Chapter 517

Novel Male 516
517
517
Third Person’s POV
Caldwell looked at Paisley with hopeful eyes. “Paisley, please.”
Paisley, full of brotherly loyalty, agreed without hesitation. “No problem. Caldwell, tell me about her childhood. I’ll bring it up when I meet her and see her reaction. Her facial expressions will give away at least seventy to eighty percent of the truth.”
Caldwell stood up, but Lance quickly and firmly pressed him back down. “Sit and talk.”
Caldwell tried to rise again. “No..
But as soon as he moved his hand,
pushed him back into his seat, this time with a stern tone, “Sit
Caldwell said helplessly, “I’ll go get when you meet her, Paisley.”
mething of hers from her childhood. You can take it with y
Lance released him and said, “Go ahead.”
Caldwell stood up and first apologized to Paisley, “I was just so excited, I’m sorry. Forgive me.”
“No worries, I was startled myself,” Paisley said.
She was still shaken from seeing a painting of Asa in the study, identical to the real person she had just
met.
She felt inexperienced and naive for not expecting that someone could so accurately predict Asa’s current appearance based on her parents‘ portraits and her childhood likeness.
Though many paintings were done, the precision of this one was astonishing–it was just too shocking.
“Then I leave it all to you. I’ll go get the item,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell walked out unsteadily. Once outside, he bent over his knees, took a while to straighten up, and slowly adjusted his breathing, telling himself to calm down.
Lance sighed softly at his back. “I’ve known for a long time about his search for his sister, but with so many people in the world, there was no place to look. I didn’t expect that his sister wasn’t thousands of miles away but right under our noses.”
Adelaide said solemnly, “We still can’t be sure that Asa is his sister, so we mustn’t speak too soon.”
Turning to Paisley, she asked, “You met Asa once. What’s your impression of her?”
Paisley recalled, “Her looks are beyond description, exactly like the painting. She only came out to meet us briefly and didn’t say much, but it was clear she was a bit uncomfortable. She walked slowly when she came in and quickly when she left. At the time, I thought it was because she hadn’t fully learned the rules and still had some street manners. But now I think she might not have been keen on the arrangement herself.”
“Oh, right, she gives off a comfortable vibe,” Paisley added.
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“ A comfortable vibe? What do you mean?” Adelaide asked.
Paisley propped her chin up and rolled her eyes upward. “It’s hard to put into words. It’s like we all have this common trait where we can sense superficial things about each other. Of course, I don’t know her g thoughts.”
“You sensed that she wasn’t too keen on mating with Eugene?” Adelaide pressed.
“Yeah, that’s right. She hardly looked at Eugene at all,” Paisley said, trying to describe the feeling
Adelaide pictured the scenario and said, “I sec. She values straightforwardness. Madison saved her, and she wanted to repay Madison, but she didn’t expect it to be in this way. And I’m sure she’s heard of Eugene’s deeds. So she wants to repay Madison for saving her life but can’t reconcile it with her conscience. That must be why you sensed her internal conflict.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Adelaide added, “This is just my analysis; it might not be accurate.”
No one really knew what Asa was like. Making assumptions based on a brief encounter might not be reliable.
Caldwell brought out a rabbit doll. It looked old, crudely made, with one ear broken. Obviously, it wasn’t store–bought.
Caldwell explained, “I made this rabbit doll for her in December of the year she disappeared. She was punished by our mother for misbehaving and forbidden to play outside. I intended to buy her a rabbit doll, but our father forbade it, saying she needed to be properly disciplined. So I secretly made one from clay, painted it myself after firing it . The paint has since faded.”
“When she first held it, she was disgusted and threw it on the ground, breaking one ear.”
Caldwell’s eyes turned red. He continued, “She didn’t like this rabbit doll, even detested it, and cried. I think since she disliked it so much, her impression of the doll must be strong.”
Paisley looked at the rabbit–rough, faded, one ear gone, ugly as sin, the paint chipped and old. She said, “If someone gave me a rabbit doll like this, I’d cry my eyes out and never forget it.” “Yeah, things that are either extremely liked or extremely disliked can leave a lasting impression.”
Caldwell reluctantly handed the rabbit doll to Paisley,“I have other toys of hers from her childhood, but they’re too common. Any ordinary family might have them. This one, though, is one of a kind.”
“ One of a kind? Then I’d cry even harder.”
Paisley took it with some reluctance–well, it couldn’t get any uglier. Even the facial features were blurred.