After Shen Jue was no longer to be seen, Mimi closed the door and leaned her back against its hard surface. Her eyes rested on the floor in a daze, completely entranced by the bitterness within her chest.
Shen Jue was finally gone.
Rather than the relief, she thought she'd feel, she felt stuffy. Even the last time she saw him, the previous animosity she bore for Shen Jue had vanished. It seemed the moment Mimi discovered her sister took her own life, all hatred she harbored for her father, her brothers, and Shen Jue...went away.
For her entire existence to revolve around hatred, it was unusual for her to suddenly erase its existence. And Shen Jue had been one of the main culprits.
Now that he was leaving…she felt lost.
When she heard a knock at her door, Mimi's eyes widened. Unknowingly, she rushed to answer the door. However, upon identifying the figure on the other side, the visible expectation in her eyes vanished.
"Big brother, what are you doing here?" Mimi couldn't help but voice her complaints at the sight of her brother.
The corners of Alec's lips twitched. It was obvious he was not who his sister expected to see. Instead of responding, he lifted a pink box in his hands.
"I passed by your favorite bakery on my home and thought to bring it over."
At the sight of food in her brother's hand, Mimi's previous dull gaze lit up. Revealing her bright dimples, Mimi eagerly grabbed the box of sweets and entered her apartment – not even bothering to invite him inside her home.
Alec sighed and let himself in. Upon closing the door, he happened to recall the scene he saw before leaving. Looking at the girl already opening the box of sweets on her counter, he frowned.
"Did Shen Jue come over? I saw him pass by on my way up here."
Hearing the man's name, Mimi's entire body stiffened. Pressing her lips together, she stared down at the pink box silently. This response only seemed to upset Alec even more.
"What did he want? I thought you were done with hanging around him." When a sudden thought came to mind, Alec's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you still plan to…"
"Shen Jue's leaving." Mimi cut him off bluntly.
Alec was stunned for at least three seconds before he regained his senses.
"What do you mean he's leaving?"
Mimi sighed softly and relayed what Shen Jue had told her. Alec was slightly stunned after listening to her. His blue eyes flickered in disbelief.
"He's gone? But why? Maybe he's lying to let your guard down."
Because he was so focused on figuring out the reason for Shen Jue's sudden departure, he missed the shadowed expression on his sister's face.
"It's fine. Shen Jue's not coming back. Everything is over now and I'm…I'm happy now." Mimi said softly.
Despite her words, her tone was mild. When Alec looked at his sister's impassive expression, he felt she was anything but happy.
"You don't look happy." Alec pointed out grimly.
Mimi's lips pressed together. Again, Alec couldn't help but be surprised. It was the first time he didn't see his sister concealing her emotions. For once, he was able to read that something was bothering her.
Seeing her brother just stare at her face without a single word, Mimi turned her head – no longer able to hold his gaze.
"Mimi…did something happen? Do you want to talk about it?" Alec mockingly sighed. "You know, I thought after our last moment together you'd be a little open with me."
It only took those words for Mimi to remember the moment he was referring to. After finding out the truth of Emily's death, she cried in front of him. And not just simple sniffling crying, it was ugly crying!
"Don't you remember? You were crying so hard that you even…" Just before he could finish, a pair of cold hands covered his mouth. When he raised his eyes, Alec met Mimi's hard glare.
"Yes, I remember. I would also like it if you never mentioned that moment ever again."
With her hands still covering his mouth, Alec obediently nodded his head. Mimi removed her hands and took a deep breath before looking at Alec very seriously.
"Do you know who Robin Tsosie is?"
At that moment, there was an unprecedented shock reflected on Alec's face. He widened his eyes as his face turned stiff. For a moment, Alec was unable to respond to Mimi's question calmly. After composing himself, he cleared his throat.
"That…she's an old friend of Tobias's…" Although he tried to sound convincing, his voice was tense.
"I know she was Tobias's fuck buddy. You don't have to lie to me." Mimi shot her brother a hard glare.
"Fuc—" Again, Alec choked on his words. "Y-You know?"
"Yes." Mimi looked very calm, even her tone revealed indifference. "I walked in on her seducing Tobias at his office yesterday."
The more Mimi said, the more silent Alec became. Only this time for a longer period. All the information his sister told in the span of a few minutes, he was unable to process. When he was finally able to, he held a hand to his head and sighed.
"It's not the type of relationship you're thinking of. To be honest, Tobias only did it with her once."
"Once?" Mimi's eyebrow raised.
Alec nodded his head. "Back then, Tobias wasn't engaged in those sorts of things. Robin just so happened to be interested in Tobias. So, when she asked he agreed with no particular interest. Tobias and Robin never did anything sexual after that."
Mimi was surprised and after a moment of silence, she suddenly frowned.
"But she was interested in him." And probably still is, Mimi thought.
Silently, Alec nodded his head. Compressing her lips in a tight line, Mimi's gaze lowered. Growing somewhat nervous by her silence, Alec quickly spoke up again.
"B-But Tobias never liked her that way, I swear! You're the first one he's ever felt romantic feelings for, so you don't…"
"Stop. You don't need to reassure me like that…" Mimi smiled bitterly. "It makes me feel worse."
Realizing his words were anything but helpful, Alec just kept his mouth shut. Meanwhile, in her own thoughts, Mimi felt a pain in her heart. Not because she doubted Tobias's words and suddenly found out how much he cherished her; rather, she always trusted Tobias's words. He never gave her a reason to doubt him.
But what hurt her was the fact that she knew nothing about Tobias's past. Even though Alec said Tobias loved her, which she knew, he still hid it from her.
Mimi said she'd wait, but since childhood, she was never a patient person. What's more, his past only seemed to put more distance between them.
Although she kept her past a secret from Tobias for so long, that had been before they started dating. The moment Mimi wanted to commit to him, she unveiled everything to him. With much difficulty, she gave him the dark side of her heart and he lovingly accepted it.
She wanted to do the same for him.
They were now in a relationship for over five months, and he still hadn't told her anything of his past. All the more as it slowly began resurfacing within their relationship. To hide everything that could concern her, it was devastating.
Mimi hated to admit it, but for the first time, she felt doubtful toward Tobias.
At a sudden thought, Mimi gave a slow, unreadable smile that sent shivers down Alec's spine. He had wanted to ask the reason for his sister's rather sinister expression, but quickly thought against it the moment her eyes glowed.
Whomever his sister planned to plot against just now…he could only be thankful it wasn't him.