Having him as her backup suddenly gave her this level of confidence; it made her feel safe.
"I will always show up" he assured her.
"It's late. You should get some rest."
He stood up, about to leave, when she held his hand. "Can you please tell me a bedtime story?"
"You are serious?" He asked in disbelief, and she nodded. "I feel a lot of pain and can't sleep. A story will help me."
"What are you? A kid?"
"Please…"
He sighed and sat on the bed. "I don't know any stories; I have never heard of one."
"Then you could create one in your imagination and tell me."
After she insisted a lot, he decided to tell her a story. "There was this boy; his parents were super heroes," he started, and Grace chuckled.
She had expected a princess story, but, well, "Should I continue?" he asked, and she nodded.
"One day on a mission, the superheroes killed a villain, and the villain's son wanted revenge. So he planned an attack, killed the superheroes, and also kidnapped the boy; he was just a kid, innocent and oblivious to the ways of life."
"Oh my, did they also kill the boy?" She wanted a story that would make her fall asleep, but this was making her curious.
"Death would have been better," he muttered. Grace stared at him, waiting for him to continue the story, but he didn't.
"You should rest."
She pouted, "You can't stop the story halfway."
"I suddenly ran out of content, I have a writer block" he said, smiling at her before he walked out of the bedroom.
Grace frowned. "Why is he always in a rush to leave? Even when I am in such a condition."
*
Fifteen-year-old Grace sat on the floor, her body quenched in dirty water as she sobbed. "You asked me to clean up, and I did; why did you do this?" she asked her stepmother Sarah, who snorted.
"Is this how they clean?"
"If Nora would have helped me then..." She couldn't complete her words as her stepmother hit her with the stick.
"You want my daughter to help you clean? Have you lost your mind?"
"I am not a maid," she retorted, bold and confident, because she knew her mom was going to come back soon and she would leave this hell.
"You are worse than a maid; even your mom abandoned you. Why did you have to show up here? Well, you saved me the cost of hiring a maid," Sarah hissed before she shot the broom at her.
"Get to work before I lose my temper, you daughter of a mistaken egg," she threw insults and walked out.
Her gaze moved to her dad, who leaned by the kitchen door, staring at her. "My mother said you were my dad, or am I at the wrong home?" It hadn't been a week since she arrived here, but she had already gone through all sorts of torments.
"Just be good; she won't hit you if you don't talk back."
"My mom will be back soon, and I will leave, and I will also forget about the fact that I have a dad," she promised him, but days went by and her mom never came back for her.
She will always go back to their old house and check, but her mom wasn't there; they even demolished the house.
*
Back to the present, Grace sat on the bed as tears rolled down her cheeks. "If we meet again in heaven, then I will never forgive you."
She cleaned her tears and checked the time on the clock; it was 8 a.m. and she had to go to school, but her body ached a lot.
To stand was an issue. "Krish," she called, her voice low, just above a whisper.
"Anyone there?"
She couldn't stay home; the exams were approaching, and she didn't want to affect her attendance.
"Nel" Grace succeeded in standing up; she took a few steps and found herself falling; she closed her eyes tightly, waiting to kiss the floor.
But she was floating, so she thought... Slowly, she opened her eyes, and they met the dark gaze of Mr. Xu.
He carried her in his arms and placed her on the bed. "Where are you going?"
"I am late for school."
"You amaze me," he sneered. She was hurt but still wanted to go to school. How important was school?
"From where I grew up, school was not an option," he muttered, but she heard him.
"What do you mean?"
"Stay at home till you recover."
"But…"
"It's an order."
She pouted, "You were in a rush to leave last night; why did you show up now?"
"Because you are my girlfriend," he replied, and she snorted.
"I know you don't think of me as one; I also know there must be a reason you want me close to you. But please, let it not be a reason that will hurt me."
He stared at her delicate face and said, "I will help with your bath."
"What?" Her eyes widened in shock.
"Does he want to bathe me? Of course not."
"No," she added; her brain didn't even allow her to think further.
Raymond chuckled; he was in a mood to tease her. "Do you know the various responsibilities of a boyfriend and a girlfriend?"
She nodded. "To care for each other."
"Anyone can care for you."
"Then what are the responsibilities?"
"I spend the money, and you, Grace Chen, my adorable girlfriend...," he trailed his finger down her cheeks.
"Satisfy me," he added, and she was confused.
That's exactly what he liked about her—her innocence. "Satisfy you? Are you not satisfied with me?" she questioned, and he burst out in laughter.
It's been long, very long, since he laughed this much. "Do you want me to teach you how to satisfy me?"
He wrapped his finger around the hem of her t-shirt, slowly pulling it up. Grace breathed heavily; her body became numb as he smiled at her.
Raymond shut his eyes tightly. He stood up and looked at the wall. He couldn't bring himself to continue teasing her. "You should stay in bed; a maid will help with your bath," he said and hurried out.
"Why is my face so hot?" She tapped her cheeks and then stared at her hand, which was bruised.
Her phone rang, waking her up from her trance. It was a call from Steph: "Hello?"
"I called you fifteen good times, Grace; why didn't you pick up?" She asked in an angry and worried tone.
"I am sorry." She was in pain and didn't check her phone.
"Where are you? There is trouble in school; one lady showed up."
"A lady?"
"Yes, she is looking for you," Steph said, and Grace was confused. Was it her mother?
"Did she say her name?" Now she was anxious, is her mother now back?
"Friend…." Steph stuttered, scared to say it.
"What?"
"Her name, she... she introduced herself as..." She paused, and Grace frowned.
"What's with the suspense?"
"Oh God, she said she was Mrs. Xu."
Mrs. Xu?
"Wait, Raymond said he didn't have parents, so his mom can't bear that name. The only one able to bear that name was his wife. He has a wife?" she thought in disbelief
Grace dropped the phone in shock.