Elizabeth softened her tone, as if she was talking to a beggar. "Your dad will buy you a house. You'll be able to live like a princess in the countryside. You could also study abroad if you don't want to go back to San Caj. Just choose one!"
Nidia shook her head and chuckled sarcastically. 'No, thank you!' "Don't even bother convincing this b*tch!" Barend's face flushed in anger. He stood up and yelled, "Nidia, I don't care what you choose. I don't care if you're unwilling to.
I'll have someone send you back tomorrow morning! Don't you even think about staying in Baile City!"
Nidia had always thought she wouldn't be heartbroken after seeing her father again.
She was numb to the pain, after all. However, she realized she hadn't moved on completely. It was as if a pair of cruel hands was peeling her scar open again. The pain was unbearable.
Barend turned around, preparing to leave.
Before leaving, he turned to the old woman, who was hyperventilating from anger.
He said, "Mom, Abby's about to get married! If her fiance didn't like her mother's background and found out that her mother wasn't a famous artist, they might cancel the wedding! If they do, we'll be ruined!"
Elizabeth added, "Mom, you wouldn't understand a business marriage, and we don't have the time to go into detail. All you have to know is that Nidia must leave. She's like a ticking time bomb. Who knows when she'll explode and ruin Abby's marriage!
She'd ruin the Souths' business, too!"
Barend turned around again and wrapped his fingers around Elizabeth's small, delicate hands. Nidia blanked out as soon as she saw how close they were.
Grandma started weeping on the sofa.
Elizabeth stood at the door and looked Nidia up and down.
"Nidia, auntie's just really blunt. Please don't get angry. Abby had different goals compared to you since young. She wanted to marry into a rich family, you didn't.
You're sisters, so can't you grant her wish? Leaving is the right choice, right?"
Nidia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mouth curved into a frown. "How is that the right choice? Just because of Abby's lies, you people are afraid I would expose the fact that her mother's not a famous artist? I'm pretty blunt myself, so please don't get angry!"
Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows and glared at Nidia. Her expression turned cold.
"Why should I leave and grant her wish? I don't get it at all! Just because you guys have no shame? Me and my mother have nothing to hide, how would we cause a scandal? Now you two hooking up, on the other hand, is the real scandal!"
Suddenly, Barend slapped Nidia across the face. Her left cheek reddened instantly from the slap.
Grandma lifted her face as soon as she heard the slap. Her whole body started trembling when she saw her granddaughter's face reddening, slapped to the side.
She rose from the sofa and lunged towards Barend with a pair of scissors.
"What are you doing, mom?" Elizabeth grabbed the old woman by the wrist and snatched the scissors away.
"Go, Barend! Just leave!" Elizabeth yelled at Barend.
Barend's eyes brimmed with fear. He didn't expect the old woman to actually try and stab him with scissors. He glared at Nidia, who was still frozen in place, and hurried out of the apartment.
"You're evil. You really are evil..." Grandma was choking on her tears.
In the middle of it all, Elizabeth's phone started ringing.
Elizabeth raised the pair of scissors above her head. She was not in the mood for a phone call. However, realizing it was Abby, she answered the phone with an annoyed expression.
"Auntie, are you and dad back yet?" Abby asked.
Elizabeth glanced at her mother and Nidia's direction, and replied softly, "No."
"Are you on the way? It's pretty quiet on your end. And let's not talk about Nidia. Can you help me, auntie? Theodore's been ignoring all of my calls and texts tonight. But I saw his car at the pub! I tried looking for him, and I only took five minutes tops.
When I came out of the pub, his car was gone. What does this mean? He's been acting really off lately..."
...
"We'll talk more when I get back!" Elizabeth hung up immediately.
"Mom, Niddie. Both of you have been together for years, so you know each other the best. Please think this through. Don't try to anger Barend!" She added smugly.
Elizabeth left the apartment after that, her eight inch heels clicking loudly through the halls.
The room was now completely silent.
Nidia's face was still burning from the slap. She didn't want to fight because she was worried that this would hurt Grandma the most. Those two were inhumane. They were heartless monsters!
Nidia held her grandmother's hand. "Don't cry, Grandma. Please don't cry."
Nidia never expected Elizabeth and Barend to end up together. She couldn't fathom how much Grandma had suffered these years with this knowledge lingering in the back of her mind.
After comforting Grandma and sending her to bed, it was already 2 a.m.
Nidia had fallen asleep sitting on the chair in Grandma's room. Moments later, she felt a sudden rush of sickness and woke up. Her head was dizzy and she felt extremely chilly. She placed her hand onto her forehead and realized she might've gotten a fever.
Her stomach started hurting as well. She wasn't sure if it was caused by the alcohol, or if she was just too worked up from the fight. She brought along her keys and phone, then left her apartment once more.
Nidia remembered her area had a pharmacy that opened 24 hours a day.
Walking the roads at night, Nidia's eyes grew sore from staring at the neon lights of the shops. She could feel dizziness overpowering her consciousness, and her eyes rolled back into their sockets.
Half an hour later.
The doctor turned to Theodore. "She's alright. Your girlfriend's immunity was lowered due to exhaustion. She was just shocked and angry, and the fact that she had low blood sugar levels caused her to faint. She may go home once we've emptied the infusion bottle. If her fever arises again, feed her some medicine."
"Okay. Thanks, doctor!" Theodore said, sitting next to the bed.
Nidia lay on the bed, one of her cheeks slightly swollen. Even after receiving treatment, the swelling was still very noticable. She was still unconscious, she must be exhausted.
Theodore wasn't sure what she had experienced back at home. Her face was swollen and she seemed to be crying. It was lucky of her that he didn't leave with Lily and Amy. He had stayed in her area to smoke for a bit.
Otherwise, who would even notice her unconscious on the ground in the quiet streets during midnight?
It would take a while for the infusion bottle to empty out, so Theodore covered Nidia with a blanket and sat by her side the whole time. After that, he picked her up, brought her to his car, fastened her seatbelt, and started his car.
There weren't many cars in the midnight streets of Baile City, so Theodore decided to give his cousin Jackson a call. Dusk had dawned upon them, and Theodore knew Jackson probably had already woken up to exercise. The man was incredibly disciplined. He hadn't changed his lifestyle since he joined the military.
After picking up the call, Jackson's voice resounded through the phone. "Theodore?"
Theodore stared at Nidia, who was asleep in the passenger's seat, and said, "Jackson, I have a favor to ask. I'm with one of my juniors now..." Jackson stayed silent. Theodore, on the other hand, was slightly terrified of Jackson.
He treated Jackson like an elder.
"Apart from your place, I have no idea where else I could send her to! She seemed to have gotten into an argument with her family. She fainted due to low blood sugar levels, too. My parents are at home now. They'd never let me bring a stranger home, let alone a woman!"
"I did consider bringing her to a hotel, but it felt inappropriate. It won't be good for her reputation, too. I'm worried she might feel awkward when she wakes up!"
Jackson asked, "From what I remember, you have a fiance, don't you?"
There was a long pause.
Soon, Theodore broke the silence and replied, "Jackson, do you understand how sad it is to marry someone you don't love for the sake of business? This unconscious junior of mine, she's different. I've loved her since year 4. This time, I don't want to miss my chance again!"
...
In the afternoon, rays of sunlight shone into a large bedroom and filled it with warmth.
"Mmh..." On a dark grey bed, the corners of a cool-toned blanket were gently lifted.
Underneath lay a pair of smooth and fair legs. Nidia turned to the side and groaned, now wide awake.
After a brief moment, she opened her eyes, eyebrows still furrowed. What met her gaze was not the familiar ceiling at home, but instead a bright and spacious bedroom. The room seemed incredibly unfamiliar.
She immediately sat up, shocked by the sight. From the colour and the style of this blanket, to the interior design of this room, all of them indicated she might be in a man's room!
She was in the furnishing industry, after all. She was familiar with different interior designing styles that each gender preferred.
This was a large, open spaced flat apartment, around 300 square miles. While still in bed, she scanned the room thoroughly. She could see a simple and clean kitchen, a dull living room, a neat study room, and an office area as well. It would seem everything had been arranged in one space.
Due to the ample space the room had, it didn't seem cramped at all. Instead, it looked grand and spacious.
Nidia tried to recall what had happened yesterday. She knew that she went home and had an argument with Barend and Elizabeth. She then sent her grandmother to bed and went downstairs to get some medicine.
'Was it low blood sugar levels again?' It would seem that she was brought to a stranger's home after she had fainted.
She looked down to her body and saw that she was no longer in her own clothes.
She was wearing a white male dress shirt, which hung quite loose. The dress shirt seemed to be a size larger, barely covering her thighs.
What shocked her the most was the fact that she wasn't wearing anything else underneath.
Nidia lifted the blanket and touched the bedsheets. There wasn't anything weird on them.
'Nothing happened, then?' In the bedroom was a body mirror, and Nidia could see her reflection in it. Her hair seemed light and silky, and she could smell a slight hint of shampoo as well. This indicated she had showered here last night. However, she had no memory of any of this.
She got out of bed to look for her clothes. She was still panicking, but she was relieved to know she didn't feel strange down there. It seemed she used this room purely for rest, and nothing else.
Unable to find her clothes, Nidia didn't know what else to do. Although it was rude, she went through the random man's wardrobes. As she found a pair of pants, her phone started vibrating.
It was a message from Theodore.
[My car broke down after sending you home. It took me quite a while to fix it. After repairing it, I found you fainted on the streets. So I sent you to the hospital, but then I couldn't send you home because I have no idea which block you live in.] Nidia held the pair of pants in her arms and let out a deep sigh of relief.
'This was Theodore's place all along!' This apartment seemed too cold and dull, nothing like what most would prefer. Nidia couldn't even find the bathroom. However, she was afraid someone would come back soon. Wanting to avoid the awkwardness, Nidia decided to leave as soon as she could.
The wardrobes in the dressing room were filled with men's pants, all hung up neatly in a row. All of them seemed to be tailor made, and the cutting was immaculate. For some reason, Nidia felt these pants would be a little too long for Theodore.
Suddenly, another message popped up.
[I wanted to bring you back to my place, but my parents weren't home and I have a meeting in the morning that I can't miss. I was worried no one would be able to take care of you when you wake up. So I thought I'd leave you at my cousin's place. He has two maids around. They can take care of you, so that's why I went with this plan.]
[Give me a text when you wake up, okay?] Nidia inhaled deeply.
'So, this was Theodore's cousin's place?' No doubt, this pair of pants belonged to his cousin as well!