Evan Livares looked at his little sister who was staring at him, hopefully. He wanted to say that he was, but from the way she asked him the question, it was clear that she also heard everything that night.
After what seemed to be forever, Evan ended up holding Emily's hand. "No matter what others say, I'm your brother, Emily." He forced a smile and continued by saying, "Even if we're not related by blood, we share the same mother and father, and surname too. That already makes us a family, siblings. Right?"
He waited for a while, nervously, but he tried his best not to show. However, the pressure that he felt slowly died down when Emily nodded and hugged him. She was wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and it finally drew a genuine smile from his face.
"Will you leave again like you did last night, Evan?" She asked him in a low voice. "Please don't leave again. When you did, Mom cried the whole night. She didn't even sleep."
