Chapter 2Time's Up: My Aunt Adopts Me

Even the janitor nearby couldn't watch it anymore. He quietly tipped me off.

"Miss, you should take your parents inside now. Everyone will be off work soon. I've never seen the people in there stay late," he said.

Inside the hall, an attendant raised his voice again.

"Is anyone else need to file anything before we close? The system locks at 5:00 pm sharp. Once it shuts down, none of today's transfer applications can be entered," he said.

The moment he finished speaking, Ivana, Hugo, and Clara finished taking photos.

Ivana didn't even glance my way. She just kept her head down and scrolled her phone.

"Mom, let's take another one. The light and angle were bad just now," she said.

Clara agreed at once.

"Okay."

Hugo stood beside them and didn't rush her.

I checked the time. It was 4:39 pm.

We only had 21 minutes left.

I walked over to them and asked, "Mom, Dad, can we go in now?"

Ivana apologized before they could speak.

"I'm sorry, Yvette. I didn't mean to stall. You're their real daughter. You'll have plenty of time with them later, but it's not the same for me.

"I just can't bear to leave them. I want a keepsake while we're still a family."

Hugo's face turned even colder when he looked at me.

"I already said we'd go in soon. Why do you keep pushing? She's been our daughter for years. Can't you have a little sympathy?" he scolded.

I froze for a second.

"I never said you couldn't take photos. The counter closes at 5:00 pm. If we don't go in now, we'll miss it," I explained.

Clara tugged Hugo's arm.

"That's enough. Stop," she told him.

Then she looked at me, her voice softening a little. "Everyone's in a bad mood today. Stop fussing over the time," she said.

I stood there and said nothing, suddenly feeling exhausted.

So in their eyes, Ivana making everyone wait for her photos wasn't fussing.

But me wanting to go home and become their real family was.

The clock in the hall ticked forward another minute.

It was 4:40 pm.

The staff had already started talking about what to eat after work.

I drew in a breath and let it out slowly. Then, I looked Hugo and Clara in the eye and said firmly, "Mom, Dad, I don't want to wait for the next time."

Hugo frowned and opened his mouth to scold me.

But before he could speak, Ivana sighed.

She kept her head down and swiped through her phone, sounding annoyed.

"Ugh. Why are all of these blurry? The selfie angle is so hard to get right. The lighting makes everyone look dark too," she muttered.

Then, she turned to me.

"Yvette, since you're in such a hurry, why don't you take it for us? Just stand farther away, and tap the button a couple of times. Then, we'll go in right after. We won't hold you up," she said, holding her phone out to me.

Hugo's annoyance found an outlet at once.

"Exactly. What's the rush?" he scolded. "Help us take one photo. It'll take only a few seconds, and we'll be done. Instead, all you did was just stand there and nag!"

Clara sighed.

"You weren't raised by us, so you don't know how to treat us like family. You just have to make everyone miserable," she said.

I didn't take the phone.

"I won't take the photos for you," I said.

Ivana's hand froze in the air, and her eyes went red at once.

She looked as if she'd been deeply wronged.