The first thing that Tiffany saw when her eyes were still half lidded was a colour of yellow, or was it gold, she couldn’t really deduce from the blurry image.

 

When a pleasant scent hit her, it was so familiar that she had to force herself to open her eyes. At first, when she saw Taeyeon standing by the full length window right in front of her bed, she had thought that she was dreaming.

 

With the sunlight illuminating the room, it almost looked like Taeyeon was radiating light and glowing. Needless to say, it was quite a sight that Tiffany was witnessing.

 

But when the blonde turned around after noticing she was awake, Tiffany then blinked a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes. She propped herself up with her elbows.

 

“You’re awake,” was the first thing that Taeyeon said.

 

“And, you’re in my room.” Tiffany frowned, her hand running through her hair.

 

“You didn’t answer when I knocked. I thought that something might’ve happened to you.” Taeyeon stood rooted at the same spot.

 

“So you came in.” The brunette arched an eyebrow, amusement held in her eyes.

 

“Yes, that is correct.”

 

Tiffany laughed, “It didn’t occur to you that I was sleeping?”

 

“It’s kind of late to still be sleeping.”

 

Turning her head to look at the clock on the end table beside her, Tiffany grumbled before letting her head fall back on the pillow. “It’s 9:00, Taeyeon.” It was too early. Way too early for her to be woken up.

 

“It’s late.”

 

“No, it’s early. Don’t you have to sleep? Aren’t you tired?” She asked, because for one, she, herself was beat and needed as much rest as possible after the much eventful day yesterday.

 

“We don’t sleep.” Taeyeon stated with her arms crossed. “Now, get up. We’re getting breakfast.”

 

Although the mention of not having to sleep was an interesting topic, but Tiffany was more astonished by the suggestion from Taeyeon of having breakfast together. She had never had any meals with Taeyeon before and today could actually be the first.

 

“Break…fast?” Tiffany asked, still looking dubious.

 

“Yes. You need the nutrition and protein.”

 

At the mention of that, Tiffany’s stomach churned. She quickly sat up. Could she be implying… “W—why?”

 

Noting the sudden shaken look of Tiffany’s, the blonde uncrossed her arms with a sigh. “I’m not going to bite you, Tiffany. You’re a human. I presume you need the nutrition to stay healthy.”

 

Tiffany’s tensed shoulder immediately relaxed. “I wasn’t worried about that. I wasn’t thinking about that.”

 

“Of course you weren’t.” The side of Taeyeon’s lips twitched up for a mere second before her expression turned cold again. “I’d like it if you’d get up now.”

 

The brunette glared at her for the sudden change of mood. She was about to push away her sheets when she remembered something. She wasn’t wearing any pants. She didn’t have the habit of wearing pants to sleep ever since young and she definitely wasn’t kicking the habit even when she was in this house.

 

“Umm…” Tiffany mumbled, eyes looking shakily at Taeyeon who still stood poised and unmoving. “You’re not going to wait outside?”

 

“I’m making sure that you’d get off the bed.”

 

Tiffany was literally screaming inside. Now was really not the time for Taeyeon to be stubborn. “I’m not a child. I can get out of bed.”

 

“You’re acting like one right now.”

 

“Jesus! Can’t you just wait outside?” Tiffany exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration.

 

“Why? It’s not like you’re .” Taeyeon commented since she could see that Tiffany was properly clothed from her waist to top. But when the brunette’s face started turning red, a realisation hit Taeyeon. “O—oh.”

 

Tiffany stared at Taeyeon when she heard and saw how embarrassed the blonde was. She almost laughed when the blonde hurriedly excused herself and sauntered out the room like her legs were on fire.

 

Tiffany shook her head with a smile as she got out of bed and into the bathroom.

 

***

 

“Eat,” Taeyeon ordered as she placed the plate of full English breakfast in front of Tiffany.

 

Tiffany grudgingly thanked her, not very happy with being ordered to do something. She brought up the piece of tomato with her fork before noticing that Taeyeon didn’t have anything in front of her. “You’re not eating? And you can’t tell me that you don’t eat because the other girls do eat.”

 

Taeyeon shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

 

“Still, you need to get some food into your system.” Tiffany turned and looked around the kitchen. She stood up when she found what she was looking for. Placing a clean plate in front of Taeyeon, she said, “We’ll share.”

 

“It’s okay,” Taeyeon rejected politely. “If I’m hungry, I would’ve told the helpers to make something for me too.”

 

“No,” Tiffany continued stubbornly, her hands already moving to place some of the food onto Taeyeon’s plate. “I’m not that hungry too, so let’s share.” As if to appease Taeyeon, she quickly put on a dazzling smile that could melt the hearts of many.

 

Feeling embarrassed and not knowing of what to do, Taeyeon just relented and let Tiffany do as she wanted.

 

***

 

“Tell me something about yourself,” asked Tiffany as she plopped down on the bench.

 

After their meal, Taeyeon mentioned to her that she was going to bring her somewhere. She wasn’t sure where exactly Taeyeon was bringing her to since the blonde wouldn’t spill.

 

But as they approached the very back of the house, it turned out that Taeyeon was bringing her to a greenhouse. An enormous, striking and exquisite greenhouse filled with countless plants and flowers that painted the greenhouse with almost every shade of colour.

 

“Something?” Taeyeon asked, waiting for Tiffany to elaborate more but the brunette only shrugged at her question as she brought her feet up to the bench and hugged her legs. “Like… my favourite colour?”

 

Tiffany chuckled softly. She leant her cheek against her knee and watched Taeyeon who stared straight ahead with a thoughtful look. “Sure. Let’s start with that.”

 

“Well, I like blue.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I don’t know,” Taeyeon frowned a little. “Like why do you like pink so much?”

 

“How did you know that I like pink?”

 

Taeyeon shifted around her seat when she felt the burning stare from Tiffany. “From Yoona. She mentioned it before.”

 

“Huh. Is that so.” She could hear the slight hint of lie in Taeyeon’s tone. “Alright, then… tell me about your love life.” Tiffany didn’t know if she was crossing a line by asking such a bold question, but she couldn’t help herself in this situation where Taeyeon was actually allowing her to ask her questions. But, somehow, she knew that was just an excuse since deep down inside she had the desire to find out.

 

She wanted to know what kind of person Taeyeon actually liked.

 

“My love life.”

 

“Yes, your past relationships… or current one.” She added on tentatively, and that was when she realised that she didn’t actually know if Taeyeon was with someone. There was a voice that kept on echoing an answer in her head and she hoped that Taeyeon would reply with that answer.

 

She watched attentively and when Taeyeon turned her head away and let out a sound that sounded almost like a sigh, her heart was beating so fast until the blonde answered, “I haven’t been in a relationship for years.”

 

Tiffany didn’t know why but she felt that a rock was lifted off her chest at Taeyeon’s reply. “You sounded hesitant,” She commented, narrowing her eyes, “Are you lying to me?”

 

“Why would I lie to you?”

 

She contemplated about the question in her head. True, why would Taeyeon even lie to her about it. “Fair enough.”

 

“Now’s my turn to ask you.”

 

“What?” Tiffany placed her feet down on the ground in surprise. “I’m the one that’s doing the asking, and you’re the one that’s telling. You can’t just—”

 

Taeyeon ignored the blabbering from Tiffany and cut in, “Tell me about your relationships. Both past and current ones.”

 

At the mention of her current relationship, Tiffany’s heart clenched. The sudden guilt rushed through her when she realised that these past few days, there was not even once that her boyfriend had appeared in her mind.  

 

She had been so occupied with everything that was going on that never once had she thought about him. Even on the night that she heard Viktor was back, the night that she really felt the fear from being held captive in this house, she didn’t even think about him.

 

With all those thoughts rushing through her mind at the same time, she flinched when a cold hand touched her shoulder.

 

“Are you alright?” Taeyeon asked, and Tiffany could see the worry that was swimming in her eyes.

 

Her stomach was churning, and her heart was beating at a weird pace from just seeing how concerned Taeyeon was. It almost scared Tiffany when she recognised those feelings. “I—Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

 

“I must’ve asked something sensitive. Sorry.”  

 

“No, it’s not your fault. I just—I don’t know if I could still call it a current relationship.” Tiffany leant back against the bench with a deep breath taken in. “I mean, I’ve been missing for what, close to a month now? He must be thinking that I’m dead or something and probably will move on to another girl sooner or later.” She let out a dry chuckle.

 

Taeyeon remained silent. When she realised that her hand was still on Tiffany’s shoulder, softly pressing her fingers against the tensed muscles, she quickly retracted her hand as if her palm was on fire. Not wanting the brunette to notice what she had done, Taeyeon quickly and mindlessly asked, “Do you love him?” The question came out before she could even stop herself.

 

“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t have dated him if I didn’t love him.”

 

“How long?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“How long were you guys together?”

 

“Close to two years now. I met him when I was a freshman in university and he’s a year older than me.”

 

“Let me guess, he’s a rugby player?” Taeyeon’s tone sounded almost like she was teasing that Tiffany had to narrow her eyes.

 

“Yes.”

 

“And, you’re a cheerleader.” A chuckle escaped Taeyeon’s lips.

 

Tiffany gasped, although the sound of Taeyeon laughter and seeing her look so carefree for once made her insides warm. “That’s pure stereotyping, Taeyeon.” She scolded.

 

“Isn’t it the trend though? For the popular jock to go with the pretty cheerleader?”

 

Tiffany had to remind herself that Taeyeon was talking about cheerleaders as a whole and wasn’t referring to her. “I’m guessing you’ve been watching too much college movies.”

 

“But am I wrong though?”

 

“Well—” Tiffany tried to think of something, at least something, to retort back but her mind drew a blank. Crossing her arms with a huff, she replied, “No.”

 

Somehow her reply managed to draw an even louder laughter from Taeyeon, and really, she didn’t even mind being teased when she could witness this side of Taeyeon that she rarely showed. And when she heard the unrestrained laughter, Tiffany couldn’t help but to join in as well.

 

It took them about a minute before they could calm down. “You know,” Tiffany was the one who broke the silence. She brought her legs up again, “I was the one that suggested for you to tell me stuffs about yourself, but it turns out that I’m the one that’s spilling more stuffs.”

 

“You did ask me questions, and I answered them. You didn’t exactly tell me how long my answers are supposed to be.”

 

A small smile appeared when Tiffany realised that Taeyeon was still much in her playful—but slightly toned down—mood. “Alright, well, I have one more question.”

 

Taeyeon nodded to specify for Tiffany to continue.

 

“How did you end up here?” That was the question. That was the question that Tiffany had been dying to ask ever since the day she knew that Taeyeon and her sister wasn’t related to the King—this family. She remembered once when she had tried to ask Yoona about it, but the girl wouldn’t say anything about it—and Tiffany understood.

 

And right now, when she finally blurted out the question, the look on Taeyeon’s face and how rigid her body suddenly became had made Tiffany regret for even asking that question.

 

“Taeyeon—”

 

“Tiffany.” The cold tone was back. No playfulness. No teasing. Just the plain cold and hard tone that Taeyeon usually used. “I think it’s best that we head back now. I have some things that I have to attend to.”

 

“No, wait—”

 

“I’m sorry, it’s an urgent matter. So, please excuse me.”

 

Before she could even reach out, Taeyeon had slid out of her seat and stride out of the door with large and rushed steps.

 

Tiffany clenched her fists when she realised what she had just done.

 

.

 

This time, she really did cross the line that she clearly shouldn’t have.

 

***

 

“I'm surprised that she left you alone.”

 

Tiffany jumped at the sudden voice. She was still seated on the same spot even after Taeyeon had left and when she recognised the voice whose footsteps were sounding even closer to her, her body froze.

 

“What's wrong, pretty girl? Aren’t you happy to see me?” The smirk on his face grew even bigger as their distance closed and Tiffany still couldn't find the courage to move.

 

When he set himself down beside her and crossed his legs, Tiffany wanted to scream—scream for help. She didn't know what he could do to her, especially in this place where she knew well enough that there wasn't anyone else here other than the two of them.

 

“Ah, you're giving me the silent treatment.” He let out a loud chuckle with a shake of his head. “To think that I was just watching the two of you blabber on and chat about nothing and everything.”

 

Tiffany’s head almost turned. He had been watching them? Since when?

 

“You know, all these years, never once have I seen my little sister act this way.” He clicked his tongue. “I've never seen her so… uncontrolled before.” He spoke with distaste.

 

Tiffany wanted to tell him that no, it wasn't an act of being uncontrolled, it was just Taeyeon showing the genuine side of her.

 

“She's never been so rebellious before. Did you know, in the past, she would just do whatever I say?” A grin appeared on his face and it looked so sick, so filthy to Tiffany. “She was like this little slave of mine that no matter how badly I treated her, she wouldn't even dare speak up because this,” he waved his hands around the surroundings, “this place that she and her sister is living in, this place that they call home, is mine.”  

 

“And then, one day, you appeared. You, Tiffany, the lovely girl that's supposed to be rightfully mine, you changed her. She didn't even dare to say 'no' to me in the past and because of you, she disrespected me and defied my orders.”

 

His voice was getting louder and Tiffany could see that he was getting agitated. Letting out a ragged breath, she could only wish that someone, anyone, could walk in. That Taeyeon would suddenly somehow return back before he would finally erupt like a volcano that was slowly heating up.

 

“She cares for you so much—almost as much as she cares for her sister. And I can see why.”

 

At first, Tiffany thought that when he was uncrossing his legs, it was because he was planning to leave, but when he turned to her and suddenly leant in close to her, she closed her eyes and tried her best to still remain calm.

 

“You're just so… beautiful.” It was meant to be a word to compliment, but hearing it from Viktor, it had only sounded dirty to Tiffany.

 

She could feel his breath, going from her cheek, to her jaw, and then finally to her neck. When he paused there and took a deep breath in, Tiffany could almost feel her eyes stinging.

 

Please, no.

 

“Your blood smells so… special. So unique. So craving. It's no wonder why Taeyeon wants you all to herself.” He spoke against her neck. “Such a selfish person, she is.” He let out a sarcastic chuckle before his voice lowered and whispered to her ear. 

 

“Listen to me, Tiffany. Two can play the game. If Taeyeon wishes to defy me because of you, then there'll be consequences for it. Like I've said, this doesn't end and I wouldn't give up that easily. So let me tell you something. If you think that what happened to Taeyeon yesterday was already scary, then you wouldn't want to know what kind of ideas I'm already having in my head.”

 

The few seconds felt like hours before he finally leant away and put some distance between them. “Taeyeon wouldn't be by your side 24/7. So, be careful, little girl, especially during the nights where no one watches.” With a final smile, he then walked away, leaving Tiffany who was still shaking from what happened.

 

***

 

The knock that resounded through the room suddenly sounded so loud to her ears. Before she could even say a word, the door opened and in walked the blonde whom she didn’t know if she was supposed to still feel guilty for upsetting her or feel upset because Taeyeon had left her all alone and vulnerable back in the greenhouse.

 

“Done with your urgent stuffs?” Tiffany didn’t mean for it to come out as sarcastic as she had but she couldn’t help it when the memories from the afternoon was still replaying in her mind like a broken record for hours now.

 

Silence.

 

She heaved a sigh, pulling the covers up to her chest as she sat up on the bed. “What is it?”

 

“Were you sleeping?”

 

She wanted so badly to laugh at how ridiculous it was for Taeyeon’s first sentence to be that, but all she did was shrug. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”

 

“I went back to the greenhouse, but you weren’t there.”

 

“I went to Yoona.” After the encounter with Viktor, she didn’t add on.

 

“I see.” The reply came a few seconds later, and then silence. The air around them was so tense that it even made Taeyeon uncomfortable just from standing there with Tiffany watching her—almost scrutinizing her. “I’ll leave you to rest.”

 

Watching Taeyeon take each step as she approached the door, the sudden fear that coursed through her body made her call out her name. She didn’t know what could happen the moment Taeyeon walks out. She didn’t know if Viktor would do anything to her tonight like how he usually did. All kinds of negative thoughts appeared in her mind and she really didn’t want to find out if those thoughts could actually happen.

 

“Yes?”

 

Taeyeon’s voice was so soft. Tiffany in a breath before asking, “Could you… Could you stay here tonight? With me?” When Taeyeon didn’t reply, she added on, “Please.” She knew that she must have sounded desperate, but at this point, she didn’t even care anymore.

 

“Okay.”

 

Tiffany couldn’t actually believe the answer. When Taeyeon walked towards the loveseat situated not far from her, she then let out a nervous breath. “Go to sleep. I’ll be here.”

 

“Thank you,” Tiffany spoke softly before lying back on the bed again. Her hands clutched the covers while she gazed up at the ceiling, almost burning holes through it. She didn’t know how long she had been at the same position, still wide awake, until she heard Taeyeon shift around on the couch. Her head turned automatically.

 

“Can’t sleep?”

 

Tiffany shook her head.

 

“I’m right here.” It sounded so reassuring.

 

“I know.”

 

Taeyeon shifted around again. She leant back against the armrest and stretched out her legs on the couch. “Let me tell you a story, Tiffany.”

 

Without thinking much about it, Tiffany agreed.

 

“Back in 1910, there was a girl—an innocent and angelic girl who never once did any bad deeds and was always kind and friendly no matter to who. One night, while she was on her way to meet her older sister for dinner, she met a group of guys—four guys—that were asking for help—for directions.”

 

At this point, Tiffany had an idea on what—or whose—story Taeyeon was sharing about.

 

“She didn’t think anything of it, because she’d always help those that were in need of it. So, she ended up guiding them and walking along with them until they led her to a dark alley, claiming that it was a shortcut. They were being so friendly and pleasant that she had no reason not to believe them, so she followed like a lost little lamb. When the guy started leading her even deeper into the alley, she then knew that something wasn’t right. She wanted to get away and run away from them, but they were already surrounding her. And before she could even scream, a hand was already covering , muffling her screams for help. She started to struggle against the guy, and when she got out of his hold for a moment and thought that she could actually run away, a knife suddenly plunged into her.”

 

“Taeyeon…”

 

“Then, one by one, each of them had their own turn. They took away her innocence, they scarred her, they traumatized her. When they left her, she was just there, on the dirty ground, with blood flowing out of her and hurt to the point where she couldn’t even stand up, where she couldn’t even cry for help.”

 

“Her sister, her idiotic sister, who was left waiting for an hour outside the restaurant sensed that something must have gone wrong, because she knew that her sister was a responsible person who wouldn’t just stand up on her like that. So she tried to trace back the path that her sister could’ve took. She searched around the place, for hours, before she finally found her.”

 

“Taeyeon, you don’t have to continue.”

 

She shook her head, shutting her eyes for a moment. “She immediately took her to a hospital. When she arrived, the doctors attended to her sister and she was left sitting outside, doing nothing but pray that her little sister would be fine. It didn’t take long before the doctor came out. The look on his face said it all, and all the older sister could do was cry because her sister was the only family that she had left and the only person that she loved. Then, when she was left alone with the lifeless body of her sister, a man suddenly came in. The man offered a solution that could bring her sister back. At that point, she was willing to do almost anything just so she could bring her back so she agreed. But the man had a condition. He didn’t want just the sick and dying girl, so he made a deal that the older sister was also to be turned before he would help. The older sister knew that she didn’t really have much of a choice. She needed her sister, and she did what she had to do to have her sister back.”

 

Breathing out heavily, Taeyeon said, “And that, Tiffany, was how I ended up here.”

 

“I’m so sorry…” She didn’t really know what to say.

 

Taeyeon turned her head away but Tiffany could still the lone tear that slid down her unstained cheek before it was wiped away. “So am I,” she breathed out. She ran her fingers through her hair once before repeating, “Go to sleep. I’m right here.”

 

Hoping that her words could convey the message that she trusted her, Tiffany whispered, “I know.”

 

Then there was quietness in the room. The lone lamp beside the bed illuminated the room in a warm colour of orange, casting a shadow against the wall—the shadow of a girl who kept a strong and unemotional front, but deep inside, was emotionally tired of it and was just trying to protect everyone that she cared for.

 

Slowly but surely, the eyes that were staring at the shadow started to grow heavy before it finally shut with the soft breathing of the girl beside her. 

 

---

 

A/N: Well... the end of this chapter took me some time to finish. Tbh, it was actually kind of hard for me to write since I don’t really like to touch on this subject. But anyways, I still hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)

 

I’ll see you guys on the next update then? Have a nice day, everyone!