Chapter 10 Bastian’s Regret
On the other side of town, Bastian had just picked up the medical report
The doctor’s words still echoed in his ears.
777 the hospital
+8 Pearls
“Severe malnutrition, anemia, and gastritis. How does a perfectly healthy young girl end up like this? Mr. Lark, don’t tell me your family’s too poor to feed her?”
Even now, Bastian’s heart clenched at the memory. His hand trembled as he held the report.
When Azalea had first returned to the Larks, she’d gone for a check–up. Sure, she’d been plainly dressed, but her health had been just fine. And now, three years later, her report was filled with problems.
Malnutrition is a joke for the daughter of the Larks.
Standing at the front gate of the Larks, the report in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Azalea’s hurt, aggrieved expression kept flashing in his mind. His eyes stung, on the verge of tears.
How had he been so cruel to her before?
She was supposed to be the Larks precious treasure, so how had they let her turn into this?
Harper finally spotted Bastian frozen at the entrance and quickly greeted him. “Mr. Bastian, why are you still standing out here? Mr. and Mrs. Larks are back already. They’re celebrating Ms. Sydney’s acceptance into the Jubilee training camp. Everyone’s waiting for you.”
Bastian felt like the world blurred for a moment. Azalea was still out there alone, and no one even knew if she was eating properly, yet his parents still had the mood to throw a celebration for Sydney.
He could hardly breathe,
Dragging heavy steps, Bastian entered the house. The dining table was packed with food, every dish rich and fragrant, appetizing enough to make one’s mouth water.
And yet it was in this very house that a girl had ended up with anemia and malnutrition.
His throat felt like it was being strangled.
What exactly had Azalea meant to them all these years!
Seeing him finally arrive, Wesley frowned in annoyance. “Didn’t we tell you it was for Sydney’s celebration earlier today? Why are you only just getting home?”
Bastian opened his mouth but didn’t know where to start. After a pause, he finally muttered, “I went to the hospital.”
Sydney immediately looked over, eyes filled with concern. “Bastian, are you sick?”
“No, I went to pick up Azalea’s medical report.”
As soon as her name was spoken, the atmosphere dropped several degrees.
Wesley immediately scowled. “Why bring up such an inauspicious topic!”
Inauspicious! Bastian stared at him in disbelief.
He still remembered how, back when Azalea first went missing, Wesley would spend nights in the study chain–smoking. crying in secret while holding her photo, And now she was ‘inauspicious?
The rage exploded in his chest.
Holding up the report, Bastian said, “Do you know what this report says? Anemia. Malnutrition. Stomach issues. Do you remember what her check–up looked like when she first came home? Three years in this house, and you’ve fed her into a sick
Ivy looked stunned. “How could she be malnourished? Is the report real? Don’t tell me Azalea bribed the doctor to fake it?”
234 PM
Chapter 10 Bastian’s Regret
Matthias nodded. “She’s capable of pulling something like that.
Cassius frowned. “When have we ever not fed her?”
Skyler yawned lazily. “Just ask Harper and be done with it.
None of them really cared about Azalea’s health. Some even thought it was just one of her tricks.
+8 Pearls
Bastian couldn’t even pretend he wasn’t disappointed. But what hurt more was the fact that, once upon a time, he had been one of them.
How hopeless must those years have been for Azalea?
They were the ones who pushed her away, one step at a time.
Harper soon came in.
Ivy asked. “Didn’t you make sure Azalea followed the meal plans from the nutritionist?”
“She had three meals a day, just like the plan. We made sure she never had more than she was supposed to, Harper replied honestly.
Bastian latched onto the key phrase. “Only three meals?”
Harper looked confused but still nodded. “Yes, three,”
His hands trembled again. Everyone in the Larks knew Azalea’s portions had always been pitifully small. At her age, during a critical growth period, just three such meals a day. How had she even survived?
Now, even the rest of the family sensed something was off.
Wesley frowned. “Why just three? Wasn’t the whole point of her plan to eat smaller amounts more frequently?”
At the center of the table, Sydney panicked, nervously fiddling with her fingers. “Maybe the kitchen got too busy and mixed it up or something?”
Even the always–indifferent Skyler looked shocked now. Azalea hadn’t even been eating enough?
Ivy felt a strange twinge of guilt but quickly brushed it off. Maybe it had been a mistake in the kitchen.
“It’s already happened. We can’t change the past. We’ll just make it up to Azalea when she comes home.”
Bastian suddenly remembered what Azalea had told him outside her school that day.
Would they be this casual if it had happened to Sydney instead?
He didn’t understand anymore. Was this really okay?
The suffocating pain in his chest spread through every inch of his body. His eyes burned, and he didn’t need a mirror to know they were rimmed with red.
“I went to Draywick High School today to see Azalea. Do you know what she told me about the school forum incident?” He repeated her words for the whole family to hear.
“If this had happened to Sydney instead. Mom, would you still be brushing it off like this? And about the report. How could you even suggest she bribed the doctor? Where would she even get the money! She’s left this house. She has no place to live. No way to eat!”
His last words came out Hear rou
Matthias was instantly annoyed. What did those words make Sydney out to be?
Matthias was immediately upset. “So what, now you’re the hero? Have you forgotten how you treated her before?”
That one sentence broke him. Bastian stood there like a ghost, his eyes blank. “You’re right, I wasn’t a good person.” Even this Jubilee training camp slot they were celebrating now, he had been the one who decided to give it to Sydney, not Azalea
So he lost that sweet little girl who followed behind him, calling him “Bastian‘ with a smile.
Chapter 10 Bastian’s Regret
+8 Pearls
Bastian wandered up the stairs in a daze. When he came to his senses, he was already standing in front of Azalea’s old room. He pushed the door open. Nothing had changed–the room looked exactly as it had when she was still here, as if time had frozen in place,
Like a lost soul, he sank onto the bed. His gaze landed on the stuffed bear resting on the sheets, and his eyes went blank for a
moment.
He still remembered how excited Azalea had been when she first came home and saw the room–she couldn’t stop She hugged that little teddy bear like it was the best thing in the world.
smiling
But in reality, this room had originally been nothing more than a storage space–cramped, poorly lit, and far from comfortable. No one in the family had the time to set up a proper room for her. Even the stuffed bear she loved so much had been something Sydney no longer wanted.
Bastian’s whole body trembled.
Meanwhile, Sydney’s room was the biggest and most luxurious in the house, filled with rare limited–edition toys piled up to the ceiling.
A cold sensation slid down his cheek. He reached up and touched his face, only to realize that he had started crying at some point.
“Azalea, I was wrong,” he choked out, voice breaking in the quiet room.
He regretted everything: failing to protect her when everyone else doubted her and failing to speak up when she was pushed
aside.
Most of all, he regretted that day at school when he accused her without knowing the truth.
He could still remember the very first day she came home. He had stood before her, reached out his hand, and told her, “Don’t be scared. As long as I’m here, I’ll always protect you.”
He never kept that promise.
There were so many things. If he had only considered them from her point of view, he would’ve seen that she had been the one who had been hurt the most.
How had he convinced himself it was okay to make her give up her spot at the Jubilee training camp?
Bastian’s breath came in quick, shallow gasps. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he lifted the mattress to his feet.
“Bastian, I’ll tell you a secret! I hid my most precious treasure under my mattress!”
It was a drawing. A picture of their whole family.
His hands trembled as he flipped it over.
The words “I want to always be with my family‘ were on the back.
The pain was unbearable. What had he done?
Bastian broke down completely and cried.
He had lost Azalea again.
