Chapter 17 Love , Conditional +10 Free Coins " Azalea doing that well in her academic classes ? What a joke ," Cassius scoffed as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world . The contempt in his voice stung Bastian like a slap . The report compiled by his assistant contained much more - things even he hadn't expected , and that amazed him . But he hadn't shared it with the rest of the Larks . Honestly , what would be the point ? Even if they saw it , they probably wouldn't think much of it . They might even twist it around and blame Azalea for never speaking up . They caused a lot of the pain she suffered in the first place . Like Matthias , he openly admitted he was the one who told Azalea to hide her grades . And Cassius , with all the cold , hard evidence laid out before him , a man who could strategize a thousand miles ahead in the business world , had the gall to dismiss it all like it was beneath him . Did they really not know ? Or did they just not care ? Bastian took a deep breath , steadying himself . There was no point in arguing anymore ; what mattered was finding Azalea . Cassius dropped into his chair , legs sprawled out and tousled his usually perfect hair in frustration . A few strands fell over his forehead as he lit a cigarette and held it between his fingers . " So what , you came here just to yell at me ? " You think you've got the right to ? " He lifted his eyes , and the sneer on his face made Bastian's blood boil . " If I remember correctly , back when you were still competing , you brought Sydney and Azalea to your team's house . That was back when esports hadn't taken off yet , and all your team members , grown men , were cramped into a single space . You focused all your attention on Sydney and left Azalea alone , which almost led to her getting assaulted . And what did you do after ? Because the guy was one of your starters , and there was a big match coming up , you wrote a damn letter of forgiveness on behalf of the family and buried the whole thing . " You seriously don't remember ? " Bastian turned his face away , guilt flashing across his features . " I dealt with him afterward ." " Yeah ? " Cassius laughed coldly . " Your version of ' dealt with ' was letting him retire and live it up as a highly paid substitute ? He's still profiting from the industry ." Bastian's shoulders slumped . He had no defense ; he didn't want hassle , so he just brushed it off then . But if it had been Sydney . That guy would've been handed over to the cops before he even got a chance to blink . What's worse , that incident came up again . Later , Azalea was punished for not being modest enough . If she hadn't behaved inappropriately , why didn't something happen to Sydney instead ? Watching his brother , Cassius sighed and muttered , " Look , of all of us , you probably treated Azalea the ||| O 1/4 Chapter 17 Love , Conditional +10 Free Coins best . But let's not kid ourselves - you don't actually think the rest of the family is clueless , do you ? " Bastian froze . He didn't understand what that meant . " Take her grades , for example . Sure , I didn't look into it . But do you really believe Mom and Dad never verified it with the school ? They did . They just assumed that if she could be tempted with a little attention , she must be someone with no bottom line . " Remember when Mom brought me , Sydney , and Azalea to the mountain ? Sydney had a heart attack , and we left Azalea stranded in the mountains . It rained , and she walked all the way back by herself . Afterward , Mom and I both suspected that Sydney faked it . " But Azalea , she was just stupid , wasn't she ? So many safer ways to come back . She could've just stayed the night at the villa up there . But no , she chose the hardest path to make us feel guilty , trying to steal Sydney's place in our hearts . " " You mean , " Bastian's voice trembled , " you all treated her so harshly afterward because you thought she was manipulative ? " She'd been what , 15 at the time ? A child raised in an orphanage who finally found her family , only to be left behind in the middle of nowhere . Of course , she'd try to come home ! Of course , she wanted to feel loved ! He gave a bitter laugh . " Mom once told me a story about you when you were little . She left you at a friend's house too long because she got caught up playing cards . You were what , 12 or 13 ? Cried your eyes out for your mom . " Cassius immediately frowned , not understanding why Bastian brought up an embarrassing childhood story . " You were 12 or 13 back then , weren't you ? " " Now think about what you just said . If you , a preteen boy in a familiar place , cried like that for your mom , then how can you expect a 15 - year - old girl , lost for ten years and dropped into a completely unfamiliar environment , to stay calm and not cry or make a fuss ? You cried because you missed your mom . So why is it wrong for her to want to come home ? " Bastian felt a dull ache in his chest . He'd heard the temple story before and brushed it off like it was no big deal . But now ? It was painfully absurd . One girl was pampered and protected . The other was punished and criticized for everything like she needed to be ' taught a lesson ' just to survive . Bastian tilted his head back , blinking rapidly to fight back the tears welling in his eyes . " You say Azalea has no morals , that she'd do anything for a bit of attention , but you know it was Matthias who asked her to do it . You scoffed at her and looked down on her , but did it ever occur to you that after being lost at five and spending ten years without her family , just maybe she wanted to feel loved ? She used the only thing she had , her grades , her obedience , and her silence to win back a sliver of kindness . She endured punishment , kneeling in the cold all night , just for the chance to be noticed . " And Sydney faking an illness makes you all feel guilty - but Azalea , the one actually abandoned , the one you lost , doesn't deserve any of that ? " O 2/4 པས་ བའས Chapter 17 Love , Conditional +10 Free Coina The room fell into silence . Cassius stared ahead , eyes wide . A flicker of doubt passed through them , maybe , just maybe , he'd donc something wrong . But then again , maybe not . Bastian didn't speak anymore . His heart felt cold . At first , he really believed Azalea had been misunderstood . But now Cassius had made it clear : they had always known the truth . They just chose not to care . You can't wake someone who's pretending to sleep . Back then , no matter how broken or desperate Azalea was , everyone chose to turn a blind eye . As long as she did it , it had to be wrong , end of story . And Cassius wasn't lying ; Azalea had ended up like this , and Bastian had a hand in it , too . They were supposed to be siblings , real family . How did things end up like this ? " I've already contacted the police . They're helping with the search now . " " Bastian , who are you looking for ? " A sweet voice cut through the tense silence . Sydney poked her head through the doorway , eyes wide with curiosity . When she saw the bruise on Cassius ' face , she gasped . " Oh my god , what happened to your face ? " Bastian fell silent . He suddenly didn't know how to face Sydney anymore . Cassius quickly put on a smile and waved her in . " It's nothing . I tripped . What are you doing here ? Shouldn't you be in class ? " At that , Sydney looked a little embarrassed , bowing her head . " I think I might've embarrassed the family . " " What happened ? " Cassius asked immediately , his concern overflowing . Bastian's gaze turned unreadable . Sydney could waltz in and out of Cassius ' office without knocking , without warning . But Azalea ? She had to notify the assistant first if she was allowed in . Even then , stepping foot inside Cassius ' office ? That was out of the question . All because Cassius trusted Sydney , the adopted daughter , with sensitive company information , yet couldn't bring himself to believe that his own flesh - and - blood sister wouldn't betray him . " My art isn't up to the training camp standard , " Sydney murmured , fidgeting with her fingers . " The teacher said if I don't turn in a satisfactory assignment next time , I should consider dropping out ." If it were Azalea , Bastian thought , she probably wouldn't even dare to mention it . She'd just stay up every night , grinding through practice . But Sydney ? She could come running straight to Cassius and ask for help . Wasn't Azalea their real sister ? Cassius was already trying to comfort Sydney . " This isn't a big deal . Just ask Azalea to draw something for 4 ||| O 14:52 Sat , 9 Aug Chapter 17 Love , Conditional you ." +10 Free Coins Then he turned to his phone , dialing the assistant . " Has Azalea sent any messages or called recently ? Has she said she wants to come home ? " " Mr. Lark ," the assistant replied carefully , " we haven't received a single message or call from Ms. Azalea ." No network available now . Please check your network . III Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!