She didn't bother to get any further into things. She switched the topic instead.
"Either way, I'm grateful. Let's not talk about sad things. I heard, I'm getting presents."
She put on a playful smile. Whether they bought gifts or not, she would have brought it up. She decided that she didn't want to know any more of what happened before. They are too close to the matter, so they are oblivious to the problem.
Her father called to the man who had picked her up, the butler.
"Arthur, go and check if the gifts are ready."
Aurelia couldn't help raising an eyebrow. She didn't see anyone with gifts, so she assumed they didn't have any. Now it seems there are indeed gifts.
They made their way to the living room. Her mother seemed particularly excited. The butler walked back into the room with gifts in hand. There were two small boxes and three large boxes. The small boxes seemed like jewellery boxes, and the three boxes, she couldn't be sure what was in them.
"Open mine first," Aurora was the first to speak up. "If you don't like it, give it back."
"Sounds like you already plan for me not to like it." Aurelia raised an eyebrow and laughed.
Aurora's gift wasn't anything fancy. It was a large plush. She wasn't sure what it was. It had one large eye in the centre and tentacles, or what Aurelia assumed were tentacles, on its head. In short, she thought it looked strange. But it was a plush, so she graciously took it while thanking Aurora, who had a glum expression.
Kieran's gift was next. Aurelia couldn't help herself; she had to laugh. He made it obvious that he had gifted her something that he himself would like. It was a handheld game console. She thanked him. And in a moment of childishness stuck out her tongue.
"You two really are twins, thinking alike. But guess what, this is my gift, you won't get it."
The third gift came from Eve. Honestly, she didn't expect to get any gift from her. It was a dress. A very beautiful dress at that. She looked at Eve, not sure of why she would be willing to give her such a dress.
Since she wasn't sure, she wouldn't take the dress out. Who knows what it's contaminated with? She didn't want to take the chance, so she thanked her and put the dress down.
"Do you not like it?" Eve asked.
"I like it. It's so pretty, I don't dare take it out of the packaging." Aurelia quickly closed it and reached for the next gift before she could say anything else.
This time, the gift she took up was from her father. It was one of the small boxes. When she opened it, she saw what looked like a smart watch.
She immediately knew what it was. Her joyous smile filled the room. She didn't have anything bad to say about this. If she didn't think he would be uncomfortable, she would have hugged him.
The previous Aurelia wanted one but couldn't afford it. And here she is, getting one as a reunion gift.
To hell with it, Aurelia thought. She got up and gave her father a quick hug before sitting down.
The final gift was from her mother. She could see that she was nervous from the way she kept wringing her hands.
She opened the box. Inside was a delicate necklace with a pendant. When she saw it, she thought to herself that it looked familiar.
"This is passed down in my family. It's supposed to go to the eldest daughter on her wedding. We missed 18 years. And while I know it can't make up for everything, I wanted you to have it."
Aurelia didn't make her wait long. She hugged her mother. She also couldn't help but sigh. The book said these people hated her, but so far, the only person who seems to dislike her is the heroine.
"Thanks, Mom." She said as she examined the pendant. She really couldn't shake the feeling she had seen it before.
She didn't have to think for long. She touched her neck, thinking of whether to put it on, only to realise why she thought she had seen it before.
"Mom, is there another part to the pendant?"
Her mother gave her a confused look. Aurelia took off the necklace she was wearing. She had worn it for so long that she had forgotten it. She didn't even realise it crossed over with her.
She put the two pendants beside each other. When you looked at them, they seemed to be two halves of the same whole.
"Wow! Mom, she has the same pendant," Aurora exclaimed.
"It's not the same." Her mother shook her head. "Our family heirloom has a small marble attached. To call it a marble would be good. No one is sure what it actually is. It isn't jade or pearl or anything precious. We had it appraised, and no one could tell us what it was. So it's more for sentimental value than anything else."
Even though she said it wasn't the same, Aurelia couldn't help but look at it. She did think they were two halves. Especially since there was a curve in her pendant that fit the marble on the one her mother gave her.
She put them together, only to see that they really did fit together.
"Looks like I was always meant to be here."
Aurelia didn't know just how true her words were.
The family looked at the two things after they were placed together. Four cones that intersect. Each wasn't solid, but a series of concentric overlapping rings. Each pointing to one of the cardinal points. They don't quite meet, but give space for the marble to lie inside.
Aurelia decided not to put it on right now. She would wait until she got back to her "room" to take a closer look. She placed them both in the box and closed it.
"I wish I had a gift to give to you all. But I'm sure you know what my situation was before. When I have money, I'll make sure to buy something for everybody."
Her mother, whose name is Whitney, hugged her. Aurelia could see that she was guilty. The hug she gave her before seemed to have opened the floodgates. She could hold back before, but she can't anymore.
"You don't need to give me a gift. You should tell me if you like your room. Everybody pitched in to make it special. We don't know what you like, so we did something neutral. The bathroom is pink. Your father is the one who said you would like it because you're a girl."
She gave her husband a disgusted face.
Aurelia chuckled, seeing her face.
"I haven't seen the bathroom. It would be nice if I could have a bed, though." She glanced at Eve, who straightened up when she heard what she said.
"Aurelia, don't joke like that. I showed you your room and you told me you didn't like it. You even left and walked to the room at the end of the hall and put your bag there."
Everyone looked between Eve and Aurelia. She could see the doubt in their eyes.
"Why would I want to sleep in a room without a bed? You brought me directly to the room on the third floor that had nothing in it and told me it was my room."
Aurelia could feel their eyes on her. She was sure they didn't know what to believe. It didn't matter. She wasn't asking them to believe her. She only wanted to plant a seed of doubt.
"How would I know? Maybe you like sleeping on the floor?" Eve shot back.
"That's enough," her father chimed in. "Let's go see the room now. Whatever happened, I hope it doesn't happen again. Do you both understand me?"
Aurelia blinked rapidly. Did I just get scolded by my dad? Heh! I have a dad to scold me. Well, damn! Aurelia's parents don't count. These are my first parents.
She giggled and looked at him. The frown on his face got deeper.
"Sorry! I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because you scolded me. It made me feel like part of the family."
The people around her looked dumbfounded. They didn't expect her to enjoy being scolded.
"If you like it, I'll do it more often," her father said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Sure."