Who's telling Lianne?

"Is Mia de—"

"Shut the fuck up!" I snapped at him, cutting him off.

"Why did you lie to me about Mia?!"

"Because I blame myself for not saving her!" I exclaimed, unable to hold back my tears.

'Fuck! Why now? What the hell?' I wondered internally.

I never knew how much guilt I had buried inside me.

The fact that I failed to save my elder sister and resorted to hate her only made me feel worse.

'Why couldn't I forgive myself for once? Why did I keep hating her for no reason?'

And now that I found out that she died...

I felt like I should've done more than just hate her.

She deserved more than that.

He looked at me, confused. "How did you end up blaming yourself?"

"I should've stopped her sooner; I shouldn't have let her run away alone with that bastard..." My voice trembled slightly.

Fredrick frowned deeply.

"None of it makes sense... Why would you blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault?" He asked softly.

I shrugged helplessly. "I guess because we had an argument before she left, it's stupid."

"Why did you guys fight anyway?" He asked curiously.

"She wanted to live with him."

He gave me a surprised look. "Who?"

I sighed again.

"It doesn't matter now. But I wasn't in support of Lianne's father's help when he offered it. I was too stubborn to help source funds to cover our basic amenities, and Mia had to struggle to pay for everything on her own. She worked hard for months, working as a waitress and cleaning houses to make ends meet. I kept making excuses like 'it'll get better soon' while secretly sneaking out to watch a few games with some of my peers."

I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts.

"That all stopped the moment she met that bastard. He offered her a job in his club, and she started living there after she graduated high school. The job was supposed to be temporary, but she became comfortable with him and fell in love with him instead. They got married a year later."

My heart ached as I spoke about her.

"And that's where things went south?" He guessed.

"Yes... I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen." I admitted it sadly.

"Oh..."

"If I could take it back, I would, but I can't." I whispered bitterly.

He hugged me tightly.

"So in my rebellion, I directed my anger toward honing my skills to become stronger so I could kill every last one of those bastards who dared deceive someone as kindhearted and loving as my sister." I continued, wiping my tears.

"She is dead because of me, and I had known only through a letter she had sent to me. She would still be alive today if it weren't for me!" I hissed, making sure to be as quiet as I could so Lianne wouldn't be so curious and come running.

Fredrick nodded in understanding.

"I didn't know, bud; no wonder you're so protective of the little one," he said softly.

"I guess..." I replied weakly.

His arms tightened around me.

"Are you going to tell Lianne what happened to her mother? Or will you leave her wondering?" He asked me quietly.

I looked up at him and shook my head. "I don't think I'm ready yet..." I told him.

"Then maybe you should wait until you are emotionally prepared for it. It won't be easy for you or for her. Especially since Mia isn't here anymore to defend herself. And Lianne is still young; she needs to hear the truth from you." Fredrick reasoned.

"But what if she hates me?" I worried.

Fredrick smiled warmly. "She may not understand right now, but she will eventually. You need to give her time to process this first."

I nodded weakly. "Yeah, I'll do that when the time is right." I promised him.

"Aha! If I'm not mistaken, it was a few years after she eloped that we met, and you saved me from your loan shark boss, that fucker Dru. You were like a superhero Lianne sees her lovable uncle as." He chuckled.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing either.

"Well, yeah, I guess I am kinda a badass, but I never thought I'd be compared to a comic book hero." I laughed.

We both burst into laughter.

"Are you sure you don't owe me any money?" I joked weakly.

He chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'll pay all my debt in full, plus interest."

I smiled weakly.

"You really are a stupid, but funny guy. Probably one of the decisions to associate myself with your sorry ass."

He grinned.

"Thank you for telling me..." Fredrick murmured softly.

"I guess I needed to share this burden with someone."

"You know what?" He said it suddenly, breaking the silence between us.

I tilted my head curiously.

"I'm glad Mia had such a lovely child as Lianne; it brings out the best in your boring personality since the switch to our former job." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for saying that. I hope yours was a lot better than mine."

He laughed.

"Not at all. You were great; I loved you then, and I still do."

I playfully pushed Fredrick away from me. "If any of that 'L' word shit ever happens to come out of your ugly face, you're dead!" I warned.

"But I am straight! Besides, I've already fucked you three times already, haven't I?" He teased.

"Shut up!" I laughed. "Is your pool of ladies and magazines over yet?"

He shook his head. "No, I need more. You're just not satisfying enough."

I groaned loudly. "Dude, stop it!"

He laughed.

"I think we join the others," I suggested, the moment I caught sight of Thomas waving for us to join them by the dinner table.

Fredrick sighed heavily. "Yeah, let's get some food before it gets cold."

And with that, he grabbed my neck and dragged me along to join everyone else.