2002
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As time flew by, Betty was already three years old. She loved spending time with her siblings which Daiwen didn't mind. The kid seemed to adore her presence. Yet, Lon had the complete opposite impression of Betty. She seemed a tad bit irritated when Betty came around. Lon would push her away when Betty wanted to play, refused to acknowledge her existence, and so much more. It was like she was purposely avoiding Betty! So, as to be expected, Betty got the impression that Lon didn't like her.
The twins were not that much older, the two being eight years old. Daiwen was still the quiet boy he had always been while Lon was the complete opposite, being the talkative extroverted kind of girl. Homura was now twenty three, having to take care of all these kids all on her own. It's been rough for her these past couple years with having to work extra hard to get the money she needed to feed everyone including herself, but she managed.
Sometimes, the memories of Luo would flood her head. Every knock on her front door made her jump. She had grown so used to Luo knocking on her front door everyday just to greet her with that friendly smile of his. Yet, she was aware that it could never be him. Nobody could take his place in her heart.
Homura was making lunch in the kitchen while Betty had run out the door to go find her siblings. It didn't take her long to spot the two reading on the bench in the backyard.
"Lon, Daiwen! I wanna read too!" Betty exclaimed eagerly as she ran over to join them. Daiwen gave a tiny nod as he'd scoot over to make room for Betty, patting the space next to him. As for Lon, she'd cross her arms with an evident frown on her face. Her brows would furrow as she eyed Betty, obviously not pleased with the idea of Betty joining the two.
"This book isn't for babies." Lon rolled her eyes in which Betty would look up at her with a pout.
"But I wanna spend time with you!" Betty complained with a frown, trying to the best of her ability to climb onto the bench. Daiwen sighed as he already felt bad enough for Betty.
He and Lon would end up butting heads as they'd argue about Betty reading with them or not. However, with the twins too occupied with petty insults and bickering, Betty would give up on her efforts to hang out with them and retreat back to the house, already upset with her head hung low.
Daiwen looked at Lon with a disappointed expression plastered across his face, shaking his head back and forth.
"Don't you think you're being a big meanie? She just wants to spend time with us." Lon sighed in response as she'd turn her attention to the ground suddenly, unable to bring herself to look at her brother.
"You know why. Mom doesn't want Betty to find out about Luo until she's at least fifteen. Why else do you think she was so uncertain about handing us this book? It's why I didn't want her reading his stories." Lon explained, Daiwen looked away in response with nothing but silence. It'd be an unsettling long period of silence between the twins before Lon would push the book closer to her brother. His attention would turn back towards his sister as she'd go to stand up, watching as she disappeared back into the house.