8

8.

"Malik is such a jerk!" Edna curses under her breath.

She knew that was up to something. There was something about the way he wanted to follow her around like he is her bodyguard or something and now she has finally noticed it.

"But it wasn't Malik. " Dimore adds. " It was from Mister Jackson himself. "

Edna stops immediately. Mister Jackson, her father-in-law?

Her blood goes cold immediately. She thought she was smart, but he had no idea that he had been keeping tabs on her, more than she knew.

He bugged her, clone her phones, installed cameras in her house and office, cars, and monitored her entire life.

How did she miss the fact that he would definitely know about her changing hotels?

Dimore's phone rings and he picks it up immediately. He doesn't say more than a handful of words into the phone before ending the short call.

"Well, Mister Malik is on his way. " He announces.

Edna doesn't say anything. She is raging on the inside of her right now. Why has her life turned out like this?

It soon starts to drizzle, as if the night can't get any worse.

Kim and Dimore take out the suitcases from the rain, but Edna won't move.

Her hands are folded over her breasts and her eyes are staring into the distance as the rain falls on her.

Kim and Dimore are under the shed too, but none of them tries to talk her out of her crazy choice.

Dimore only takes out his jacket and puts it around her and then returns under the shed. She pulls the collar over her chin, but she doesn't step out of the rain.

Two cars soon arrive and Malik steps out of the first one. He frowns as soon as he sees her in the rain.

"Edna, what are you doing?!" He yells at her.

He looks at him blankly, but she doesn't say anything else. He looks at her assistance, but they don't seem to hold any answer.

"You guys take her stuff into the car. Go to your hotel and have some rest. She is going to be riding with me. " He orders them.

They walk away with a nod and start to do as he says.

He walks over to Edna and holds her by her shoulders.

Without another word to her, he leads her into the car and shuts the door. The driver drives off with only both of them in the car.

"You have to be so stubborn all the time, don't you?" He asks.

She doesn't answer.

" I told you to wait, and you fucking chose not to. Took the poor lady out to this side of town and now gave me extra work. " He laments.

"Stop acting like you are my babysitter or something, Malik. " She grunts. " No one is looking. "

"Well, if that's how you want to see it? Fine. "

She rolls her eyes. She wishes that he would stop talking to her already.

"Dad saw the booking and canceled it. He just called and told me that, but you were gone already. "

At least she tried. She tried to have a few days of peace away from this family, but they won't let her.

After driving for some time, they get to the hotel, it's much better than the first one.

It's so high that it's impossible to see its highest floor and it spells out a class from the look of it.

Malik comes out of the car and walks to the other side to get her out, but she helps herself and walks towards the door, completely ignoring him.

He doesn't bother, he just walks behind her till they get to the front desk.

The lady at the front hands him some cards as soon as she sees him, it seems that had made an interaction before this.

"Thank you. " He winks at her. She giggles and Edna scoffs.

Malik puts his hand on her shoulder and leads her away to the elevator.

They come to the floor of their assigned rooms and he walks her to hers.

The number 356 is boldly written on her door.

"Your room, princess. " He gestures.

She sighs and he takes her hand and places the card in it.

" I'm a few rooms away and if you need anything, you can just call me." He tells her.

"Yeah, I know. " She nods.

"You're welcome?" He raises her eyebrow.

She glares at him. She is not going to say it, he knows that already.

"Anyway, have a nice sleep. " He starts to walk away.

" Wait. " She stops him before he leaves.

He stops at his track and turns around. She doesn't know how he is going to take this, but she is going to keep her cool.

"Can I get my stuff back? It's really important that it's with me when I need it. " She bites her lip as she speaks

She lets her eyes look as puppy-ish as she can, in the hope that she will get him to do as she has just said, even though she has been rude and mean to him the whole time.

He laughs as he sees what she is doing. Apparently, it's not working.

"Valium?" He asks. " Is that what you are asking for?"

"Yes. " She nods. " Please give it back. "

"You Know, I am truly sorry about calling you a crack head the other time, but I am very serious about you becoming addicted to it. "

Oh, he is not going to do this to her. She feels like breaking afresh into tears.

She doesn't want to even consider the fact that she is becoming addicted to it. She is only going to stick to the good side and that is that it calms her when she is about to go Crazy.

"You don't understand. " She sighs, trying to convince him. " I need it for my anxiety. "

"Don't worry, babe. I am right here. You don't need Valium anymore. " He takes out the bottle from his pocket and shakes it before her.

He smirks and turns around and walks away.

"Have a nice rest, Edna. " He waves without turning to look at her.

She watches him leave with helplessness. She sniffs as she opens the door to her room.

The room is very big and well decorated. The bed looks inviting and so she takes off her shoes and climbs on it.

She shuts her eyes and hopes that insomnia doesn't come for her tonight. She is bone tired and it has been a very bad day for her.

******

She hears a very irritating sound and she groans in her sleep. Where in God's name is that banging sound coming from?

She curls up on the bed and presses an extra pillow over her face, trying to block out the noise, but it doesn't work out.

She wants to scream for that person to go away, but she doesn't know who that is.

Finally, she gives in. She stands up to her feet and walks to her door. Imagine the disgust on her face when she sees that it's actually Malik who is at her door.

He is in black pants and has a black hoodie on, all fresh and cool. Did he even get any sleep yesterday?

"Hey. " He greets her.

"Morning. " She yawns over her hand. She very much wants to go back to bed.

"What would you like for breakfast?" He asks.

"Breakfast?" She frowns. " No, I am not hungry. "

"Hungry or not, you will have to eat. The Kim Soo Representatives will arrive soon and they can't see you like this. "

She curses under her breath. If not for the fact that she doesn't want to make her father-in-law's company look bad, she would have gone straight to bed.

"Fine, I will come down and get something soon. " She gives in.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I have got you. " He tells her. " I will go through the trouble of getting you breakfast, tell me what you want?"

She looks at the zipper of his hoodie, nothing interesting about it, but her eyes wander like that when she is lost in thoughts.

This is South Korea, right? One of the best places to be in the world. They are famous for those lovely noodles, so maybe she should start off with some.

"Noodles. " She snaps her fingers. " I would like some noodles. "

"Noodles it is, then. " He nods.

" Cool. "

She expects him to leave immediately, but he doesn't. There seems to be something interesting on her face and he is looking at it.

He takes his hand and wipes a spot on the bridge of her nose. She doesn't into what he saw there, so she touches the spot in surprise.

" I will be right back. " He assures before he leaves.

She is confused as she shuts the door as he has left.

Sometimes, she doesn't get it. There is something about Malik that she can't get her hands on.

Maybe the fact that he makes her heart jump whenever he talks to her or touches her.

It's wrong though. He is supposed to be her husband's brother. This is infidelity in the making.

It's surprising, but the kindness she looks for in Keith's eyes, she finds in his brother's.