Chapter 6 - Conflict And Acceptance

"Kiara?" Mercedes's lips twitched since she never expected Kiara to return home while she was planning to clean the Cafe. Heck, she thought that Kiara was already fast asleep in her room. Though with Kiara in front of her, Mercedes thought wrong.

"Who are- Wait, O-Old, Ehem... Mercedes?" Kiara tilted her head in confusion before realizing who it was. It was surprising to see her older sister outside of her room. And even rarer for her to be cleaning the Cafe.

"Is this a dream?" Kiara muttered to herself while placing a finger on her chin. She wondered if she was already asleep. Although, she was far from being in slumber and was clearly awake.

So her older sister, who was standing in front of her, must be the real one. But how? Her old sister was a gremlin who never went out of her room. She never helped the family and might have been proud of it.

"Mercedes, what are you doing here? And why are you holding a mop?" Kiara wanted to be sure if her older sister was really cleaning the Cafe. She might have been coincidently holding the mop for fun. Kiara wanted to clear up any misunderstanding.

"Eh, well... I-I was cleaning the Cafe." Mercedes didn't deny the fact that she planned on cleaning the Cafe. Her mother already knew of it. Hiding her intentions wouldn't do her any good.

"What? You- Mercedes? Cleaning the Cafe? Is this a joke?" Kiara furrowed her eyebrows and was visibly pissed by Mercedes's words.

'What's wrong with her? Why does she look angry?' Mercedes was confused as to why Kiara got pissed off by her words. What she was doing was never a joke. She needed to clean everything to accomplish the quest given to her.

"Hey, Kiara. Don't talk to your elder sister like that. And why are you disrespectfully calling her by her name." Regine stepped out, unveiling herself from the corner. She walked towards Kiara and continued. "Do you not have any shred of respect for your sister?"

Mercedes's mother and little sister were having a faceoff. Mercedes, on the other hand, wanted to avoid the fight. She also wanted to steer clear of becoming collateral damage from their fight.

"Huh? Respect?" Kiara questioned and glanced at Mercedes, who shirked away from them. "Why should I have any respect towards her? Wasn't she the one who threw us off? No matter how much we tried to help her, what did she give us? Insults?"

"To be honest, I even doubt she considers us her family." Kiara didn't hold back, and Regine had to step in with full power. "Kiara, be quiet." It was calm and cold. Kiara hearing it, swiftly stopped herself from talking.

*Tsk!* She clicked her tongue in annoyance and ran off to her room, taking her bag along with her. She never looked back at the two of them and left without saying any goodbyes.

"I'm really sorry, Mercedes." Regine apologized, as she didn't want this to happen. Just when her eldest daughter was finally going out. This situation might pull her daughter back to that room.

"No matter what she says, your sister has always loved you," Regine uttered with a saddened expression on her face before pursuing Kiara.

"*Sigh...* I already know that, Mom. There's no need for you to remind me." Mercedes silently whispered before continuing her cleaning operation. She wasn't offended by the words of Kiara. Her little sister's words were nothing more but the truth.

"What I had done this past two years was already enough to make Kiara lose any respect she ever has towards me." Mercedes lightly continued and kept mopping the floor.

"Besides, I don't even respect myself in the slightest."

Meanwhile, in Kiara's room, she covered herself with her pillow while thinking about what had happened. The words that escaped her mouth might have been unreasonable, but she didn't regret any of them.

If the same had happened again, none of her words would have changed.

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

As she closed her eyelids, Kiara heard someone knocking on the door. She glances at it before sighing to herself. Getting off the comfy bed, she walked to the door and turned its doorknob. What was behind the door was none other than her mother.

"Mother?" Kiara uttered before avoiding Regine's eyes. She clenches her fist while Regine softly shakes her head and asks. "Can I enter, Kiara?"

While Kiara would have preferred to say no, such a word wouldn't escape her supple lips. So she could only nod as Regine entered her room. Kiara returned to her bed while holding her pillow tightly.

She waited for her mother to scold her for uttering such words to her old sister. Kiara understood that it was wrong to say such things. But as she had said before, she had no regrets in her heart. It was the opposite. Her heart felt light after saying what she wanted to express.

"Kiara, I understand that you still haven't gotten over what happened last year." Regine softly remarked while Kiara calmly stated. "Anyone wouldn't get over and pretend what happened didn't happen."

"I'm really sorry for what happened. It was my fault for suggesting it in the first place." Regine asserted before Kiara denied such a comment. "What you did was normal. It was just her reaction that dragged it onto the mud."

"She could have said she didn't want to come. But instead unloaded everything at us and blamed us for every misfortune that happened to her. How irresponsible." Kiara couldn't help but get even more annoyed the more she spoke about it.

"Though, I'm sure you already know that your older sister was going through a tough time," Regine sadly alleged, and Kiara didn't disagree. "Going through a tough time doesn't make it acceptable. Understandable, Yes. But not acceptable."

"People need to see the difference."

"While your old sister might have disappointed you, that doesn't mean that she'll always be a disappointment forever. Do you want your sister to continue being a disappointment in your eyes?" Regine questioned, and Kiara thought about it for a short while.

Regine walked out of the room and opened the door. She turned her gaze back at Kiara and gave a remark. "I have never given up, Kiara." She closed the door after leaving Kiara's room and went downstairs.

"Arghh... Why does it always seem to be my fault!" Kiara ruffled her head and yelled in annoyance. Kiara, the supposedly composed, cool smart girl, got her feathers ruffled.

"I can't believe this," Kiara laid down on her comfy bed and hugged her pillow tightly while closing her eyelids.

Back to the Cafe, Regine peaked out to the corner and saw Mercedes serenely washing the tables and chairs. She still couldn't believe her eyes, but this was the truth before her.

"Mercedes, are you finished cleaning the Cafe?" Regine questioned after popping out of the corner. Mercedes glanced at her and answered. "Yeah, it didn't take much time as I expected. Maybe I have a talent for cleaning."

Gazing at her own hand, Mercedes was appalled by how the cleaning skill made the quest a lot easier than before. Each stroke of her hands was cleaning much more rubbish than a minute of taking out trash bags at 3am in the morning.

"So, has she calmed down?" Mercedes asked, wondering what had happened to her little sister after having a talk with their mother. Regine grinned at Mercedes and said. "What did you think I did?"

"Perhaps, you made it worse?" Mercedes honestly replied without holding back. Regine jolted backward in a dramatic way. "Ow, that hurts. Oh, well... Whether it became worse or better."

"I said what I wanted to say," Regine said with a smile since she wasn't someone who'd hesitate to say the things in her mind. Besides, Kiara was a smart child. She'll understand what Regine's words meant. It might take a while, but it will happen sooner or later.

"You're the same as before, Mom." Mercedes's mouth curved into a smile. However, she hid it with her hands, not wanting her mother to see it. Sadly for Mercedes, her mother had a keen eye for things related to her daughters.

Regine saw it clearly with her two own eyes.

"Mother, I think you should sleep for tomorrow. Staying late wouldn't do you any good." Mercedes suggested, which Regine unexpectedly accepted. "I guess you're right. I have been awake since early in the morning. I'll need some sleep."

Regine began stretching her pale arms, which unveiled her chest and waist. While Mercedes wasn't someone who was a degenerate, her mother really had a body that many would be envious of.

Anyhow, her mother went upstairs to take a nap. Mercedes, nonetheless, continued on with her cleaning operation. After cleaning the Cafe, she swept the front of the Cafe for a short period. Sweeping dead leaves took some time, but it was done in 30 minutes.

She went back inside and threw herself onto a chair. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead, and her legs were trembling after standing for a long time. Mercedes was somewhat tired, though she lasted longer than she expected.

While sitting down, she gazed upward and thought about what had happened.

Mercedes previously thought that Kiara's words didn't hurt her as it was the truth. But for some reason, tears escaped her sapphire-like eyes. It was a bit painful, perhaps too painful.

She thought she was ready for it but never did Mercedes know she was far from ready. To be made aware of her being a disappointment was heavy, yet it also gave her an understanding of herself.

Mercedes lifted her arm upward and clenched her fist while pointing at the ceiling.

"I shouldn't stay like this."

"I need to accept that I f*cked up and have to make up for it."

*Ding!*

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●[𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝟐(𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭).]

➤[𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐄+), +𝟎.𝟑 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, +𝟏𝟎 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.]

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