บท 7: Who was she?

"What have I not done to make her a good child? Is it until she sees the downfall of the family? The company hasn't been doing well lately and relies solely on the collaboration with the Yun family. If it fails, the company is going to declare bankruptcy. I brought her back to quickly fix a marriage date with her fiance and now, look at what she has done." Mr. Qin was a step away from crying as he mourned his upcoming loss.

"Don't be angry, honey. The Young Master of the Yun family loves our daughter very much. He's not going to sit back and watch our family go down the drain. We still have hope for the collaboration."

The man shook his head and supported it with his hands. "We can't entirely rely on the Young Master of the Yun family. That boy is hopeless. He is cheating on my daughter!"

"Honey, we don't have a choice. It is already good that the Young Master didn't embarrass us like his mother did. He cheated because Lisa was away for five years. I'm certain he won't do that again, now that she's back."

The man got up and paced around the sitting room for a while. He went to the wine bar and poured some drink into a tumbler glass. After emptying the glass in one go, he finally asked; "Who was she?"

"Who was who?" she queried in confusion.

"I told you to look for the lady he was cheating with!"

"Oh, that… I did try to look for her but I couldn't find her."

"Use the private investigators if you must. That lady in the pictures with the Young Master has to be found." Mr. Qin said with great annoyance.

"Alright… but if I may ask, what do you intend to do to her?"

"What else? Pay her and her family off, threaten her… Anything that would make her stop seeing the Young Master, so nothing would stop the marriage between our Qin and the Yun family!"

"Right. It is better that you step in before Lisa does. Who knows, she might kill the girl as retaliation–"

'Shatter!'

The sound of the tumbler glass breaking as it hit the off white marble floor caused Madam Qin to flinch. She stared at her husband with a touch of fear in her eyes.

"Are you calling my daughter a murderer?!" He roared as anger burned in his eyes.

"N– no, honey, it was a slip. A slip of the tongue. How can I call my daughter a murderer? What kind of a mother does that?" seeing the man was a lot calmer, she pulled him to sit on a couch while she massaged him from behind.

"I was just spreading out my thoughts to cover every possible action that Lisa might take against the girl that was caught on camera with the Young Master. I didn't mean to remind you of what happened five years ago.

"Lisa is not so bad, she's just unreasonable sometimes due to what happened to her mother, like I've already said a number of times. You might not want to see it that way, but when you realize that Lisa is an emotional child who stayed in an asylum for some months after her mother died, you'll understand that even though my sister's death happened twenty years ago, it would still remain a fresh memory on Lisa's mind… our minds."

Mr. Qin sighed. Maybe Karen is right. Lisa and her mother's relationship was one that could not be described in words. After her mother's sudden death, Lisa's mental health instantly plummeted. If not for Karen who took care of her and nursed her back to life with love and affection, maybe Lisa would still be in the asylum right now.

The middle aged man shut his eyes. Why did he raise his voice at Karen just now? He owes this woman enough already. Even though he married her and made her daughter his, it was a repayment for what Karen did for Lisa, and not because he loved her.

"I'm sorry for my outburst earlier," Mr. Qin apologized.

Karen smiled, "You don't have to apologize. Lisa is my niece and stepdaughter, which automatically makes her my real daughter. She calls me mother and protects my daughter and I. You married me, made my daughter yours, and gave me all the rights a wife gets. I should be the one saying, thank you, Mr. Qin."

…

Inside a luxuriously furnished room…

Lisa was seen lying on her back, staring at the white ceiling above her. The knocking sound on the door wouldn't allow her to think about the event of the day, so she got up and went to get the door.

"Linda, why are you so stubborn? I clearly don't want to be disturbed, don't you get it?" Lisa barked at the lady standing outside her door.

Despite the unwelcome gesture, Linda refused to be bothered. "I learned that from you. I can't leave you alone when you are so upset. Let me through."

Her sleek voice and calm personality made Lisa's mood to involuntarily relax. She turned and went back into her room, leaving the door ajar.

It was an unspoken approval.

Linda smiled and entered before closing the door behind her.

"You shouldn't have raised your voice at dad… I get that he touched a sore spot, but sister, he was irritated."

"Are you here to apportion blames?" Lisa shot her a glare.

"Of course not. I saw a cotton in your right ear and wanted to know what happened to you." She walked up to Lisa who was leaning against her headboard and pulled her to the floor-to-ceiling dressing mirror.

After forcing Lisa to sit, she tilted her head to the side and asked, "What happened to your ear?"

Seeing the mark on her left cheek that was left by her father's fingers, Lisa turned her head back and got up from the stool. "I'm fine. It's not something you should worry about."

"But–"

"You should rather be telling me why you failed the college entrance examination." Lisa changed the topic as she returned to her bed.

Linda smiled faintly and took an ointment from the dressing table and started walking towards the bed.

"What can I say? I was drained with everything that was happening at home. Mother was depressed and dad was doing all he could to revive the company. I had a hard time studying at home."

"And the school library?" Lisa raised a brow.