F.R.I.E.N.D.S. [K.TH]

#41

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fake dad

Hailey come to the house right now.
This is an order.
I've sent my driver to pick you up.
[Seen]

"I think this cardigan is not my look. What do you think Haeri?" The mentioned girl looked up from her phone, a permanent scowl was fixed on her face. "What's got you in such a pissy mood?" Sunhee tilted her head, her blonde bangs obscuring her eyes.

They were at the shopping mall, taking advantage of the spring sale and heading from shop to shop, looking for new clothes to renovate their wardrobes for the spring season. 

Haeri's scowl melted. "Oh, sorry. It's just my stepdad wants me home. Like right now."

The other girl nodded in understanding. "That's fine, you can go, I'll drop you off– "

Haeri shook her head. "No it's fine. There's a driver coming to pick me up anyway."

Sunhee whistled as they walked out the shop. "Damn, how rich are they to have a family chaffeur?" 

The girl pursed her lips. "Pretty rich." As he promised, his driver was waiting outside the shopping mall, and opened the door for Haeri. Sunhee handed some of the shopping bags over to her. "I can have the driver take you back to campus."

The blonde waved. "I can take the bus. Besides, my aunt and uncle want me over for dinner, since they're back from their trip. I'll make sure to tell them all about my cousin's new girlfriend." She wiggled her eyebrows teasingly at Haeri, who rolled her eyes, yet the tint on her cheeks were noticeable.

"Shut up."

"Anyways, see you!" Sunhee walked off, and she rolled up the windows. The driver's car drove off, the shopping mall soon becoming a pinprick in the distance. Haeri's light smile as she thought about Sunhee's cousin soon fell flat, as she finally dawned upon the inevitable meeting with her step-dad.

Meeting with Whitlock now. Think about Taehyun later.

The last time he had a meeting with her didn't exactly end well, and her fingers instinctively brushed her cheek, almost feeling the stinging sensation of the slap he gave her. Her eyes locked with the driver's prying gaze, and she leaned forward in her seat. "I expect you to keep your mouth shut about this."

"Of course miss." Haeri knew not to take his word for it, considering he owed her no loyalty; she wasn't even Oscar Whitlock's biological daughter, therefore he didn't have to take orders from her. Nevertheless, she gave him a dark glower and turned her gaze to the window. 

It wasn't long until the driver opened the door for her, that she realised that they had arrived. Stepping out of the car, she glowered at the impressive Georgian-styled white brick manor that loomed over her, the sunlit windows appearing harsh and daunting.

The Whitlock family's butler arrived at the scene, and wordlessly gestured for Haeri to follow him. She inwardly scoffed at what her stepdad might say, thinking of every scenario where he would say that she's a disappointment, or whatever.

Yet nothing could have prepared her for seeing Olivia Hale of all people in her step-father's study. She was sitting on a couch, all prim and proper in a black fur-lined coat over her pale blue dress. Sitting on his desk, every inch the cruel businessman he was, was Whitlock himself. Haeri's mother wasn't present in the office, which was strange.