My dramatic breakdown was interrupted by a call from Adam. He reminded me that today is Saturday and uncle Chen along with everyone else is waiting for me to come home for “the dinner”. How I dreaded the “dinner”……I had no choice but to drag myself there..literally.

How great, once again I am the last one to arrive. Adam greeted me at the front door. I can tell he was trying to force on a smile but I knew deep down there’s nothing to smile about and unfortunately we’re both too aware of the current circumstances.

“ You’re late”..he gave me a stern look.

“I know, I’m sorry. I went to see..”

He cut me off “ Where you go and who you see is no longer any of my concern. Don’t feel too bad, your sister is still on her way.”

I couldn’t believe what he was saying, Star’s late? My perfect sister is late? The next thing you know, 2012 is actually real.

“ Why?” I asked curiously.

“Umm, I don’t know.” I can tell he was caught off guard by my strange question.

“ Adam, I’ve been thinking. Maybe we should talk. A lot has happened since last spring. I know I don’t have the right to say this, but……I’m just really sorry. I mean it. I’m sorry….for everything.” I wanted to look into his eyes, but I couldn’t. I guess the guilt was eating me alive right there and then.

Yet, he didn’t take his eyes off of me. “ The pages of life that has been turned, cannot be reopened again. You should go inside, your uncle is waiting for you.”

Trying to hold back the tears, I stuttered, “ yea, um I guess I should.”

I Walked into the grand dinning hall with disappointment in my heart. To my surprise it was no ordinary dinner. Uncle Yan along with uncle Liu were sitting alongside my uncle and Ivy. They all looked up me when I entered, I excused myself for being late and sat down. Everyone was really quiet, even the servants were breathing at an inaudible level.

My sister broke the silence when she came running in drenched from head to toe. Her mascara was running down from the side of her eye and her hair was a mess.

My hand went straight to my mouth covering the shocked expression on my face. She kneeled in front of my uncle and stayed there for awhile. Then my uncle went up to her and did something I wouldn’t dare to even picture in my nightmare. He slapped her right across the face leaving a mark of his hand on her left cheek. He hit her so hard she fell to the ground. That’s when Ivy got up from her chair and asked what happened.  I was so shocked I didn’t even know how to take in all this. What just happened? Did uncle Chen just slap his prize child. The niece he has loved more than his own daughter. I was still lost in shock when my uncle started walking towards my direction and spoke in an almost angry tone. “ If you ever decide to betray me the same way your sister has, just know a deadly punishment will await you. I will not spare, not even my own flesh and blood.” With that, he walked out of the dinning hall with his 2 most trusted advisors. I couldn’t recall what he had just said and everything seemed like a blur. Star is still on the floor, with one hand on her left cheek. I can see a tear stream down her face. I was more than shocked; I was scared. Ivy called the home nurse to tend to Star and gave me a dirty look.

“ Now look at what you’ve done, are you happy now? “ she said.

I didn’t know what she was saying… “What did I do?”

She came up to my face, looked me in the eye for a few seconds and turned to my side and whispered, “ Leave things alone.”

That night I sat on the dinning room floor with my sister. Neither of us said anything. There was nothing to say. At least, I didn’t think there were. I felt broken, so broken that I wished I could just die and leave this horrible reality. The world is full of lies and I am a liar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ringgg…ringgg… “It's a little too late to say that you're sorry now

You kicked me when I was down

But what you say, just (don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more)

That's right : and I don't need you, don't want to see you

you get (no love)”

I picked up my phone to see who it was; to my surprise it was TOP. I quickly sat up from the couch I was sitting in and threw down the book I was reading.

“Yeoboseyeo?” I whispered….

“ Xin, it’s over.” He said those words in a barely audible voice. And then I heard someone else in the room with Seunghyun….what’s going on?

“Hello? Oppa are you still there? Hello?”….there was no reply……I heard him screaming and then someone laughed in an almost unimaginable way. It was a smirk but out loud.

“ Who are you!!!!??? Leave him alone!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs…..but all I got in return was a dead line……..he hung up.

 I stood up from my kneeling position and ran to my sister’s room.

I threw my phone at her screaming “ What the hell did you do to him?”….tears were streaming down my eyes like I was a little girl that just broke her favorite toy.

She looked at me with eyes of pity and lowered herself to my level. Then she did something I always though Dao Mingshan is incapable of doing; she hugged me and cried with me.

“ I’m so sorry XinXin, I tried to prevent this. I really did. Believe me please, please believe me.” She told me in an almost mother like way.

I desperately wanted to believe her and I hugged her back emptying all the tears I had kept inside all these years. My sister might only be a few minutes earlier than me, but she was always a female figure I looked up to. Growing up together, she never showed any emotions or affections. This is the first time seeing her act human. That she is just like everybody else. Someone that has feelings and someone that has the ability to get hurt.

I didn’t know what time it was when I left her room. It must’ve been hours because it was already dark outside when I crossed the garden to my own wing of the mansion.

I looked up to the sky…….What should I do now god?