?Chapter 882


    Micha suppressed her anger and stressed each word carefully. "Wanda, you''ve been away working in the frontier for so long that you might not realize how disturbing Elio''s behavior is. He''s Candice''s uncle. They''re rted! Yet he''s had an unhealthy fixation on Candice since her childhood.


    "He collected her hair ties, cups, stuffed toys, and other random items. He hoarded her discarded pencil cases and even a used pen. Whenever he visited Morrison Residence, he secretly took things that belonged to Candice and stashed them away.


    "What kind of man obsessively writes diary entries about a young woman? He stole her things, spied on her, stalked her, and filled his entire sketchbook with drawings of her. He...


    "I was desperate and had to pressure him into finding a girlfriend. But then he and Josie deceived me. I had no option but to make him move abroad. I truly-"


    M cut her off, her voice sharp with fury. "Mom, why did you read Elio''s diary?"


    "I did it for his own good," Micha replied as if it were obvious.


    Holding her throbbing forehead, M sighed deeply and muttered, "Your kind of ''motherly love'' is stifling."Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    "How else would I have known how serious this was if I hadn''t read his diary? Who knows what awful things could''ve happened if I hadn''t intervened in his twisted behavior sooner?"


    M was momentarily speechless. After a pause, she spoke sincerely, "Mom, Elio is not like other men. He''s reserved and distant, and he struggles to express his emotions. It''s not unusual for him to collect items rted to his crush.


    "Perhaps he followed her simply because he wanted to protect her or just to be near her often. He never peeked at her in the shower or stole anything deeply personal like her underwear. How can youbel his behavior as twisted?"


    Steadfast in her conservative views, Micha objected. "Candice calls him uncle. Doesn''t he realize what that implies about his ce in our family? If such behaviors aren''t considered twisted, what would be? Does he need to engage in actual incest for us to call it that?"


    M saw things differently. She believed that as long as there was no blood rtion and their rtionship was legally allowed, there was no reason they couldn''t be together. To her, any other concems were minor.


    On the other hand, Micha held traditional values dear and ced great importance on the family hierarchy. She felt that pursuing such a rtionship was not only morally wrong but would also harm the rtionships between their families.


    The debate raged on in the living room, with the duo adamantly defending their viewpoints.


    Elio locked his bedroom door and slumped against the wall. He stretched one leg out and bent the other, resting his arm wearily on his knee. His gaze was empty as he stared at the remains of the portrait that Micha had destroyed.


    He had devoted half a month to creating a portrait of Candice, meticulously writing her name tens of thousands of times in various sizes to form her image. Now, ity in ruins.


    The loss of the portrait wouldn''t have been so crushing if Candice were willing to be in a rtionship with him. But with the portrait destroyed and Candice''s clear disinterest in him, he felt like the sky hade crashing down on him. Yet he had to continue clinging to the fragments of hisposure.