Tip Of The Iceberg
Grace walked down the lonely, dark street alone. She had been walking for more than thirty minutes, not knowing where to go or what to do.
So she dialed Nora's number, and it got connected: "What do you want?"
"Mother, where is she admitted?"
Nora sneered, "You want to come finish what you didn't finish?"
Grace sniffed back her tears. "Please, where is she admitted?" She had to make sure she was okay, or else she might die of guilt.
"Why did you do that?" She couldn't stop herself from crying.
"Don't cry now; we both know it's fake. Don't ever show up your face to us again," Nora hung up.
Left with no other choice, Grace stopped a cab, which took her to the Chen home.
She stood there, wondering if to knock or not, then breathed heavily and rang the doorbell.
Minutes later, her dad pulled the door open. He stared at her for a while, but didn't utter a word before he let her in.
"Father, I didn't plan this," she said, falling on her knees and crying out. Now everyone sees her like someone who had hired some thugs to kill her stepmom.
But she wasn't that type of person; she would never even think of doing that.
"Father, believe me, I didn't ask him to do that."
Nora stared at her with a sneer. "Why did you come here?"
"Father…." She just needed her father to believe her.
"Stand up," Mr. Chen said as he helped her up.
"I know. I know you wouldn't do such a thing."
She nodded and scanned the place with her eyes. "Sarah, where is she?"
"Father, send her away," Nora stomped to them angrily.
"She isn't at fault; the one at fault is Raymond Xu, and that's why she will file a case against him," he explained, and Grace stared at him, confused.
"I didn't say anything about filing a case against him," she muttered; in fact, that was something she would never imagine herself doing, biting the hand that fed her.
"But he harmed your mother; you could come back home, and I promise everything will be fine. Just file a case against that man." He tried persuading her, but she took a step backwards.
"I don't want to come back here; I will never move back in."
The streets were better compared to this place. "So you will prefer to stay with a criminal?"
"I only came to apologize and let you know that I didn't hire anyone; now I will leave."
She turned to leave when Mr. Chen grabbed her hand, and Nora hurried to stand between them.
"Don't hurt her; we are already struggling with mother's condition. What if he comes back for you now?"
They were scared of hitting her, which made Grace feel relieved. All the fear she had for her dad and stepfamily was gone, all because Raymond stabbed her stepmother.
"Good night." She walked out of the house and went to Alice's coffee shop, but it was closed. After walking for a few miles, she found herself in a dark alley.
"I don't even know where I am going; mother, please come back," she sobbed. Then it started raining.
Grace rushed and found shelter in front of a small bar that was closed; her body had developed goose bumps.
And unfortunately, her phone died just when she wanted to call Steph.
"I have so much bad luck," she pouted.
Then two men who ran from the rain approached her; she assumed they were also looking for shelter.
"Give your jacket to the lady," one of them said to his friend.
"She could find comfort in my arms; it's hotter there," he replied as they both burst out in laughter.
"Miss, we live nearby. Do you want a place to sleep for the night?"
Grace clenched her fist and decided to ignore them. "Are you mute? That's even better. I have this special thing for mute ladies, their struggle to moan during intimacy.
She felt disgusted by their words and turned to leave when they blocked her. "It's raining heavily; don't go under the rain."
"I need to leave," she said, not looking them in the eyes.
"Come with us; we will lend you a place to share tonight. Though we have just one bed in our little apartment, that's not a problem, right?" He asked his friend, who nodded.
"She could sleep at the center," they both burst out in laughter.
"Move." Grace frowned at them and tried pushing her way through, but they didn't let her go.
"Ahhh," one guy fell to the ground as he was kicked hard on the leg. He felt his bone leave the joint.
Raymond used his elbow to hit the other guy, who fell down. "There is a mortuary nearby. Do you need a place to rest?" he asked, and they both shook their heads in denial.
"We….we were joking," they said, standing up and fleeing immediately.
Grace stared at Raymond, who was quenched in water; his shirt stuck to his body.
"Don't irritate me, Grace," he warned, and she stood there quietly.
"Come with me," he said, holding her hand, but she didn't bulge.
"I won't go back."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to see your face ever again," she blurted, and he nodded.
"Is that what you want? For me to stop showing up in your life?"
She nodded immediately; she was angry and, at the same time, scared of him. He walked over and stood next to her, under the shelter. "When you look at me, what is it that you see?"
She stared at his side view. What is it that she sees? In these times, she had to remember that even if he did such illegal things; he was good to her.
"I don't know you."
"If you think stabbing someone is such a big deal, then you are wrong; I have done worse than that. That's just the tip of the iceberg," he let her know at once, and her eyes widened in shock.
"I am a monster, and this monster knows how to keep his boundaries, so go back to the mansion, and I promise never to show my face to you again."
All he wanted was to protect her, but he found himself being friendly with her. Now he had to take a step backward and simply protect her, as that was his initial plan.
"I didn't…"
"The driver is waiting in the car; go now," he ordered, but she didn't move.
"Then how…."
"Get going." His tone slightly increased, and Grace contemplated what to do.
"Good night, Mr. Xu." She hurried to the car and got in. Mr. Li smiled at her and handed her a towel.
Her gaze was stuck on Raymond, who had taken a step forward and now stood under the rain. She wanted to go down the car when Mr. Li drove away.
"He will be fine," he assured her.
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