The Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 249: [ Volume 1] Chaper -Are you angry.

"Apologies, huh?" she said, her voice chillingly calm. "Don’t you think you should be directing those apologies at the right person?"

Esme and Aron, still balancing precariously on one leg, exchanged a quick look, realizing their situation was about to get much worse if they didn’t tread carefully.

"Oh, absolutely, dear," Esme said with an awkward smile, trying to placate Helga. "We were... just warming up. No need to get upset!"

"Right, Helga," Aron added, his smile wide and disarming. "No harm done, really. Just a friendly... uh, sparring session."

Helga’s eyes narrowed slightly, clearly unimpressed. "Wrong answer."

And with that, she tightened her grip on their legs, sending fresh waves of pain through their limbs.

"Ouch! Helga, please!" Esme squeaked, her hand flailing as she tried to keep herself steady.

"Yeah, we’re really, really sorry!" Aron practically whimpered, his once-confident grin replaced by a look of genuine discomfort.

Helga released them abruptly, causing them both to stumble, barely managing to stay on their feet. Her expression remained unfazed as she crossed her arms, giving them one last piercing look.

"Next time," she said, "keep your fights outside the office. And remember, I won’t always be this lenient."

Esme and Aron, chastened and a bit sore, exchanged a sheepish glance, silently vowing to be a little more mindful of who might be watching next time. Helga, satisfied, walked out with the authority of someone who knew they had just restored a bit of order to the chaos that seemed to follow Esme and Aron wherever they went.

Helga’s gaze softened as she looked at Esme, but there was an unyielding clarity in her eyes. She crossed her arms, taking a small step forward, her voice low but direct. "Esme, do you... want to leave this house?"

Esme blinked, caught completely off guard. "What?" she stammered, a hint of confusion in her voice.

Helga didn’t budge. "You ran away from home, didn’t you?" Her words were careful but laced with an edge of accusation, one that felt like a cold splash of water to Esme.

Esme, momentarily stunned, lowered her head, a smile flickering on her lips as she rubbed her forehead. "No, no, Helga," she replied, attempting to wave it off with a forced lightness. "I didn’t run away... What are you even talking about?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

But Helga’s sharp, unwavering gaze remained fixed on her, as if she could see right through every layer of Esme’s defenses. "Esme, I’ve known you for years. You can’t hide from me," Helga said softly, her voice both gentle and relentless. "What’s going on? You... don’t want this child?"

At that, Esme’s head shot up, eyes widening with a flicker of something raw and vulnerable. "No!" she protested hurriedly, her voice unsteady. "That’s not it at all."

A small, knowing smile touched Helga’s lips as she took a step closer, placing a steadying hand on Esme’s shoulder. "So, you do want this child?"

"Of course, I want the child!" Esme’s words came out fast, as if to reassure herself as much as Helga.

Helga raised an eyebrow, her face softened with understanding, but her gaze was probing. "Then why, Esme," she began again, her tone patient but firm, "did you run away from the house?"

Esme hesitated, the forced smile on her face wavering as she struggled to find the right words. "I... it’s not that, I mean, I just needed some—"

But before she could finish, Helga cut in, her voice calm yet unyielding. "Don’t make excuses, Esme. I just want you to be honest with me. Why did you leave?"

There was a long, charged silence, the weight of Helga’s question hanging in the air. Esme could feel her pulse quickening, her gaze flickering downwards as she realized there was no easy escape from Helga’s piercing insight.

Esme took a deep breath, letting it out in a shuddering sigh as her hands lifted to cover her face. Her voice, usually so steady, now trembled with a mix of pain and uncertainty. "Helga... do you remember why I entered this marriage in the first place?"

Helga’s eyes softened as she crossed her arms and leaned back, nodding knowingly. Her gaze was steady, unwavering. "Of course, Esme," she replied, her tone firm, but with an edge of concern that she couldn’t quite mask.

Esme chuckled bitterly, the sound hollow and empty. She lifted her head to meet Helga’s eyes, a forced smile tugging at her lips. "I’ve spent my whole life keeping everything in order—business, personal matters, everything had its place. I handled it all, I thought. But now... now, I don’t know what I’m doing." Her voice cracked, and she quickly looked away, her gaze falling to the floor as if the words she was saying were foreign, uncomfortable.

Helga watched her friend’s struggle, waiting as Esme wrestled with the feelings she rarely let anyone see.

"It’s like..." Esme continued, her voice barely a whisper, "I don’t have any control anymore, and I—" she faltered, slumping back heavily in her chair, her body a picture of exhaustion and confusion. Her eyes looked distant, almost lost. "Helga, I’m scared," she confessed quietly, and the words seemed to hang in the air, raw and unfiltered. "This... this is the first time I’ve felt like this. And I don’t know why. I don’t want to break this marriage," she whispered, each word heavy with the weight of her fears, "but I’m terrified."

Helga’s expression shifted, a tender smile breaking through her earlier seriousness. She moved closer to Esme, her gaze soft yet unwavering, filled with a warmth that only a friend who understood could provide. Reaching out, she gently pinched Esme’s nose, pulling her out of her thoughts. "You absolute fool," Helga chided gently, her voice light yet filled with affection. "Here you are, making it seem like the world is falling apart, when all that’s happening is you’re in love."

Esme blinked, startled by the bluntness of Helga’s words, her confusion turning into shock. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as though afraid to believe it herself.