
“Hmm, let me think…” Gloria’s smile slowly faded as she tried to remember. “It’s been over a year.”
“So, they stoppeding around after Landon’s ident, right?” Amelia asked.
Gloria nodded, a heavy feeling settling in her chest.
After Landon fell into aa, everything got so much harder for her, but her own sister never even showed up tofort her–not
even once.
At first, her sister would call every now and then to check in, but after a while, she just stopped reaching out.
Looking at it this way, her sister really hadn’t been doing a good jobtely.
“Mom, maybe my aunt is just really busy?” Ka chimed in, ying along with Amelia.
Gloria forced augh. “Yeah, probably.”
“Mom, what should I say if the Ger family asks about my memory loss?” Ka asked.
“How do you want to exin it?” Gloria replied.
“I’ll just say I hurt my head and forgot everything from before, so they won’t keep asking and make me feel worse,” Ka said.
“Okay,” Gloria replied.
She couldn’t bear to see Ka upset, so she agreed without hesitation.
<b>Chapter </b><b>256 </b>
<b>Before </b><b>long</b><b>, </b>they arrived at the Ger family.
<b>Gloria’s </b>sister, Shelby, was waiting at the door with a big smile. “Gloria, you’re finally home!”
<b>“</b>Shelby, long time” Gloria greeted her.
Gloria had just been stewing over how her sister hadn’t cared about her all year, resentment just vanished.
Landon and Ka just stood there,pletely speechless.
but the second they met face to face, all that
Only Amelia seemed to get it. She leaned in and whispered, “The bond they’ve built since childhood, plus all those little mind games, isn’t something that just goes away.”
“Mind games?” Ka echoed, looking puzzled.
Landon pressed his lips together and exined, “Amy’s stepdad and stepmom used to y those tricks on her.”
“I see,” Ka said, ncing at Amelia with sympathy.
Amelia shed a smile. “Don’t worry. She’ll wake up eventually.”
When the pain hit its limit, that was when one finally broke free.
“Oh my, Ka, you’re finally home!” Shelby eximed, her face lighting up with surprise and joy.
She rushed over, threw her arms around Ka, and burst into tears, hugging her like she’d never let go.
She really put on a show. Anyone would think those tears were the real deal.
If Ka hadn’t gotten her memories back, even she would’ve fallen for that act.
“Aunt Shelby…” Ka called out, her voice trembling.
She had to fight hard to swallow down the hatred burning in her chest just to say that one word.
“Oh, it’s so good to have you back,” Shelby said, dabbing at her tears. Then she turned to Gloria. “Gloria, I always said you were lucky, didn’t I? Look–Ka’s back, Landon’s recovered, and he’s even married with kids now.”
“Yeah, yeah!” Gloria said,ughing and crying at the same time.
No one but Gloria herself knew how she’d managed to survive all these years, or how much pain and injustice she’d endured.
But thankfully, everything had finally turned out well.
She had both her children with her, a devoted daughter–inw, and two grandsons.
“Come on. Let’s go inside,” Shelby said, ushering everyone in.
The Ger family’s house was a bit on the older side–a small vi converted from one of those old courtyard home
The apple tree and the little pond in the yard were still there, just like she remembered.
As Ka took in the familiar sights, her heart ached with bittersweet memories.
“Landon was always the wild one when he was little–constantly climbing trees,” Shelby said with augh. “And Ka<b>, </b><b>you </b><b>just </b>loved watching the fish in the pond.”
She paused for a moment, then probed, “Ka, do you remember any of that?”
Ka shook her head.
“Oh, your mom just told me you lost your memory and don’t remember anything. Is that true?” Shelby asked, a flicker of unease shing in her eyes.
“Yeah, it’s all gone. I only remember things from the past few years,” Ka replied.
“Oh, poor thing,” Shelby sighed, but inside, she felt a huge wave of relief.
“Aunt Shelby, don’t be sad. I don’t feel any pain anymore,” Ka said, trying tofort her.
“Good girl. It’s good to have you home,” Shelby said.
‘So, she really doesn’t remember,‘ Shelby thought to herself.
She added to herself, ‘Otherwise, with Ka’s fiery temper, there’s no way she’d be acting so calm around me.
‘If Ka remembered, she would’ve made sure everyone knew about the kidnapping by now.
‘Since she doesn’t remember, I guess I’ll just drop it.
‘Otherwise, I’d have <i>to </i>rack my brainsing up with some excuse…‘
“And this must be Landon’s wife, right?” Shelby turned her attention to Amelia.
Amelia gave her a calm smile. “Shelby, nice to meet you.”
“You’re so pretty,” Shelby said with a grin. “Oh, right, you and Landon never had a proper wedding, so we haven’t actually met before.”
Amelia just smiled.
She sneered inwardly, ‘If you really want to see someone, nothing can stop <i>you</i>.
‘If you don’t want to, you’ll always find plenty of excuses.‘
“So, when are you going to have a proper wedding?” Shelby asked.
Landon said, “We’ll wait a bit. The kid is still little, and Amy just doesn’t have the energy right now.”
“Didn’t you hire a nanny?” Shelby asked, looking surprised.
“We did, but I prefer to take care of the baby myself,” Amelia said, meeting Shelby’s eyes. “After all, children are literally a piece of their mother, right, Shelby?”
Shelby frowned, feeling like Amelia was saying something with a hidden meaning. ‘What is she trying to get at?‘ she t “Shelby, when Landon and Amy finally have the wedding, we can’t do it without you,” Gloria said. <ol><li>it. </li></ol>
1 <b>Th? </b>s 21
Chapter <b>256 </b>
<b>Out </b><b>of </b>the <b>five </b><b>people </b><b>in </b>the <b>yard</b><b>, </b>Gloria looked the most out of it.
Landon waspletely speechless at his mom, but he could only bite his tongue and put up with it.
Why did Aunt Shelby have to go after me and Ka?‘ Landon wondered, suspicion and confusion swirling in his mind
“I’ll make sure to have a big wedding gift ready ahead of time!” Shelby said enthusiastically.
Ka handed over the wedding invitation from Tuff. “Aunt Shelby, you might want to get my wedding gift ready now.”
“Wait, Ka’s getting married? Weren’t you already married?” Shelby asked, looking surprised.
Ka’s face changed dramatically.
Gloria quickly cut in, “No, she hasn’t. She just had a baby, and that’s all.”
“Oh, and the baby’s father?” Shelby probed.
“He’s gone,” Ka replied tly.
Shelby’s eyes instantly filled with tears again, and she reached out to hug Ka. “Oh, my poor Ka…”
Ka quietly sidestepped her, set the invitation down on the coffee table, and said, “Aunt Shelby, you have to be there.”
“Absolutely!” Shelby nodded enthusiastically. “You all sit tight. I’ll go get your grandparents.”
“Okay,” Ka replied.
Shelby stood up and, before she even made it to the stairs, burst into tears. “Dad, Mom, Ka’s back…”
Her acting was either Oscar–worthy or just in awkward–hard to tell.
Landon and Ka exchanged a look, both at a total loss for words.
It wasn’t long before Ka’s grandparents came shuffling down the stairs, their voices trembling with emotion. “My sweet Ka, Landon…”
And just <i>like </i>that, the waterworks started all over again.
Once everyone had finally calmed down, Landon asked, “Aunt Shelby, where are my cousins?”
“They took the kids on a trip,” Shelby replied.
“And what about Tristan?” Landon asked.
“He’s off ying cards! Ever since he retired, that’s all he does–just cards, every single day,” Shelby replied, and there was a sh of resentment in her eyes when she mentioned her husband.
Amelia thought to herself, ‘Trouble in their marriage? Could what happened all those years ago have something to do with <b>istan</b><b>?</b>”