章 6: The fight

A polish and expensive looking white car entered the Qin estate, and drove straight to the mahogany brown Villa that was sitting at the centre of the estate.

The car stopped in the garage that had a few numbers of expensive looking rides. The door opened to reveal Lisa in her black mermaid sleeved gown.

Her right ear had a white cotton wool stuck into it. She picked up her black purse and phone from the back seat before heading to the house.

On her way, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. Seeing who it was, she rejected the call and continued bouncing to the entrance of the house.

From the entrance, she could hear her father's thunderous howls and cries. Her step mother would intervene every now and then. And for the weeping voice, it was none other than her step sister's.

"... Don't tell me to calm down! If only you know what her action today has caused me! Where did I go wrong with her? Was it a crime for birthing her? Why is she hellbent on making my life difficult?!!"

Lisa didn't reveal any emotions as she stepped through the door. Before her left foot could cross the threshold, something came flying in her direction. She tried to dodge it but it was too late.

"Bang!"

The mug that was thrown in her direction by her father hit her on her forehead.

The father and everyone else in the enormous sitting room froze. Mr. Qin's fingers shook. He didn't know that such an accident would happen: it wasn't his intention to hit her.

"Honey!" Lisa's step mother cried out and immediately hurried to Lisa and started checking her out. "Are you alright? Your head is bleeding!"

"I'm fine mom, it's just a scratch," Lisa faked a smile before making her way to the stairs. The doctor told her to relax and avoid loud noises and she was intending to do just that.

"Look at her! The first thing she does after coming back from God knows where, is to head to her room. I told you, she's not going to change!" Mr. Qin yelled.

"Honey, please calm down. Lisa is only a child. She–"

"A child? Karen, she is 25 years old! Linda is barely 22, yet she doesn't give me troubles. Why can't Lisa be like her sister?!"

"She will change. Lisa is only rebellious because of her mother's death. I still have hope that she will return to the child you were once proud of," Madam Qin tried to pacify her husband, but only added fuel to fire.

Mr. Qin laughed sarcastically. "Her mother died ten years ago. Is that not enough time for her to adjust? You say she would change? The Yun family are on the verge of breaking a ten year engagement with her and you say she'll change? If the engagement is broken, I might as well forget about the collaboration!"

Madam Qin's shoulders slumped and she lowered her head. "Am sorry. Lisa's unbridled character is my fault. I didn't teach her well."

While the two were going back and forth with their words, Lisa was half way through the stairs. Fights like this are the order of the day when she's around, so nothing fazes her anymore.

Linda ran after Lisa and pulled her to a stop. With her gentle and sweet voice, she started chirping like a bird.

"Sister, please, let's not do this now. You just returned home from abroad last night. It won't be good to start on a bad note with Father. Five years of your absence dealt us all a blow. Mother hasn't been sleeping well and the doctors have been frequenting the house to look after her.

"I failed my college entrance to the university of my dreams because I was worried about your living conditions abroad. As for dad, he spent most of his time at the office because the house reminds him of you and he missed you too much. Please, come with me and apologize to Father. That would definitely calm his heart."

How could someone be so calm and peace-loving? If there was an award for upholders of peace and eloquence and delicacy, they'd all go to Linda.

Just like every delicate flower that subconsciously arouses people's protective sides and forces people to treat them with gentleness, that was Linda.

She's not very pretty, but her character and mannerism won her the title of 'Green city's little princess.' People compare her and Lisa a lot, but only behind Lisa's back.

"Fine," Lisa said and returned to the sitting room.

Standing before her father, she said, "I'm sorry… though I have no idea what I'm apologizing for."

Mr. Qin almost exploded when he heard the latter part of her statement.

"Smack!"

Lisa fell on the couch after her father, who had never put a hand on her before, slapped her for the first time. Good thing he slapped her on her left cheek. But even so, her face hurt.

"Honey!... How could you slap her? She's your daughter!"

Madam Qin rushed forward to shield Lisa. The woman was already crying because Lisa was being reprimanded.

The middle-aged man yelled while pointing a quivering finger at his wife. "You, you spoiled her rotten! I told you she'd be the downfall of this family if you continued to let her do as she wanted. Now, see what has happened! She can't even own up to her mistake!"

Lisa was dazed after the slap. But when she saw her father was taking it out on her mother, she got up and pulled the woman behind her and countered her father with deviance. "My mother did nothing wrong. I also didn't make any mistakes. Those bitches were going to ruin someone's face. How could I have ignored that?!" Lisa fired back.

"Bang!"

The enraged Mr. Qin slapped the center table and thundered with rage.

"You should have pretended you saw nothing! You should have minded your business like you've been doing all your life!... Who are you to stand on moral grounds and mete out punishment?! What you did five years ago is worse than what those girls were about to do!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. He was hyperventilating and didn't want to raise his hand again.

Like he just realized that he made a big mistake, he started lamenting. "I shouldn't have let you come back. You didn't learn a thing! You–!"

"Honey, that's enough!" Madam Qin tried to get involved but the father and daughter's anger had risen to the maximum.

Lisa, who was trying to contain her anger, finally burst out in fury when she heard what her father said and screamed. "Then send me back! That's what you've been doing ever since my mother died! You should simply say you hate my presence and I'd leave you alone!"

Lisa stormed out on everyone and ran upstairs to her room.

"Sister!" Linda ran after her but was a few steps away before Lisa shut her door with a loud 'bang.'

Linda stood by the door, biting her lips and fidgeting with her fingers. The fight escalated too quickly and now, no one knows what would happen after this.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Mr. Qin was still angry even after Lisa left. His wife had been trying to pacify him but her words were only adding fuel to flames.