"Mother... where do you think my father is?" Jennie asked, ignoring her mother's cowardly words.
"He should be in the West right now. If my guess is right, then he is building his own Empire and is preparing to fight with the Vercello Family." She answered directly. "I assume, he had already occupied his role as the leader of our organization back then. He must have figured out everything and at this moment is preparing his army," Wang Ruo scoffed.
"What's wrong? Don't you want him to fight? For you? For us?" Jennie frowned. From her mother's tone, it was very obvious that she did not approve of what her father was doing.
"And then what?" Wang Ruo got up from her seat and walked towards the window. "If he beats the Vercello Family what will happen after that? Did he think that we can have a peaceful life?"
« Nini.... I ran away because I got tired of this dark world." Wang Ruo tilted her head to look at Jennie. "This world is cruel, Nini... I had my fair share of it. You might think that I am a coward for running and for doing what I did... but I was trying to protect you from that dark world. I gave you a normal father. Not someone who runs an underworld crime organization. It was because I didn't want you to become like me. To fear my enemies even while I sleep! I don't want a life like that. I don't want you to have a life like that!"
"I don't want you to fear to eat the food given by your friends nor fear that every drink that you have could be drugged. "
"Did your father think that by doing this we will stop living in the shadows?"
"No, Nini... after this, we will still have enemies. The children of those people that we have killed will come looking for us. The wives of the husbands that we have shot will come, knocking at our door, sooner or later demanding revenge. It will never end."
Jennie let out a chuckle, surprising both her mother and Lisa. "So, this is the initial reason you ran away and tried to hide things away from me?" She then walked towards her mother and stand in front of her. "If you were not my mother, I would have slapped you right now."
"I understand why you did what you did... but don't give me this talk right now. Not after everything that has happened." Jennie narrowed her eyes at her mother. "Your first mistake was hiding this from me when we first met in B Country. Your second mistake was thinking that I am like you. I am not... and I will never be like you."
"Your third mistake was being a hypocrite." Jennie gave her mother a mocking smile. "Do you like the feeling of having father chase after you every time you run away?"
"Do you like the feeling of him facing your enemies instead of you?"
"Did you even think of his feelings? Did you even consider that he loved you to the extent to choose you over his family every time? To run after you even after years of not knowing if you were already dead or not?"
Wang Ruo's expression was extremely unsightly when she watched Jennie take a step in front of her, her face was less than a foot away from her. "Mother... If you continue thinking about this even after what has happened, then sooner or later you will lose all the people whom you consider as a family."
"You chose this life... be prepared to face the consequences of your choice. Be a Woman and stand up to your ground. Stop running away!" Jennie turned her back to her mother and was about to walk away from her when Wang Ruo suddenly grabbed her daughter's arms.
"What are you planning to do?" She asked.
"I will find my father." Jennie answered. Her eyes never leaving her mother's.
"You can't."
"Why not?" Jennie challenged. She raised an eyebrow at her mother.
"He... If the Vercellos..."
"Oh, mother! Screw the Vercellos...!!! Don't worry, I will not join them." She was about to add that she was planning to destroy them instead but chose to maintain her silence. She then shrugged off her mother's hand and went to sit next to Lisa. "I will finish everything that you have started and clean up the mess that you have made." Her voice was not loud, yet both Wang Ruo and Lisa heard the tinge of stubbornness that laced her words.
...
