Author POV

"Ugh what's all this ruckus early in the morning...." Kris said groggily as he heard the commotion happening in his home.

He tried to sleep it off and ignore it but it was too huge of a commotion to ignore. He got out of bed and slipped into his slippers to make his way down to the kitchen where he figured all the noise was coming from. He was barely awake till he saw the scenario in front of his eyes. The woman that he rescued yesterday is trying to kill herself with a kitchen knife and his mother was trying to calm her down. 

"Stop! What are you trying to do? Just calm down and give me the knife," Kris said as he stretched his arm out to the stranger he rescued. 

"Stay away from me! Come any closer and I'll pierce this knife through me!" Ji Hyun said as she motioned the knife towards herself.

"It's me.. It's me.. I was the on who rescued you remember?" Kris said, trying to calm her down. He noticed that she started to take notice at him, as if to recall last night's events.

Your POV

Cautiously, he motioned towards you and slowly reached out for the knife. After successfully getting it out of your hand, he extended his arms towards you to pick you up as you were crouched on the floor. You did not attempt to resist as you remember how your rescuer felt like. You remembered his scent and you trusted him with your life as he was the one who got you out of your misery of 19 years. You reached your hand out as you felt that he would protect you regardless.

"I... I don't want to be here. I don't... T-t-trust her," you said, gesturing towards the middle-aged lady in front of you.

"She's my mother, she's not going to harm you," he replied with his ever so sweet voice.

You shake your head as you were still afraid that she was going to harm you. You can't trust her. 

"She's just going to be like mum. Sweet to others but when I'm alone with her she's going to abuse me," you thought to yourself, still not wanting to believe him but as long as he's around you, you're confident that no harm will come to you.

You followed him as he brought you to the room you were in earlier. He told you to get showered and change to a fresh set of new clothes that were laid out on the bed for you. He assured you that he won't be going anywhere and he'll be right outside the room if you needed him.

As you undress to get in the shower, you take a look at the bruises and scars that have accumulated over the years. You took a good look at them and realised there were too many scars, some of which will heal but some would forever be etched in your skin. The scars served as a memory of your dark past but they were also a reminder that if you got through 19 years of being abused and still came out victorious. You were determined to have a fresh start, to forget about all that's happened in the past and start afresh. A new beginning.

You could feel the water droplets on your hair, trickling down to your eyes, nose and mouth, then flowing down to your body all the way down. The water was warm, numbing all the pain you've been feeling. You stood under the shower, enjoying the water as it washes down your pain and sorrow, and you let out a cry for one last time. A cry to be thankful for being able to escape and a cry to be thankful for being able to start a new life.

Author POV

"Oh you're done showering already. Let's go get breakfast," Kris said as he started to lead Ji Hyun towards the kitchen.

The stranger nodded and silently followed him to the kitchen, while taking note of her surroundings, looking at all the exit points of the house. Despite his hospitality and saving her, she still can't let her guard down and she doesn't know any of them and she's not going to be held captive like she was before.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, a wave of aroma flooded her. The smell of roasted chicken, potatoes and so much more just filled the kitchen. She could only dream of having a feast for the past 19 years of her life and right now its right here in front of her. She looked at the huge table in front of her and gasped at the sight of what she thought was an enormous spread of food.

"Hey, I realised we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Kris," the mysterious blonde stranger said as he gestured his hand out towards the girl he had rescued the night before.

"Oh, umm my name is Ji Hyun. And umm.. thank you so much for yesterday, you have no idea what you just did for me back then. I'm really greatful that you helped me," the stranger replied sheepishly and shook her rescuer's hand, also known as Kris. 

"Ji Hyun ah, well, now you're a guest at this house so we just want you to feel comfortable for now and don't worry about anything alright?" Kris's mum suddenly spoke, to which Ji Hyun immediately froze. 

Kris' mother was genuinely concerned about Ji Hyun as she always wanted a daughter but after having Kris, they had a few failed pregnancies which were enough to make her and her husband stop trying for another baby. Although she's content with having Kris, it never stopped her from wanting a daughter and that's exactly what she saw in Ji Hyun, a daughter whom she wants to protect after hearing what Kris told her and seeing the bruises on her body.

"I'm not having it, I'm not having anything from her. She's just like mother. She probably put some poison in the food to kill me. Yes, that's it, she's trying to kill me," Ji Hyun thought to herself the moment Kris' mum handed her the plate filled with food.

Not wanting to make a scene, she took the plate but made sure not to touch or consume any of the food on it. Although it looked so tempting, she kept reminding herself what her mother would do. Whenever she was younger and when her mum cooked a meal for her, it always made her sick. She would get nauseous or diarrhea upon hours of consuming them. 

Kris noticed that Ji Hyun had not touched her food but he could hear her stomach grumbling.

"Why aren't you eating? You must be hungry, right? Go on and eat it. Nothing's going to happen, you're safe here," he said ever so calmly as he looked at her with those soft looking eyes.

"Well, it's... it's just that.... if my mother ever cooked something like this, its usually because she's trying to do something to me. She always puts poison or drugs inside the food," Ji Hyun said in a low whisper, making sure that only Kris would hear what she said.

"Wow, I'm sorry you had to go through this but not all mothers do that all right? My mother has not done anything to harm me and she's not going to harm you either. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Why not we switch plates? Mine tasted fine and if switching plates makes you feel better and will make you eat, I'd do it," Kris said while he held Ji Hyun's hand to comfort her, at the same time switching plates with her to make sure she wouldn't starve herself.

Ji Hyun was struck by how much trust Kris put in his mother. How can he be so sure that she's not up to no good? How can he believe his mother is taking care of him? Hesitantly, she picked up her cutleries and started the eating, being careful to stop if she saw anything suspicious or if something felt amiss. But nothing did, nothing went wrong, and the food was delicious.

"Is this what a family dinner supposed to feel like?" Ji Hyun wondered to herself while looking at the interaction between Kris and his family, an interaction which she never had before.

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Sorry for the long wait guys but I hope you guys like it! I have more time on my hands now so I'm definitely gonna update it more frequently and thanks for reading~~ :)