Second Life's Revenge

Chapter 43: The Story Of The Past III: Loving Yourself

"It's nice to meet you, sister," Tine smiled like an angel, dazzling Laura.

"Nice to meet you too," Laura said, as she nervously playing with her fingers.

At first, Laura thought that Tine was an angel. An angel who would stay by her side and will be the sister she had always wanted. But the truth was, Tine, didn't like Laura because she looked timid, shy, annoying, and above all, weak.

Being fooled by Tine's appearance, Laura continued to admire Tine as she went on with her kind act and walked towards Laura touching her black hair. However, when Tine placed a hand on her hair, Laura immediately slapped her hand away.

The expression Tine had put on darkened, but still, she managed to keet the angelic smile on, even if she was pissed about Laura, who just slapped her hand away. Tine didn't want to have a bad impression of herself on the first day.

Laura rubbed her arms together and looked down the floor. In her head, she kept debating whether it was a bad decision to do it, but she couldn't help herself.

Back in the orphanage, other children in the neighborhood would bully her. Just because her hair was colored weirdly, which made her look ugly. It scared her, the thought of not having someone like Luke to protect her, but she knew that she needed to learn to overcome it.

"I'm sorry. It's just something I do instinctively. I didn't do it on purpose," Laura frowned, still keeping her head low.

"No, it's my fault, I scared you. I just thought about how weird your hair color is," Tine said, looking at her now red hand.

After hearing this, Laura's chest tightened. She thought Tine wouldn't call her weird because they would become a family. Laura didn't want to keep it in and so she decided to speak for herself.

"It's not weird," Laura said with her brows furrowed as she clenched her fist.

"What did you say?" Tine asked in a deep voice, scaring Laura. "I didn't mean it that way. You're so sensitive, I feel offended."

The blame was suddenly passed unto Laura, and she didn't know what to do. Her eyes were wavering as her legs trembled. It seems like Laura had fallen into Tine's trap. 'Such a fake person.' she thought.

"It's alright, sister,' Tine laughed out loud, scaring Laura and the other servants in the room.

The scared face Laura made, filled Tine with satisfaction. Now, Laura wouldn't be able to fight back against her; it was all going all according to her plan- scaring Laura then breaking her into pieces.

"Come, sit down," Tine said, waving her hand.

"Okay"

It was uncomfortable for everyone, as it became quiet all of a sudden. Laura didn't know what to say or as. On the other hand, Tine was having the time of her life, enjoying the look on Laura's face. And for some reason, she liked the silence that surrounded them.

It made Laura uneasy because she was not used to these kinds of situations. And so she sat back on the couch, waiting for Tine to start the conversation. However, it was becoming very uncomfortable.

The door suddenly opened, making Laura feel less tense about the situation and entered Count Harrison with open arms. He walked towards Tine, leaving a kiss on her forehead and hugged her.

'What a nice scene to see. A loving father and an angelic daughter. As expected this is what you call a family.' As she felt envious, Laura thought about how nice it is to have some stride towards you and hug you.

Count Harrison then turned his head towards Laura's direction, giving her a smile. Seeing the smile of Count Harrison brought warmth to Laura's chest. A fatherly smile it was.

"Laura, it's so good to finally see you," Count Harrison said, sitting beside her.

"It's nice to see you too, Count Harrison," Laura greeted back.

"I assume you have met my daughter Tine." Count Harrison said with a loving gaze at his daughter.

"Yes, I did. She's like an angel," Laura complimented.

"I agree with that," Count Harrison agreed with a proud expression. 

His face suddenly lit up as he remembered something.

"That's right! Tine, I was able to get your necklace fixed," Count Harrison said, as he called for Percival.

Percival came in, holding a small box and handed it to Tine. Laura quietly watched as Tine opened the box. She was curious about what it looked like as she tried to take a glimpse of how it looked like discreetly.

However, since Tine was sitting across her, she couldn't get a good look at the necklace and she was saddened.

Tine intentionally hid the view of what's in the box, and as soon as she recognized the piece of chain, she was overjoyed. Seeing the necklace she had always wanted, which was now in her hands, she couldn't be any happier.

Laura watched curiously as Tine giving Count Harrison a hug and tried taking a glimpse of the necklace once more, and finally, she saw it. It was beautiful, the pink gemstone reflected back in the sunlight and it was shaped like a tear.

Hence, that being the reason why it was called "Tears of the goddess".

'How lucky Tine was', Laura thought. She gets whatever she wants, and meanwhile, Laura needed to work hard to earn a few coins and was already satisfied with the piece of bread.

Laura had anticipated that Count Harrison might have bought something for her, but there was nothing but apologies.

Count Harrison explained to Laura why he wasn't able to buy another one, and it was because he was busy with work. Laura felt bad for the count, telling him it was alright.

She didn't mind not having a gift when she was already blessed to have been able to live in a luxurious place.

"I'm running out of time; I better go back to work. I just came back from my office because Laura was here. And as for Tine, I hope you would get along with your new sister."

"I will father. Do not worry. I'll make sure that no one would lay a finger on her," Tine smiled, sending chills to the back of Laura's spine. 

Laura's brow slightly furrowed as she was unsure of what Tine had just said. But one thing's for sure Laura didn't like how Tine had said it. It scared her, making her unsure of the angel she had met.

"I too need to leave. It's nice meeting you, sister," Tine said, disappearing through the door.

The sound of the door closing echoed, and the room was empty again. 'What a day,' Laura thought as she sighed with exhaustion. She sighed out loud once more as she walked over to the window, looking at the flowers. There were many types of flowers she had never seen before. It was a dazzling sight.

Not knowing what to do, she sat on the cold floor burying her face in her knees. Laura wanted to go back home, but the estate already is her home. She can't turn around time or go back to the orphanage, and the thought made her feel lonely.

In just one day, Laura compared herself with Tine. How can she become a noble today when she was just a commoner yesterday? And it seemed to her that Tine didn't take a liking to her, and she knew that only by noticing Tine's tone and usage of words as she talked to her.

"I want to go back to Sister Abby. I don't belong to this world." was the last thing on Laura's mind before she fell into a deep sleep.

Days passed, and like what Laura said she didn't belong to the nobles, and she wasn't treated like one either. The maids didn't like her mostly because of her appearance but also the jealousy they had all felt.

From being a commoner to a noble in a day. 'How unfair can life be sometimes' was what they thought.

Edith, the tutor of Laura, didn't like her either. Edith would punish her when she did nothing wrong, and since she did it often, Laura knew it was just for entertainment purposes.

The luxurious life Laura thought she would have was all crushed just in a week. Laura didn't belong to their world. It was better if she stayed being a commoner and unknown.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Mary asked as her mouth formed a frowned.

"I'm fine. Just a little bit tired and missing lots of people," Laura assured.

"How can the maids treat you like that? Just because your hair color isn't common doesn't mean they can say bad things about you," Mary unconsciously said, later realizing that she had said it out loud and quickly covered her mouth with a hand.

Knowing how sensitive Laura was because of her hair Mary made sure she didn't say anything offensive, but a few seconds ago she did.

Laura bit her lip, looking down the floor. As her tears were at bay. It was not the time for Laura to cry. She needed to act strong in front of everyone, but she would cry to her heart's content if it's just her alone in the room.

"I mean...uhm, I'm sorry," Mary apologizes while bowing.

"It's alright," Laura said with a sad smile, paining Mary.

Mary lowered her head and excused herself as she left the room. She was ashamed and didn't know how to comfort Laura, but she knew she had deeply wounded Laura.

Alone again in the room, Laura still held her tears in. Laura walked to her dressing table looking at the mirror. She touched her black hair, stroking it gently. 'What a shame my hair is black.' she said with 

Laura quietly despised her black hair. Many thoughts ran through her mind 'if only my hair wasn't black, then maybe the others would accept me.' She looked at the scissors that were laying on the table and held it.

She thought that it would be better if she had cut her hair so that no one would see its hideous color. But an image of Sister Abby and the other orphanage children suddenly flashed into her head and a tear dropped on her hand.

"Your hair is beautiful and it will be forever," Sister Abby smiled, stroking Laura's hair.

Laura wiped her tears and placed the scissors down, placing it in the drawer. It would be for the best if she hides it away.

Simple words can change the mind. Just because the people around you are judging the way you look, doesn't mean there aren't people who love the way you look.

Even if the world is against her, she knew that it wasn't time to back down, but to step up.

"Love the way you look. Because each one of us is special in our own ways."