NYTI Chapter 02: Lost Puppy
Lianne arrived home exhausted. Ever since their mother left them a year ago, Lianne has taken on the responsibility of caring for her younger brother, Justin. Lianne has faced numerous challenges in caring for her younger brother, Justin.
As the sole caretaker, Lianne not only has to provide for Justin's physical needs but also takes on the emotional burden of being there for him. Additionally, she has to balance her multiple jobs to ensure they have a stable income and can afford basic necessities.
These challenges often leave Lianne exhausted, but she perseveres because she wants to give Justin a stable and loving home.
"I'm home, Justin," Lianne says, her voice tinted with weariness from working as she removes her shoes and puts them on the shoe rack before heading to the kitchen.
Justin looks back at her from the kitchen counter and smiles. "Welcome back, sister."
She smiles back, her tired eyes lighting up. "It smells delicious," Lianne comments, as the aroma of the vegetables being stir-fried fills her nostrils.
She walks over and takes a look at what he is currently cooking. It is an abundant amount of nutrition, with sugar snap beans, broccoli, carrots, and some bell peppers. The combined smell of it being cooked fills the room.
"Sister, you can go ahead and take a shower. The food will be cooked by the time you're done."
After a short while, Lianne comes back to the kitchen wearing comfortable clothes. She can't help but feel proud of how grown-up Justin behaves.
"Okay, okay, I'll go take a bath then."
After nearly half an hour, she headed back to the dining table in new clothes. She dries her hair as she checks on Justin, who is setting up the table.
They start to eat.
"How's school today?" she asks, her voice filled with genuine interest and concern as they eat. They always have small talk whenever they have time.
"It was still the same as usual," Justin responds, his eyes meeting hers and smiling.
"Sister, about what I asked you about a few days ago," Justin asked, looking at her with an anticipated look.
Lianne takes a deep breath. Three days ago, Justin asked her if he could take up an offer for a job as a helper at a local baker's shop. She went and paid the shop a visit. She drinks some water before speaking.
"It's...it's fine, right?" Justin asks, hoping that her sister will allow him to work.
"On one condition," she says.
Justin's face brightens a bit.
"Yes? What condition, sister?"
"Make sure that your studies won't get affected, okay? Otherwise, if your grades are affected, you are not allowed to continue working." She spoke sternly.
He smiles and says, "Yes, I'll make sure that my studies won't get affected, Sister."
"Good then."
They continued to talk until they finished eating.
After leaving the coffee shop where Lianne works as a cashier, she walks and heads to her next job in a boutique store.
"Ma'am, I have arrived. How's your day? " Lianne cheerfully asks the head of the shop. Despite having an employee-employer relationship, they become friends.
"You guess that monster lady came by again; she was looking for you again," Tina, the shop owner, said as she arranged some yellow tulips on a floral foam.
"She screamed here for a long time, 'Where did you hide that bitch?'" Tina said it, imitating the way the lady said it.
Then, all of a sudden, her facial expression changed into a softer one.
"Luckily, her angelic brother came by; if not, she might have ruined this whole establishment."
Lianne laughs.
"There you go again, getting fascinated with Cedric."
Cedric is the little brother of the 'monster lady'. The lady was a regular customer of the shop. Her name is Rica. She is arrogant and not easy to deal with.
"I hope your boyfriend doesn't learn about it."
"What do you mean?" I love my boyfriend so much." Tina said it with seemingly heart-shaped pupils.
"Ugh, uh, yeah, yeah." Lianne shrugged it off and went on to do her job.
It was a busy day for the boutique. Lianne glances at the wall clock in one corner of the shop.
"By the way, Lili," Tina calls out; she gives Lianne a cute nickname, Lili.
"Don't you notice something new about me, hmm?"
Lianne quickly noticed what was new about Tina. She acts as if she is blinded by the ring on Tina's left hand's ring finger.
"Oh! Oh my gosh! He finally proposed to you. Congratulations." Lianne exclaims, and she hugs her.
Tina hugs her back. "Thank you."
Time passed fast; it was time for her shift to end. She finds Tina so she can bid her farewell. She spotted her and was about to approach her. But when she saw whom she was talking to, she decided to just send her farewell via text.
She doesn't want to have anything to do with Cedric, Rica's younger brother. He was her suitor for quite a long time since college, but she wasn't really thinking about love. She always avoids his advances and always tries to get him to give up on hoping that she'll be his lover, but he is persistent.
At some point, he was actually a crazy stalker, and she tried her best to avoid him all the time. Despite her efforts to distance herself from Cedric, he continued to pursue her relentlessly. His obsession became so intense that she felt unsafe and feared for her well-being.
This ultimately led her to cut off all communication with him, even resorting to sending a farewell text as a final goodbye. Although he had been lying low, they talked about it as he asked for forgiveness for causing her a mental burden. They had their talk, but she still somehow felt uneasy crossing paths with him even after they had their talk.
On top of that, she doesn't want to be tied to someone who thinks that money is all that matters. While it's true that she wanted to live a luxurious life, she didn't want to rely on men to get what she wanted. She believed in her capabilities and wanted to achieve success through her own hard work and determination.
She had always been an independent and ambitious person, and the thought of being dependent on someone else's wealth was unsettling to her. She knew that true happiness and fulfillment came from pursuing her own dreams and creating her own success, rather than relying on someone else's financial stability.
She walks at a fast pace so as not to get caught by him. She kept walking at a fast pace, but he seemed determined to catch up to her.
"Where do you think you're going, honey?" A man's voice comes from behind.
When she recognized whose voice it was, she trembled slightly. Instead of stopping and looking back, she slowly walked away as if she hadn't heard anything, but then she heard the footsteps getting closer.
"Honey, don't you think you're being harsh on me? I haven't seen you for the past week because I have to leave for a business meeting abroad. Don't you miss me?"
"I'm sorry, I think you got the wrong person. I don't think I know you." She quickly replied and walked faster.
"Heh? I don't think so. I know that I have the right person. How could I be mistaken? I know your silhouette even when you are from far away; after all, you are my beloved lover."
She shivered at the words he used, especially the lover word. She couldn't take it anymore and looked back at him. She stated,
"I'm sorry. I don't have the recollection that I have agreed to become your lover. So please, could you leave me alone because I have other things to tend to?" She replied as calmly as possible, even though she felt pissed off by the sudden appearance of the man that she had just avoided a while ago.
"Oh! Did I make my darling mad? Because I didn't see you for a week, not even once? It's okay. I'm here now. Now just come to me." He replied like he didn't hear what she just said, which pissed her off much more.
"Please save some of your face, my Lo-Mister Xu." Her tongue almost slipped. She was about to call him my lord.
"What are you talking about, darling? You just need to accept me and be my wife. You see, I'm handsome and rich; everybody wants to be with me. So why don't you want me?" He looked at himself so highly.
"Who would want you? You ugly bastard! You are not handsome at all, even though you are indeed rich. But I don't love you. Why would I agree to be your wife, not even as your lover? You could just pick one of those girls who are crazy for you. So could you please just get lost?" she yelled at him.
Her words cut through the air, leaving him stunned and speechless. The realization that his charm and wealth held no power over her slowly sank in, shattering his inflated ego.
She felt guilty when she saw what the expression on his face was like. Tears start to well up in his eyes; a deep frown creases their brow; his lips are downturned, which seems to quiver; and his cheeks are pallid, with lines of anguish etched deeply into his face. It was almost like, like a lost puppy begging. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him, realizing that her words had wounded him deeply. At that moment, she understood the weight of her own impact on his emotions and wondered if she had gone too far.