Beyond The Gaze: A Love Unseen

Chapter 43

A wide grin took its place on Sven's face, chuckling along with her, making him relieved that she wasn't sad anymore.

"At least you smiled," he sat beside her on the bench, gently ruffling her hair, and softly wiped her cheeks.

"Thank you," Elysia muttered, wiping her eyes. In the past, she always used to hide somewhere before crying her heart out, but since she had met Sven, and felt like crying, he would somehow find her everywhere, no matter where she was...

"If you really want to thank me, then don't cry too much," he flicked her nose again, making Elysia glare at him playfully. It had become his habit to always flick her nose whenever he got the chance, but Sven was totally unaffected by her glares. "I wouldn't say don't cry at all because I know you can't do it. You even cry if some stranger is crying in front of you," Elysia gave him a long side glance, thinking he was exaggerating a little too much.

Yes, she sometimes ends up getting emotional if she sees someone crying, but it wasn't so often... Maybe it was, but not that much!

"Don't give me that look, clumsy head, you know I'm right," Sven commented with a smile before turning serious. "Would you trust me enough to tell me what happened for once?" He asked softly, looking at her expectantly.

This habit of Elysia was the most difficult one for Sven to break through. She never shared her problems with anyone, or her worries, or if someone hurt her anyhow. She had a habit of keeping things to herself, crying alone, and never showing her state to others. Esme and Sven had a hard time breaking this shell of hers, and now she at least didn't hold herself in front of them, but she still kept a lot of things to herself. They even didn't know what actually happened to her in the past, which resulted in having a severe case of PTSD. She never shared it with them, and neither did her parents talk about this.

It was like a forbidden topic in Lawson's home.

But Sven wanted to break all her barriers, completely bringing her out of her past.

Elysia stared at the ground, contemplating Sven's words for a while before she spoke in a small voice. "Ares..."

'Of course, Ares! Who else if not him?' Sven cursed Ares inwardly but listened attentively to Elysia.

"Ares thinks I'm a bad person. I don't know why he thinks like that. I didn't even do anything to them, but...he said he is disappointed with me!" Elysia instantly gulped back the tears, refusing to break down in front of Sven once again.

When it came to Ares, even a single harsh word from him was enough to make Elysia cry for months. She was that sensitive about him, yet today he said so many harsh things.

"What did he say?" Sven asked calmly. Not a single crease came to his forehead in front of Elysia.

"Just this," Elysia answered and didn't tell Sven about what else Ares said. She didn't want Sven to think worse about Ares than he already does.

Sven stayed quiet, silently observing Elysia. He knew she wouldn't tell him anything further, but he wasn't going to let this go this time. Ares had crossed his limits this time...

Sven dropped Elysia at home after school and went directly to Ares' place.

*****************

Elysia's POV:

I entered home quietly, making my way to my parents' room on tiptoes. With my bag in hand, I felt like a spy in a movie; absurdly, my parents weren't even home.

Mom and Dad's anniversary was approaching in a few days, and we were planning to surprise them.

Esme and Sven were idiots to give me a stealing task. They knew I couldn't play a spy, yet they sent me to bring my parents' wedding photographs and keep an eye on them.