🆃🆈🆄🅽🅽🅸🅽🅶
ʸᵒᵘⁿᵍ ᴬᵈᵘˡᵗ | ᴿᵒᵐᵃⁿᶜᵉ | ᵀʰʳᶦˡˡᵉʳ | ᴹᶦˢᵗᵉʳʸ
In the exclusive neighborhood of Bel Air, Kang Thia and Huening Kai live as long-time neighbors who share an unusual friendship.
When Thia's father goes on a business trip for two days, she...
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Thia's heart skipped a beat in shock as she turned back toward the villa. Standing before her was her mother, whom she had not seen in four long years. The sudden appearance stirred a wave of emotions - from joy and relief to anger and confusion.
A cold chill ran through her entire body as she looked at her mother.
The woman was barely recognizable.
Her mother looked frail and haggard, as if she had gone through a hard time in the past few years. The once vibrant eyes were now surrounded by dark circles and her skin was pale and untouched by the sun. Deep wrinkles had dug into her face and her dark hair was dull and unkempt. Thia could hardly believe that this was really her mother. She had remembered her as a strong, fun-loving woman, bubbling with energy. But now she stood there, with her eyes downcast and an expression that expressed both shame and fear. The painful thoughts that her mother had not contacted her for four years, had simply stolen out of her life, mingled with the mysterious photographs and the inexplicable events she had discovered in the secret room.
A flood of questions overwhelmed Thia as she tried to comprehend the situation.
Slowly, her mother stepped closer, her steps weak and cautious. She was barefoot and the pebbles dug into the soles of her feet. Her disheveled hair hung in her face, and yet she walked up to Thia and took her in her arms with a sob.
"M-Mum?" the 18-year-old brought out, frozen into a pillar of salt, not knowing how to react to what should have been a loving gesture. She felt the cold arms against her and swallowed hard.
Until now, it had always been said that her mother had run away. Didn't want to take care of the family anymore. For years she had been angry with her mother, had cursed her and hated her, had avoided even talking about her. And now this woman was just standing in front of her, after all these years. "Mum, what happened? Why are you here?" it came out quietly from Thia and her eyes wandered over the front garden. She wanted to look at Kai, but her mother's head and disheveled hair blocked the way. Instead, however, she saw another man, not far from them and with the same getup as Thia's mother. His hair was long and unkempt, his clothes dirty and torn. He was emaciated, which could be seen in his scrawny arms, and his skin was chalky pale.
Thia had the feeling that he looked familiar, but she couldn't place him exactly. It was definitely not the man in the photo, their appearances were too different for that.
But instead, Kai made a startled sound. His mouth opened slightly, but no word escaped his lips.
He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
"L-Liam?" he croaked, taking a step forward, but then paused. He seemed so strange, even though he recognized the latter's face. But it made no sense that Liam was here, looking as if he had been starving and fighting for his life.
"Thia, honey," the mother finally managed to say, as the two teenagers no longer understood what was going on in this world. But then the woman winced, gripped her daughter's shoulders tightly and turned her head back and forth. "Sweetheart, where is your father? Is he here!?"
