13

13.

After a very thorough bath, she returns to her bed and lays on it.

The tears choke her and she whimpers as they trickle down to the side of her face.

He is always coming up with new ways to try to hurt her, isn't he?

Even though she is beyond his reach, he will always find a way to hurt her.

She takes out her phone and sends a text to Dimore and Kim. There isn't any need for them to be helping her around because it turns out that she is going to be having very little to do.

She is instructing them to treat this as a vacation and have some fun. She will ask father-in-law to ask his financial department to send them funds.

After all, she lays against the bed and clutches her pillow as she continues to cry. She spends a long time like that and doesn't even know when she falls asleep.

She wakes up to the soft knock on her door and Anna's small voice asking her to open up.

She makes sure to wipe any streak of tears left on her face before she opens the door.

Anna has changed into bum shorts and a loose shirt and she smiles and takes a good look at Edna.

" You know that it's just going to be us at this dinner, right?" She smirks.

" Of course, I know that, why are you saying that?" Edna asks.

"Because I am wondering what it is that made you dress up so much. Chill girl, feel at home. " Anna tells her as she waves her hands to demonstrate her freedom.

Edna studies Anna's casual dress. She wishes that she can dress like this, but she wouldn't dare.

Even back at home, she wouldn't do so because of Keith.

Yes, he would straight up accuse her of throwing herself at him and he is going to tear it off her and force himself on her, so she avoids doing so.

Secondly, she wouldn't dress like this over here because her father-in-law expects her to be dressed well, all the nice bum shorts and a loose shirt is not Mister Jackson's idea of good dressing. Daring, yes, but too casual for his liking.

" Dinner is ready and the whole of my family is down already. " Anna informs her.

"Oh, okay." Edna answers. " Let me get refreshed. "

"Trust me, there isn't anymore you can do for yourself. You look stunning already and besides, my family is yours. " Anna says as she holds her hand.

She then leads her down the stairs and Edna has never seen a more full table in her life.

It's just Mister Kim, two young men, and a beautiful woman with silver hair, but she feels like turning around and running away.

She can't do so because Anna announces their presence and everyone turns to them with great smiles.

The lady walks towards her and pulls Edna into a tight hug as if they are not strangers.

"Welcome, my dear. You are welcome to our home. " The lady says. " I am Lucy. "

Even though Edna is in a very shitty mood, she smiles and feels free. This has got to be the sweetest family on the planet.

Dinner time. Turns out that Anna had good-looking brothers.

She remembers their names. Young - Soo and Ji - Hoon, she remembers their names because their sister told her.

Their nice hair, lean and tall figures, and finely cut faces. One has honey-colored eyes and the other gray eyes.

Lucy lets go of her and the boys approach her. The one with brown eyes seems to be a little shy because he lets his brother take the lead.

He takes her hand and shakes it firmly, the way men do to their equal.

"My name is Young- Soo. " He introduces himself in a thick accent. " And this is my brother, Ji- Hoon."

His brother takes her hand too and tells her how nice it is to meet them.

"Nice names. " She smiles.

"You can call me Young and him, Ji if you want. " Young offers.

With that everyone settles at the table and soon the servants start to bring in dishes.

Edna looks in awe at the long line of servants tripping in with their hands bearing different kinds of food.

Anna is beside her and everyone patiently waits to be served.

Colorful and tantalizing food, the nice scent of it wafts around the place and intoxicates her.

The rest of the family are speaking in Korean and she doesn't understand a word of what they are saying so she looks on like a lost goat.

Anna leans towards her and nudges her, bringing a smile to her face.

" Don't worry, you are going to like the food so much. " Anna assures her. " I'm not trying to downgrade you Americans, but when it comes to food, we are like the best. "

"That I have to agree with. " Edna laughs. " I have seen a lot of pictures and eaten from Korean restaurants back home and it's just not the same. "

"Well, we will be having samgyeopsal, jajangmyeon, jjigae, tteokbokki, and many more. " Anna makes a mental long list. " These, my friend, have been made by experts and can't be found in restaurants. "

Edna laughs heartily. She has just met this girl a few days ago, but she likes her so much. She is a whole vibe.

A man enters the room and says a few words in Korean and bows deeply.

"Oh, your brother-in-law is here. " Anna interprets.

Edna gets a little bit overwhelmed by the news for a minute and her shaky fingers knock off her glass of water.

"God, I'm so sorry. " She murmurs repeatedly and starts to wipe the table with her napkin.

"Don't worry, child. It's okay. " Lucy says.

Anna turns and snaps her finger at one of the servants and soon the mess is taken care of and Edna has a fresh glass placed in front of her.

Edna tries not to look like someone who is panicking. Her heart is racing, pumping adrenaline viciously around her body, but she is trying her best to keep her face straight.

Malik walks into the room and Mister Kim Soo stands up, followed by his sons.

He exchanges low pleasantries and respectful handshakes. The sons do the same thing and then Malik moves to Lucy.

He plants a gentle kiss on the side of her face and she laughs like a happy school girl. Who wouldn't though? Malik is melting hot.

His eyes rest on both Anna and Edna and that makes her shutters. She looks away and takes a long sip from her water.

"Ladies. " He acknowledges them with a bow. Anna winks at him in reply, but Edna ignores him.

From the look of it, one would think she is just trying to be mean, but on the inside, she is as terrified as a mouse in front of a cat.

He looks so much like his brother, her husband, and a mere look at him brings back all the nasty memories that she has, memories of what he did to her hours ago.

Ignorant Malik tries to keep eye contact with her, but she keeps breaking away from him. It's very obvious that something isn't right with her.

"I'm so sorry that we had to start without you. " Mister Kim Soo apologizes.

" I do apologize for taking too long to get here. " Malik says instead. " I just had one thing to do in Seoul and something else came up."

" That's okay, Mister Malik. We are business people and we totally get it. " Young waves off.

His voice is firm and bold, even though his English words are accurate but too pronounced.

Edna can tell that he has got to be the eldest one. Ji hasn't said more than a handful of words and while they waited for the table to be all set, he took out his phone and pressed away.

"Anyway, let's dig in. Hope we all have the appetite of a whale today. " Lucy smiles.

Delicacies have been served so everyone starts to dig in and boy, the food tastes so good on her taste buds.

Anna wasn't bragging, this has got the best that she has tasted in a long time.

It reminds her of her mother's cooking when she was young. They rarely had meat and other luxuries, but with the basics, her mother managed to prepare a good meal.

It's still a mystery up till today and Edna has concluded that the secrets to those great meals were her mother's fingers themselves- they were the secret ingredient.

BUT, even with the great taste of the food, she is finding it so hard to eat the way the rest are eating.

She takes one spoon to her mouth and won't be able to swallow till long seconds have passed.

The fact that Malik's eyes are boring into hers is not helping matters. He keeps his eyes on her like he notices that something isn't right with her, but she wishes that he would just eat his food and mind his business.

"Edna, dear. " Lucy startles her with her small voice. " Is something wrong with the food?"

"God, no. " Edna quickly says. The last thing she would do is disrespect this good family like that. "I love the food, there isn't anything wrong with it. "

Lucy nods and goes back to eating, everyone does. Edna tries to force herself to eat, but she can't. The spoon keeps slipping from her grip and the chopsticks won't hold anything.

When she looks up, Malik is still looking at her. Her heart jumps in fright and she spills water again.

Anna comes to the rescue and dabs on the spillage with a napkin, but Edna can't take it anymore.

"I'm so, sorry I just- " She tries to come up with a silly excuse, but she can't find any.

Before she can say anything, she turns around and leaves the room before anyone can stop her.

She walks back to her bedroom as fast as she can, but she almost shuts the door in someone's face as she enters.

Malik is right behind her and his presence is adding to her state of anxiety.

"Please, Malik. " She breathes. " I just need to have some time alone. "

"What's wrong with you?" He asks with concern. " Are you ill? Do you need to go to the hospital?

"No. " She sighs. " I just need some time to myself. "

She is trying to push him, but Malik is not leaving at all. She is going to cry, this is too much for her.

She makes to walk away from him, and locks herself in the bathroom, but he catches her hand before she leaves.

" Edna, talk to me. " He pleads with sympathy in his eyes.

Weren't these the same eyes that looked at her through the phone and did horrible things to her?

Her shoulders start to shake and she holds her hand over her mouth and tries to stop crying, but she fails. The tears just keep on pouring out.

Malik looks surprised, but he handles the situation well. He grabs her hands and takes a few steps to get closer to her.

"Shu... shuu.. that's enough, just tell me what the issue is. "

She wants to tell him, but she can't bring herself to tell anyone what she is passing through. It's a horror and will leave her soaked in shame.

His eyes are convincing, but she can't do it.

" I miss my family. " She lies as she sobs. " I haven't seen my Mum, Dad, or brother in years and I miss them so much. "

"That's okay, Edna, you can always call them. "He says. " You don't have to cry about it. "

"Your Dad cloned my phone and he has people listening to my conversation with them. Besides, I can't speak to them for more than fifteen minutes. " She laments.

Malik is awed, not in a good way. His jaw drops to the ground as he hears her speak.

She wipes her tears and turns to the window. What use is it telling him her problems? He is not going to be able to solve them.

He grabs her hand from behind and places something in it. She turns around in surprise, it's his phone.

"Well, mine isn't. " He smiles. " You can call them for as long as you want. Take all the time you want, and tell them I say Hi."

With that, he turns around and leaves. She is so surprised that she can't thank him even as he unlocks the door and leaves.

She is paralyzed with happiness and shock all at the same time.