When Selena, Lucine, and Zachary reached the camping site, Martha and Liam still hadn't arrived yet.
Selena, not wanting to stay with Lucine and Zachary, headed for the forest alone.
Seeing Selena leave, Lucine shot Zachary a charming smile. "Zach, how about you stay here and set up the tents? I'll go keep Selena company."
Zachary nodded in approval. "You're so considerate, Lucy."
Half an hour later, Martha and Liam arrived. After glancing around, they asked, "Where's Lucine?"
"She entered the forest, saying she would keep Selena company. They should be back soon."
Upon hearing that, Martha couldn't help but shake her head. "Lucine is such a sweet child. Even though Selena is always picking on her, she still treats Selena like her older sister."
At that moment, Selena stepped out of the forest. When Martha saw no one behind her, she hurried forward.
"Why are you alone? Where's Lucine?"
Confused, Selena responded, "How would I know where she is?"
Zachary instantly leaped to his feet and strode toward Selena. "Lucy said she would keep you company on your walk. Didn't you see her?"
Not liking the interrogative tone in his voice, Selena answered coldly, "No."
This answer caused Martha to break down once again.
She seized Selena's shoulder tightly, tears spilling down her cheeks as she cried, "Selena Yane, just what are you doing? You've already lost your sister once, so how could you lose her again? You just can't stand seeing her live well, can you?"
Those words immediately infuriated Selena. "I've already told you, I didn't see her! She's an adult now, so am I still supposed to be responsible if she gets lost?"
She had barely finished speaking when a hard slap landed on her left cheek. It was the first time in her 26 years of life that Martha had struck her.
Martha's mouth dropped open slightly in surprise as she stared at her right hand. "Selena, I… I didn't mean to. I…"
Zachary stepped forward and urged, "Come on, the most important thing right now is to find Lucy. We can talk about the rest later."
He patted Selena's shoulder in a pitiful imitation of consolation, not offering her any true comfort.
Nonetheless, Selena was used to it by now and didn't harbor many expectations for them.
To prove her innocence, Selena followed them into the forest. She wanted to confront Lucine face-to-face.
The forest was dense and thick with vegetation, so Selena was soon separated from the group.
Strangely enough, not even five minutes had passed since Selena lost sight of them when Lucine appeared before her.
Selena frowned, but after a few seconds, she understood.
"You did this on purpose?"
Lucine laughed and answered, "It seems you aren't that stupid after all. But then, what does it matter if you know? Not like you can do anything about it.
"20 years ago, you lost me. 20 years later, you deliberately left me in the woods. What would Mom and Dad think of you, I wonder? Do you think they'd be more inclined to believe me or you?
"I heard about the situation. Since you're going to marry into the Chiton family soon and will no longer have anything to do with the Yane family, I won't hide certain things from you any longer. Think of the truth as your younger sister's wedding gift to you."
With that, Lucine leaned forward to whisper into Selena's ear.
Selena's eyes widened in surprise, disbelief written all over her face. "Is that all true?"
Lucine twirled her hair playfully, her voice amused as she said, "Is there a need for me to lie?"
The forest was silent, with only the whispering of the leaves brushing against each other as a gentle breeze blew past.
Selena tightened her hands into fists, not expecting the truth of Lucine's disappearance 20 years ago to be this inconceivable.
