Chapter 387: Chapter 387

"What do you mean by that, Rocky?!" Shelby snapped playfully at him, and Rocky jerked out of reach, sticking his tongue out. It was like the siblings were back in the Wendover mansion. Back in time and the few rare moments when Shelby would let herself go. It was nostalgic for Rocky, but he would never want to go back to that time again.

Inwardly, he sighed in relief. This was not because Shelby was okay talking to him about Ava, but it was because Shelby had temporarily pushed the thought of Aliya back and had lightened up.

Rocky observed that the furrow in her brows had eased up, and Shelby seemed lighter. Like Ava, Roky could predict Shelby’s mood through her mannerisms and in as much as Shelby may not show it, her one and only brother knew without a doubt that Aliya had become a thorn in her side.

"Get up, Rocky. You’re an adult now, and who you want to be with solely depends on you...."

"Really, sissy!? I knew that you were the best!"

Rocky got up and hugged Shelby tight, then he whispered into her ears,

"I’ll always be here for you, so don’t shut me out, okay?"

Tears prickled at Shelby’s eyes, and she blinked them away. The siblings had been through thick and thin and were as close as could be, so Shelby knew that despite the power of the Thornston family, Rocky would always stand by his words. Even though Rocky had not mentioned any explicit names, Shelby understood. There was no need for any more words in this.

"Did you lose weight?" Shelby asked as her eyes took in her brother’s appearance. She somehow felt bad because she had not been fully there for Rocky after that incident, but Rocky’s reply put her at ease.

"I didn’t! With Ava feeding me, do you think that it would happen?"

Shelby chuckled, nodding at that statement. With Ava, there was never anything like losing an appetite!

Rocky continued, his face getting a bit solemn,

"In fact, I want to thank Brother Ian, but he is not on my favourite ’people list’ at the moment," Rocky added, earning another hearty laugh from Shelby. She loved it when Rocky tried to stand up for her. Shelby felt warm on the inside.

"You won’t believe it, sis. After that Terry issue? Brother Ian got our most prestigious Principal fired from the job. Like I couldn’t believe it,.... I mean, I still cannot believe that Brother Ian was able to do this with so much ease!"

Rocky paused and clenched his hands, thinking,

’Maybe, this is why I am hating on brother Ian so much at this moment. If he was able to get rid of the seemingly powerful headmaster in the span of that short time, then why was he allowing himself to be led by the nose?’ Rocky’s thoughts were along these lines but he did not dare say anything of this sort to his sister.

It was prudent to assume that many people within the family, also had this thought. Even though Shelby seemed amiable, Rocky knew that she was stretched thin emotionally because of the appearance of this Aliya person. He did not want to say anything about that, so Rocky rather continued his initial tale about his former Principal who became miserable after one night!

"I mean, I never for once thought that our Principal would ever leave his post, but I am grateful to Brother Ian for venting on my behalf."

Rocky was not the only one with such thoughts. The almighty Principal—someone who commanded the highest respect and wielded enormous influence—was gone just like that. It wasn’t through any grand plans but mere words from Ian! People had always whispered about Ian’s power, about how far his reach extended, but this? This was the first time everyone truly understood its scale.

Most of the people who had taken posts in the past two years did not understand this, as they had never seen Ian in action. One of them was the assistant headmaster of the Islander’s Academy. When the man heard of this incident, he trembled in his seat. Suddenly, all the restrictions that his direct boss, the headmaster, had put in place, all the concessions for the Thornston children, and many others things, began to be viewed in a different light.

Even though a month had passed since then, that assistant headmaster would still gulp when the pasts events’ past ran through him.

The most shocking part of this for almost everyone was that? The medical school’s Principal’s replacement was announced that very same day, as if the decision had been made long before the man even realized he was vulnerable. To top up on that, the rumour of the Principal’s ’crimes’ for his daughter spread like wildfire and people scorned them.

If he wanted to plan against someone, they had to set their eyes on the right target! Weren’t the father and daughter looking too high? These were people’s thoughts about them.

The ripple effects were immediate. The other prominent businessmen on the island were shaken to their cores. Conversations that might have once been held in hushed tones were now avoided entirely, as if even acknowledging the event could draw unwanted attention. Ian’s influence wasn’t just a rumour anymore—it was a reality they couldn’t ignore, and no one dared to challenge it.

To add to this, the people around Ian like Rocky, also started getting that much respect. In fact, the females in his school still had ideas about Rocky, but after what had happened to Terry, all of them knew their limits and stayed back as the new Principal took office. Rocky then felt that he was finally free of these plots for a while.

Shelby listened attentively even though she knew most of it, and even when Rocky would stop talking as if engrossed in his thoughts, she never interrupted him.

After a while, Rocky hesitated and opened his mouth; his brows furrowed as he studied his sister.

"Just ask away, Rocky..."

"Sis.... If you have no problem with me dating Ava," he began, his tone laced with a bit of an underlying frustration,

".... then, why do you not want to speak with her? She’s your best friend, isn’t she?"

Shelby stilled mid-motion, a glass of water in her hand hovering just below her lips. She slowly lowered it and turned to face him, her eyes sharp but guarded.

"That, Rocky," she said, her voice calm but clipped, "is between me and her."

Rocky frowned deeper, the corners of his mouth twitching in disbelief. He did not want to push, but as Shelby relaxed, Rocky could not help but want to ask about this. He knew and saw how worried Ava was about this, but Rocky had never anticipated Shelby’s answer.

Or maybe he did, but the interests of his girlfriend were getting higher in his heart. Ian did not want to lose anyone on either side of that relationship , but at the same time, he knew that Shelby was no pushover, and she was very understanding too. Rocky just wished that Shelby would let him in on whatever was going on.

"Between you and her, Shelby? You’re not even talking to her! How does that work?"

Shelby sighed, setting the glass back down without taking a sip of the water. She bumped it with a little more force than necessary. "It’s complicated," Shelby said, avoiding his gaze.

"Complicated?" Rocky echoed, his voice rising. "You’re my sister! She’s your best friend! The two of you were inseparable, and now that I’m dating her, you suddenly can’t stand to be around her?"

"Don’t push it, Rocky. It’s not about you," Shelby snapped, finally looking him in the eye, her tone sharper now. "There are... things you don’t understand."

"Then explain it to me," he said, his voice softening slightly though his confusion and hurt were still evident.

She hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line. "I can’t," she muttered after a long pause. "Just... leave it alone, okay?"

Rocky shook his head, exasperated.

’You know, you’re always saying how much you want me to be happy and I am happy with her. But if you’re going to keep acting , I—’

A little voice whispered in Rocky’s head, but he decided not to say such words to Rocky. Rocky studied his sister for a while, wanting to understand her thoughts, but he also knew that his sister never did things without a reason, and he was right.

In this case, Shelby did have her own reasons for doing such and did not want it to become a thorn in their side. On one side was her brother and then her best friend on the other. It was just that.... Shelby sighed.

"I’ll handle that with Ava, but for now, I need you to let the two of us be so that we can settle it between ourselves!"

Rocky studied Shelby for a little while before he decided to let it go. He knew Shelby best, so even though Rocky did not get the line of thinking, he knew that he had to trust his sister like he had done over the years.

After this, the siblings continued talking as Shelby also checked on Rocky’s health. It was late to be doing that, but Shelby knew that Rocky had been in good hands.

Just across the room, Samantha would peek over at her mother from time to time. Like the rest, she had also noticed the tension in Shelby. However, Samantha was old enough to notice some of the adult issues that were becoming more glaring by the day. One thing that she was not sure of was why her previous adoptive mother was acting that way.

"Sam, can we go over to Mama now?"

Samantha sighed and then shook her head.

"Mum is busy talking to Uncle Rocky...."

"Okaaayyyyyyy!" Gabriel dragged the words out in disappointment as Samantha suggested a game for them,

"Let’s see who can draw Mum and Uncle Rocky the best!"

Gabriel perked up at it, and Samantha let out a sigh of relief.

Murray smiled on the side. He took in everything that was happening and commended Samantha for her intuition in this action. However, at the same time, Murray was worried about his mistress. Because of how they were linked and also because he was a protector, there were things that he could see that others could not.

Murray pursed his lips just as the door to the room swung open. He turned swiftly towards the door, door as did the rest of the room...

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