Chapter 16

Mmm, I would only need two shopping assistants since I'm not buying much; the rest can leave." Grandma Helen ordered, and the manager immediately sent the others away and made sure to attend to Mrs. Kane's needs, not forgetting to notice the well-dressed young lady with Mrs. Kane, who looked like someone from a rich family but could not recognize her, as he is someone who is quick to recognize people with important status or with wealthy family backgrounds.

They had gone to different stores, some of which sold clothes for young ladies that Lilly was starting to conclude Grandma Helen was shopping for her as well, which turned out to be true. When she told Grandma Helen not to bother, she had insisted that she needed to do so after Lilly made such a delicious meal for her and volunteered to follow her to the mountain to pray one of these days. Even after Lilly told Grandma Helen she didn't need to, she insisted on doing so.

She thought about getting something for Grandma Helen as well, so she had told her she was going to use the restroom. When she was excused, she went to a jewelry shop close by and checked for jewelry that would be suitable for Grandma Helen. When she saw a beautiful collection which had a necklace, earrings, and bracelets, she thought it would be so beautiful on her.

"How much is this?"

"All together is $100k," the sales personnel said.

Lilly brought out her black card to pay for it. Alexander had already sent her half of the amount stated in the contract, but she didn't want to use the money and decided to make use of her own money.

The salesperson's eyes widened when she saw the card and had to take a good look at the woman in front of her. Lilly had dressed in a beautiful simple milk gown paired with black heels, with no makeup on and her hair packed in a ponytail.

Although the lady was dressed simply, she was classic at the same time since what she was wearing was expensive, but this black card the lady gave to her was very rare. It is a card only the richest amongst the rich make use of, and only a few people in the world had such a card. This black card can be used for payment in any part of the world and to enter certain places.

"Is everything okay?" Lilly asked, even if she already knew why the salesperson was staring at her in shock. She must be wondering how she had access to such a card. This is the only card she could use for payment of the jewel since it will not be traced by her grandfather who is looking for her.

"No... I mean, I will issue your payment now."

After purchasing the jewelry, on her way out of the jewelry store, she saw someone walking towards the store with two other people and widened her eyes when she recognized who it was.

"Kate? What was Kate doing here? She thought she was in Europe?"

Seeing that Kate was about to look towards her direction, Lilly turned to the other side and hastened her footsteps.

Kate was discussing with her friends while heading to the jewelry shop when she noticed the young lady who came out of the shop and had looked very familiar even with the way she walked. "Amelia?" She widened her eyes. "It can't be," she muttered as she chased after the young lady.

"Where are you going, Kate?" her friends called out, but she didn't answer and kept on chasing after the woman; she needed to confirm if who she saw was Amelia.

Noticing that she was being followed by Kate, Lilly headed to a different part of the mall. Her phone kept on ringing, and after seeing it was Grandma Helen calling, who might already be looking for her, she silenced the calls and decided to call back later.

As she was moving forward, she bumped into someone and raised her head to see who it was, and her heart dropped. It was Kate.

"Amelia?"

Uhmm... I'm not Amelia. My name is Lilly, and I'm in a hurry. Excuse me." She quickly left, but Kate blocked her path again.

"Don't play games with me; it is really you. What are you doing here? Where have you been?" Kate's eyes lit with excitement and fury.

"Please, Kate,

let me be. I don't want to talk to you." She knew Kate would probably try to drag her back home.

"You think I will just let you go after so long? After all that happened, Amelia, you owe me an explanation." Kate's voice became stern.

"I owe you nothing, Kate," she shot back and tried to push her aside, but Kate held her tight.

"You think you are the only one who has lost someone? Do you think you are the only one who has been wronged? You just vanished without a trace, and no one knew where you went! Do you think you are so special that you are beyond everyone?" Kate yelled, attracting some people's attention.

Lilly felt so ashamed as people turned to stare at them. "Please, Kate, just let me go."

"Do you think I want you back in the family? You are my sister, and I can’t just let you go without knowing why you vanished. I thought you were dead!" Kate sounded so devastated, and Lilly felt pain for her sister, but she could not say anything.

"Please, just stop!" She shouted back, tears forming in her eyes.

"Stop? You are the one who left me behind. How could you, Amelia?" Kate's voice broke as her eyes filled with tears. "Do you know how painful it has been for me? I thought you were dead, and no one told me anything."

"I’m so sorry, Kate." Lilly’s heart was breaking, and she felt so guilty at what she was doing to her sister.

"Sorry? You think sorry will make it all go away? You can’t just show up one day and pretend nothing happened! Do you think you can take my place? I would rather be dead than have you do this!" Kate shouted, causing many people to start murmuring.

Suddenly, Lilly felt anger rush through her body, and she felt the urge to fight back. "You have no idea what I’ve been through! You and everyone else thought I was dead, but I wasn’t. I lost everyone who was dear to me, including the only people I thought cared about me!" She shot back, unable to contain her emotions any longer.

Kate's face turned pale. "You have no idea what it has been like for me either! I lost you! You know how hard it was to grow up knowing I might have lost my sister!"

"I can't be part of your family again!" Lilly shouted, feeling the need to escape.

"You think you can just walk away? You think I will just let you go?" Kate's eyes burned with fury.

"I have to go!" Lilly shouted and pushed Kate again, but Kate didn't budge, and Lilly's chest was tight, feeling so much pain from everything.

"Help!" Kate suddenly yelled, and people around them started to approach, confused about what was happening.

"What is going on?" a voice from behind Lilly asked.

Lilly turned around, and her heart sank when she saw it was Alexander standing there with a concerned expression.

"What is going on here?" he demanded, looking at both women, who were glaring at each other.

"Kate, I told you to leave me alone!" Lilly yelled angrily, feeling so out of control.

"Do you think I will just let you leave? You are my sister, and I will do anything to bring you back!" Kate shouted back.

"Enough!" Alexander's voice boomed, and both women fell silent, staring at him with wide eyes.

He looked at Lilly, his expression softening. "Come here, Lilly."

She hesitated but slowly stepped towards him, feeling relieved as she did.

"Kate," he turned his gaze to her, his eyes hardening. "You need to stop this. Whatever is happening between you two needs to end now. We are not in a playground, and this isn't how family should act."

"But she is my sister!" Kate cried, her eyes pleading.

"Then act like it! You are scaring her, and this is not the way to resolve things!" He shot back, and Lilly felt tears streaming down her cheeks.

Alexander turned to Lilly again, gently taking her hands in his. "Are you okay?"

"I just… I can’t… I can’t do this," Lilly sobbed, feeling overwhelmed.

Kate looked at her sister with regret. "I’m sorry, Amelia. I didn’t mean to... I just wanted to know why you left."

"I can’t explain right now," Lilly whispered.

"Then at least come home with me. I don’t want to lose you again," Kate said softly, tears filling her eyes.

Alexander shook his head, squeezing Lilly's hands tighter. "You can’t force her to come back. She has to want to."

"But she is family!" Kate insisted.

"And she has her own life to live now," Alexander countered firmly.

The crowd around them began to disperse, realizing the confrontation was over, but the tension lingered heavily in the air.

"Please, just let me go," Lilly whispered again, her heart aching.

Kate looked at her, the anger slowly fading into sadness. "I just wanted my sister back," she admitted, her voice trembling.

Lilly's heart broke even more as she saw her sister's pain reflected in her eyes. "I’m so sorry," she repeated softly.

"Please," Kate begged again, "don’t disappear on me again. Just let me help you."

Alexander's grip on Lilly's hands tightened, sensing her internal conflict. "You need to decide what's best for you, Lilly. No one can make that choice for you."

Lilly looked from Kate to Alexander, her heart torn between family ties and her newfound freedom. The weight of the moment hung heavy, and she felt the tears flowing freely as she realized how much she longed for both connection and distance.

As the three stood in silence, each wrestling with their emotions, Lilly knew the path ahead was fraught with challenges, but somehow, in the tangled web of her past, she felt a glimmer of hope emerging from the darkness.