"Hey Princess, didn't you miss me?"
He open his arms to welcome the little one like he always does whenever he came back from studying in the city.

Normally, Josephine will come running to him and won't stop ranting  about how strict 'their mother' was to her, how 'her father' defend her, how she misses him so much or just tell him endless stories about her whereabouts... but not this time.

"Josephine, its me, Harold... Hae?" He called out again hoping the girl she's calling for will recognize him, but it seems like the girl didn't hear any word he said. She just stood there completely frozen on the spot like she saw a ghost.

"Josephine! Wouldn't you greet us? We just came back from a long trip" the madam already spoke not wanting   to prolong this kind of situation. For her, not greeting them when she already saw them is a form of disrespect.

That woke up Josephine on her trance. She hurriedly kiss the cheeks of the Madam and Don.

Harold, or what she calls, Hae is expecting one also. He smile when the kid he's longing to see for a long time slowly walk towards him but all he gets was a nod and a plain "welcome back Harold"

It shocked him to hear that, sometimes they argue just because
Josephine is always calling him 'Hae'. She said that people always address him as Harold, the heir of the Cabreras, since a little girl she was, she only remembers the words 'Harold' and 'heir' so she pronounced it as 'Hae'. She got used to it, so even she became older, she refused to call him Harold just to annoy 'her big brother'.

He must be happy by now for he was called by his real name without putting up a fight, a debate or a bet. It was also surprising to him that he is not just unhappy for it, but he also became disappointed.

Disappointed and now hurt when 'his sister' turn her back on him, avoiding eye contact.

"Mother, father, can I just go to my room? I don't feel like eating" she told 'their parents'

"Is there something wrong honey?" His father asked the kid

"No father. I really just don't have appetite now"

"Alright, but you seem pale? Let me just call the maids to give you some hot soup on your room, is that OK to you?"

She only nod and lazily walk up to her room.

He only watch her walk away.

He can't seem to figure out what went wrong. Maybe she's sick that's why she is not in the mood to welcome him the way she always does but he is not disregarding that maybe he did something wrong to upset the girl.

"Come on now Harold, she will hangout with you soon when she's feeling better" his father told him like he read his mind.

He nod and they eat their dinner.

.
.
.

Josephine on the other hand ran towards her room as soon as she gets away from their sight.

"I'm not prepared to see him!"

Its like her heart is going to burst any moment now. Its full of emotions she cannot explain. She loves Harold. She loves him more than anything in this world. That's the reason why she's hurt. She felt betrayed by the person she loves and trusted the most. At this early age, she can tell that she already experienced heartbreak.

She cried her heart's out until a knock interrupted her private moment.

"Who is that?" She asked

"Princess, its me, Hae"

That made her regret that she talked. She should have just pretend that she's asleep. But she can't take it back anymore so she fixed herself and slowly open the door.

Hae already heard sob coming from the room but what he saw confirmed what he heard. It was Josephine, in her bloodshot eyes, a sign that she really did cry. She tried to hide it by hanging her head low but her voice betrayed her when Harrold asked, "can I come in?" She replied by a sole hiccup and a shuddering sound. A sign that she's just trying to stop her sob.

Harold let it pass for a moment and put the tray of soup on her bedside table. He then sat beside Josephine on the bed.

As soon as he completely sat down, Josephine quickly move farther away from him, making him more confused.

"Princess what's wrong?"

Her answer was a complete silence.

He then tried to put his palm on her forehead to see if she's sick, but before he comes in contact with her, she slapped his hand away like he has a contagious disease.

It made his eyes widen in shock.

"Josephine!"

She still avoid his gaze

"Please talk to me! So I would know what have I done"

She kept silent but she's clenching her fist that almost turned her knuckles into white.

He holds both of her shoulders and force her to face him.

"Tell me!" He said before he sees Josephine's face: biting her lips preventing her cries to escape, her eyes all watery. Her face is almost red, not a blush kind of red but anger kind of red.

She finally looked at him. Her amber lenses saying words he cannot understand.
He's trying to comprehend the meaning of that gaze, while waiting for her to talk.

And for the first time since he came to this room, with a shaking voice she spoke:

"Why?"

Its a single word that has a lot of meaning to it. Its like all the things she want to ask was all compressed in that one word.

Harold was taken aback by that question. He can't figure out where is this coming from or why she acting this way towards him. But he needs to try.

"Is this because I didn't visit last vacation break?"

Silence.

"Princess, I just need to do it so I can be here when it matters the most..." He started, guessing its the reason

"I can't miss your upcoming birthday! And guess what? I'm not leaving anytime soon!"
He said proudly but what he earned was a confused look by the girl

"Yes, I finished all my requirements in the university and I'm just waiting for our commencement ceremonies. Meaning, I can be with you longer! How's that?!" He continued with a huge smile

She only nod which falters the smile of Harold.

"Can I sleep now?" She said then tuck herself on the bed.

Harold finally stood up retreating for a while. But he will try again next time, definitely. He will not give up on finding answers, and more importantly, he will not give up on bringing back their relationship where it used to be, specially now that he is back for good.

"I'll be leaving the soup here so you can eat whenever you feel hungry, I also brought some meds for you"

He said and attempted to kiss her goodnight but seems like she don't want any of it so he just muttered good night then close the door.

.

.

.

.

The next day, their family eat breakfast together, the youngest member is also there, well, she don't really have a choice after all. Josephine can see genuine smile coming from the madam when Harold is telling them his  achievements in the university.

'She is definitely proud of him' Josephine thought.

"That's good my son!, if you haven't know yet, our little Josephine here is also doing a great job on her studies, right honey?" The Don turned to Josephine

"Ah... Yeah, I guess" she answered, not even understanding the question.

"Oh really? You finally got serious with your studies? I thought, books is not part of your vocabulary and playing is the only thing that occupies your mind" he tried to throw a joke but the kid didn't even smiled

"Harold, she's really a smart girl, I guess that Yewon girl is just a bad influence to her, and since she's gone, Josephine became more responsible"
Madam said

"What happened to Yewon?" He asked

"She is not here anymore with her family, and do you know why?" Josephine speaks directly to him with full of conviction like he is a criminal being interrogated

"Tell me about it" he simply replied

"She and her family were oust in the community just because Yewon was caught calling me ...." She paused

"Amber" she point on her eye.

Harold had a lot of memories about that amber eyes. He had a quick flashback then turned his gaze on his mother with rage. Saying he can't believe what she has done to the innocent people just because of her personal grudge on these amber eyes.

Sure he knows what her mother can do, but he didn't know that her personal sentiments can make her do decisions like this.

That gaze was noticed by Josephine. She can only smirk at the sight:

The favorite child, the child that commits no mistake, the child that only brings achievements and pride to his family is now looking disrespectfully to his own mother.

Josephine stood up breaking that gaze.

"Thank you for the food, and if you will excuse me, I'll be heading now to my room to prepare. My tutor will soon be here any moment from now"

The Don nod as an agreement.

Another thing that is new for Harold. He knew that Josephine is really not fond of this formality but it seems like they already got used to it.

'There is definitely something wrong in here.' He thought.

~~~~
A/n: there's no krisber moments here but I will make it up to you next chapter