A beautiful lady with wavy red hair and bloody red eyes appeared before me.
She stared intensely at me.
I feel like I'm having déjà vu.
"Mom, I brought my friend. Her name is Annette and she is CoolMint, my online friend. We just happen to realise that we actually go to the same school."said Lian enthusiastically
Annette was kind of shy and awkward but she introduced herself.
"Hello! I am strawberryfairy...um... Lian's friend. My name is Annette and I'm very happy to meet you."said Annette
Annette notices that Lian's mother's facial expressions softens.
His mother says"Hello Annette! This is the first time, Lian brought someone home. I hope that you two will continue being friends with each other. Annette you can call me mom like Lian, I don't want to be called aunty."
Annette seems surprised and feels very shy.
"Mom, what are you doing?"says Lian as he blushes.
His mother smiles evilly and says"Annette, don't be shy, you can call me mom. Can you please call me mom?"
Annette couldn't handle such gentle and loving look from Lian's mother. She did not want to disappoint her so she called Lian's mother.
"Mom..."said Annette nervously.
Lian's mother hugged Annette tightly.
Lian's mother could feel something wet and she realises that Annette has cried, but she doesn't say anything and just comforts her.
Lian saw this situation and smiled.
As her long time online friend, he knows just how much this hug means to Annette, he understands that Annette is desperately looking for warmth.
"Come here, you smelly boy."says his mother as she drags him into her embrace as well.
All of them were hugging each other.
The scene was very heart warming and touching.
"Mom, how long do you plan to hug us? It's getting late, Annette also needs to go home."said Lian
His mother annoyingly said"Alright, you smelly boy."
Lian's mom looks at Annette and gently says"Annette, if Lian ever bullies you, tell me right away. I will beat the hell out of him."
Lian looks mad and upset about his mother antagonising him.
"Mom! I would never do that!"shouted Lian desperately, to rid himself of his mother's accusations.
Annette began to laugh at their mother son drama.
"Annette, let's go! My mom is getting older, so her brain is probably lagging."says Lian as he drags Annette away.
Annette could feel a very intimidating and scary aura behind her. Lian quickly tells Annette to go to the living room.
"Lian, it seems like we haven't had a heartfelt talk for a long time...You seem to have forgotten my tough love right? Do you need some beating?"threatens Lian's mom
Lian bravely looks at his mother and challenges her.
"Ho.ho..ho... My baby lion seems to have grown up, but you still can't defeat me."says his mother arrogantly
Lian tries to dodge but he was a step late, his mother grabs him.
His mother mockingly says"Tsk...tsk.. Lian, you are still too weak. You can't defeat me, so just accept your defeat."
Lian looks frustrated but accepted his defeat.
"Anyways make sure to win Annette's heart. I really like her, I'm looking forward to you giving me a daughter in law."whispers his mother in his ear as she leaves him and goes back to her room.
Lian blushes...
Seriously....mom...I should have never told you about CoolMint.
At Annette side,
Annette looks at huge living room. The place looks so cozy and comfortable.
Lian comes to the living room with a cake.
The cake looks very beautifully decorated, the cake was decorated with lots of strawberries and it looked so cute and delicious.
"Here you go, tell me about the taste Alright?"says Lian nervously as he gave a slice of cake to Annette.
Annette eats it and she was dumbfounded.
Lian notices that Annette doesn't say anything, so he was feeling very nervous.
"Annette, does it taste weird?"asked Lian nervously
Annette smiles and says"Lian, your strawberry mint cake taste absolutely delicious. It reminded me of an old, sweet memory. When I was a child around age 5, I ran away from home. At that time, I was feeling lost and depressed. I did not had anywhere to go so I wandered around.
It was at that time that I met a very handsome man, he smiled gently at me and asked about my situation.
"Adorable little lady, you know whenever my handsome, beautiful babies are upset, I always give them this mint cookie to eat. They love it! I can see that you are very upset but you have a long life ahead of you. I hope that after eating this cookie, your sadness will go away."said the handsome man with a gentle smile
The cookie looked very homey and lovely. I ate that cookie and it felt like all my worries went away. The refreshing and spicy taste of the mint washed away my sadness. That cookie helped to heal a broken part of me.
In the end, the handsome man consoled me and brought me back home."
Lian listened to her story and smiled.
"Is that the reason why you call yourself CoolMint?"asked Lian
"Yeah..."replied Annette
It was getting late, so Annette had to go home.
Lian offered to drop Annette but she politely refused and told him that her house was nearby.
As Annette was walking towards her house, she begins to think about all the things that happened to her in a day.
First kiss, first proposal, meeting her longtime online friend.... calling someone mom...
In one day, her mundane life experience various changes.
Annette finally reached home.
Her home was not the least bit inferior to Lian's mansion, but her mansion looked cold and lonely.
Annette walked inside the mansion and it was all dark.
Annette eyes began to tear up....
Annette remember... you are not allowed to live happily. You cannot live happily. You are just a monster, who tore apart a happy family.
Annette walked up to her room and touched the photo frame.
In the photo frame, there were four people, one handsome man, a beautiful woman and their adorable, cute sons.
Annette held the photo dearly in her heart.
She looked at the beautiful and warm picture, as her tears began to fall.
I wish I was never born.