42 Unshackled (2/2)

Aunt Li was also looking at him worriedly.

”Are you sure ? Why so suddenly ?”

She asked.

”It's nothing I swear, I just felt home for once in so long, I'm happy that you are taking such a good care of Em too. She probably don't even remember my parent's faces so I'm relieved she have someone she can see as a motherly figure.”

Aunt Li was aware of the sibling's situation, Sam had told Annie about his parents and she had told her mom when Em was about to come to their place to avoid asking her questions about her parents and risking hurting her, now that she thought back about it she felt extremely sorry for Sam, he was so young when his parents had died and he kept taking care of his sister while working and going to school.

She also was on the verge of spilling tears, she stood up, pulled his arm to make him stand, hugged him and whispered

”You can also see me as a mother, I don't mind having another handsome son you know ? It must have been hard on you until now.”

He tried to hold it in but he couldn't, slowly the first tear escaped his eye, once the first tear broke free the rest followed in an unbroken stream, Sam hugged her back and sobbed, she held him in silence, rocking him slowly as his tears soaked her shoulder.

Awhile later he let her go, he wiped his soaked face with a relieved smile and red eyes due to the long time crying, he had let go all the sentiments he had sealed in his heart. He didn't want to be weak, he had to be strong to protect Em but today he had finally released a burden that was like an anchor not letting him move forward.

”Are you feeling better ?”

”Thank you, I'm feeling a lot better.”

Annie that had been standing beside him for so long didn't know how to react, she had been stunned in place for so long. She also felt like crying but held most of her tears back in, only a few had escaped her control, she put a hand on his back and looked at him tenderly. She finally realized how hard for him it must have been to take alone the role of the father and the mother for his sister, to work and study at the same time, how tiring, heavy and oppressive the responsibilities must have been.

He turned around and realized that her face was also wet, he felt felt bad for making her cry but knowing that she could cry for him made her place in his heart bigger, he wiped her face from the tears left and smiled, he was feeling like kissing her but couldn't as her mom was still behind them so he hugged her, her small body was completely enveloped in his.

Aunt Li saw them being intimate and felt like giving them free space, she headed toward the door and said

”I'm going to the living room, take your time to finish lunch.”

He looked over and saw her leaving, of course she wasn't leaving to let them finish lunch... he lifted Annie's face and kissed her.

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After lunch he stayed with Annie sitting in the courtyard, the weather was warm and their place was beautiful, their house was on a hill so from behind they could see a big part of Toulouse. Annie laid in his arms until he decided to go, he had to clean the house and 2 months of accumulated dust was annoying to get rid of so he preferred starting right away.

He got in his car and headed home, he still had four hours before picking up Em.