Chapter 61 Ma’am
Chapter 61 Ma’am
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Aiden’s soft little face twisted into a tragic expression far beyond his age. “I’m still just a baby, and now I have to carry the burden of supporting the whole family? But what can I even do? I’m only in third grade! Maybe…. you should send me to be a child model. I’ve learned how to walk the runway. I’m cute, and I bet someone would want me.”
“Not possible,” Louis said flatly, dashing his hopes without mercy. “You have no background. You think all those ugly kids who get to be models made it because of their looks? They care about family background too–and unfortunately, you don’t have that anymore.”
Aiden slipped on a pair of shoes Freya rarely wore, shuffling noisily toward the bathroom. As he walked, he turned his head and said to Louis, “You’re lying. You know tons of people. You’ve helped so many of them—why can’t they help you now?”
“Then remember this,” Louis said, following him into the bathroom, his voice drifting back out. “It’s easy to add icing on the cake, but rare to offer help in a snowstorm. When you help others, don’t expect anything back. If they don’t kick you when you’re down, that’s already decent.”
“Then what are we gonna do?” Aiden asked. “Are we just going to live here forever, never eat anything good again, never wear Janything nice? Some kids at school said I’ll probably have to transfer. Is that true?”
“Yes. You’ll be staying here with me during breaks. And all those nice meals and fancy clothes–probably gone. As for transferring… do you want to?”
The childish voice fell silent for a few seconds. Then, clearly and firmly: “Yes. My classmates keep making fun of me. They think I don’t know, but I’ve heard everything.”
“But you’re not transferring. Your tuition’s already paid through the end of the semester.”
Louis walked Aiden back into the living room and sat with him on the couch.
Freya had been pretending to write earlier, but now she couldn’t ignore them any longer. Silently, she brought over an orange and set it on the coffee table in front of them.
“There’s no other fruit at home. Just make do with this.”
Aiden ignored her completely and stubbornly said to Louis, “But they’re all talking about me. It sucks.”
“When you don’t have any power, being mocked or laughed at is normal. But even if you succeed one day and rise to the top, people will still mock you–worse than now. Only when you’re strong enough will they avoid you. They won’t dare say it to your face.”
As Louis spoke, he peeled the orange for Aiden. Just as Aiden reached for it, Louis turned slightly toward Freya and said to Aiden, “You haven’t greeted her.”
Aiden turned and looked at Freya, who had also turned to look at him after hearing Louis. He opened his mouth but hesitated. After a moment, he asked Louis, “What am I supposed to call her?”
Before Louis could answer, Aiden began working it out aloud: “You’re my dad’s cousin, which makes you my great–uncle. That means your wife is my great–aunt. So should I call her ma’am?”
Freya winced. That word made her skin crawl. It was painfully old–fashioned. She immediately tried to nip it in the bud.
“Why don’t you just call me Freya? ‘Ma’am‘ sounds way too weird.”
She didn’t want to hear it, and Aiden didn’t want to say it–so once she rejected the title, he seized the opportunity right away.
“Alright then–Freya.”
