Stacey nodded in the affirmative. She definitely hated him.
"See. She's nodding and agreeing with me," Mr Huo gave a sad, small laugh, "but if I let her go, somebody else would probably steal her and abuse her. I can't let her get hurt. She's too precious. She's been amazing everyone here with how fast she learns. She's been learning the language so quickly. Her music skills and hard work have gained her the acceptance of many of the locals. You don't have to worry. She's been doing extremely well. It's just that she's being used in the political strife and the local government have taken an interest in her."
Stacey buried her head in Mr Huo's chest, feeling embarrassed. And then she realised what she had done and wondered why she would show reliance upon him, but it was too late. His hand held her in that position, while he smiled and spoke to her parents. He stroked her hair while he talked.
"They decided to use her for their own propaganda and demanded too much of her. She's overworked and burnt out. They fined and punished me when I tried to intervene. I did my best but I don't have quite enough power to sway them yet. I'm working on that though. When she was unable to achieve the targets they set for her, they sent a corrupt official to punish her. I was cuffed beside her and couldn't stop them from drugging and beating her. The moment they let us go, I rushed her to the hospital. She had a large left sided brain bleed due to a blood vessel malformation, affecting the language centres of her brain so that she can understand but not speak properly. She also has difficulty swallowing, sitting, standing and walking. It's likely going to take her quite a few months to recover. We're working on it."
"What country are you in? We still have some money in our savings. We can send it to you. We can try to get you help from out here," Mr Wright said in a hoarse voice.
"Don't worry about money. We have enough and I have ways to get more if needed. Like I said," Mr Huo said. "It's too difficult for either one of us to get out. It's not safe at all. There's a very high chance of her dying if I send her through. I think you'd much prefer to know she's alive and being taken care of than for her to come home for you to collect her dead body, right?"
"Of course," Mr Wright coughed and sniffed. "What country?"
"I can't tell you," Mr Huo apologised. "It's not safe for you to know. And it'd be bad for us if people found out we managed to get a call out. I still have some family and subordinates out there. I'll send them to meet you with more news another time. I'll try smuggle a letter from Stacey to you when she has the energy and ability to write again. I'm going to also send you some money, to show my sincerity since I've married your daughter. Please don't reject it. My brother has a big company in America and is helping me, so please, just accept the money as my apology and thanks for bringing up such a wonderful woman. I promise I won't touch her unless she's willing. Stacey, you say something."
"Mum," Stacey croaked, fighting with her uncoordinating mouth muscles for control. "Dad. Love."
"We love you too, baby," her parents sobbed.
"You can't give up on yourself, ok, darling?" Mr Wright said. "You have to be strong. Your husband sounds like a good man. Don't hate him too much. It sounds like he's a good man who's been taking care of you and has been through a lot for you. You gotta live, ok baby? All that survivors guilt and stuff, I know you've been through a lot, but the past is past. Don't keep looking at what has been and what could have been. You have to look to the future and be happy. Find a way to be happy. Dad," Mr Wright's voice cracked. "Dad loves you. Even if you can't come home, I just want you to know, baby, that your family loves you very much. We're going to wait and pray and hope that you can come home to us one day. You just need to stay safe and happy and healthy. Ok?"
"'K," Stacey said in a muffled voice.
I won't give you guys false hope," Mr Huo said. "I'll say it again, it's far safer for us to stay here and live relatively safe and happy lives than to die trying to return home. I hope you understand that. When I get the chance again in the future, I'll try and organise for you guys to have a chat together."
"You look after our precious baby girl, you hear me, son? Uh, what was your name again?" Mr Wright blustered.
"Thieren. Thieren Huo," Thieren said. "Your daughter likes to call me Tyrant behind my back and Tea Wren to make fun of me. Ow. Ow, Stacey. Alright. I'm sorry. I'll stop making fun of you in front of your parents. Ow."
Stacey hit him with her fist and pinched his arm, glaring at him.
"I'm sorry. Ok? I won't do it again. Promise."
"Baby, Mummy loves you," Mrs Wright half laughed and then wept into the phone. "You have to live well. Get better and be strong and healthy. The most important thing is to stay safe and stay healthy. Ok? Mummy loves you so much and I'm sorry I can't come there to take care of you. You have to take care of yourself. We can't tell how much of what Thieren said is true and we can't see how well he treats you behind the scenes, but if he's a meanie, you have to make sure there's someone stronger and who loves you more than him who can help you beat him up. It doesn't sound safe for you to go off on your own, so you have to be very wise and very careful. Baby, you need to get up and eat and drink after this. Promise me you'll-"
The phone cut off, producing only white noise.
"Looks like our time is up," Thieren said, hugging Stacey when she suddenly tried to lunge out of his arms.
"Mum. Dad. Home," Stacey cried, struggling to break free from him.
"I know. I know," Thieren hugged her, his own face wet with tears. "I felt the same when my family kicked me over here. I felt abandoned and lost too. I even hated them for a long time."
Stacey stopped struggling and turned to look into his eyes. What she saw there, the pain and sadness, it made her pause.
"But you know what, Stacey, at least you've got me here to help you. I know you hate me and I can only hope you'll forgive me one day for deceiving you and treating you so poorly from the beginning, but I want you to know. I'm here for you now, ok? I'll be honest with you. I don't love you and haven't loved you, but the more I get to know you and the more time I spend with you, the more loveable you seem to become. Although we haven't spent all that much time together, I think I'm starting to slowly develop some feelings for you. I think. I don't know. The good thing about having married you is that at least I no longer have women trying to throw themselves in my bed. You've saved me a lot of trouble. The important thing is though is that I needed to keep up appearances in front of your parents so that they wouldn't worry too much."
Stacey hit Thieren with a scowl.
What? So he was only using her as a shield? Although, if she thought about it, if she was his shield, at least she was being useful to him. Maybe then, he wouldn't abandon her and throw her away or sell her.
"At least you can have this chance to hear your parents' voice," Thieren said with a thick voice. "At least your family still loves you and wants you back. My family is so big that there's a lot of infighting wherever I go. Until I earned a lot and gained a lot of power to show my worth, they didn't want to see me. They just forgot that I existed. The only person I can talk to is my older brother. I envy you having such loving parents. You're my family now. Will you let me be your family too?"
Stacey was silent. Her feelings and emotions warred with each other over whether the man was just tricking her again or not.
"It doesn't matter if you don't," Thieren said. "I hope you don't mind, but I need a hug. Do you mind? Will you let me hug you? I just need a good hug to recharge my batteries."
Stacey scrutinised his face and decided that it wouldn't do any harm to let him have this hug. She needed the hug too. She missed her family. She wanted to go home.
Thieren held out hopeful arms and after a moment's hesitation, Stacey reached out to give him a hug back. As she hugged him, she cried. She could feel his tears dripping onto her neck. So maybe he really did need this hug. Maybe he wasn't trying to deceive her for once.
She didn't like him and she hated him. But she was relying on him for a lot of things and he did give her a sort of sense of security, acting as a buffer against the outside world. She couldn't help it. She had to depend on him for her safety, daily necessities and medical treatment. If a hug was enough to thank him for all the good things he had done for her so far, she guessed she could do that.