The Girl Who Stole My First Kiss

Chapter Fourteen - Truth II

The harsh fluorescent lights of June's family home cast an unforgiving glare on the documents sprawled across the table. Lingling sat beside her aunt, their brows furrowed in unison as they absorbed the damning evidence.

Grief, a familiar weight in her chest, tightened its grip. Her father's sudden death, a question mark that had haunted her for years, was finally being addressed, but the answer brought a fresh wave of pain. "I saw him just an hour before," her Auntie thought, the memory a vivid snapshot. "He was fine, resting." The official cause – cardiac arrest – had never rung true. Her aunt's voice, laced with a quiet fury, echoed in the room.

"Your mother was too deep in despair to hear me then," her aunt said, her gaze filled with a lifetime of unspoken sorrow. "But I knew something wasn't right. Now, thanks to this," she tapped the papers, "we know the truth. Ying... your childhood friend. She's the one who took your father from us."

Lingling's world tilted on its axis. Ying? The betrayal was a physical blow, stealing the breath from her lungs. The weight of the revelation was compounded by the news that followed. Her aunt revealed Diana, her other supposed best friend, had been drugging her mother after Lingling's car accident with Earn. "Medication," Diana had called it, a cruel lie that preyed on her mother's vulnerability.

June, who had been silent until now, erupted. "Those traitors! We have to sue them, Mom!" she roared, her voice thick with righteous anger.

But Lingling, to everyone's surprise, shook her head, a single, choked word escaping her lips. "No..."

June's fury faltered, replaced by confusion. "What do you mean, no, Ling? They're criminals! And I bet they had something to do with Earn's death too!"

Lingling pushed herself to her feet, the room suddenly suffocating. "It's the past," she whispered, the words hollow even to her own ears. "Let it go." But the truth was, letting go felt impossible. It was a suffocating weight, a tangled mess of grief and betrayal. Yet, a flicker of fierce protectiveness ignited within her. These women, however flawed, were the only semblance of family she had left. Could she expose them, knowing the fallout would shatter the fragile sense of normalcy she clung to?

She walked out into the cool night air, seeking solace beneath the familiar glow of her girlfriend's apartment windows. The world seemed to blur as she stared at the unassuming bricks, a silent plea for comfort forming in her heart. In the wreckage of her past, her girlfriend remained a beacon of stability, the one truth she desperately clung to.

Unable to sleep, restlessness gnawed at Orm and Prigkhing. As they were about to head out for a convenience store run, they spotted Lingling Kwong just as she was about to leave.

"Lingling Kwong?!" Orm squinted, her voice laced with uncertainty. The sound of her name seemed to crack Lingling's composure, making her vulnerable.

Lingling whirled around, revealing a face streaked with crimson tears. Without a word, she rushed into Orm's arms, clinging to her as if desperately seeking refuge from an unseen storm. The unexpected sight caused Orm and Prigkhing to exchange a hesitant look. Their convenience store run was forgotten.

Gently, Orm guided Lingling to the sofa. Lingling continued to sob, her cries echoing in the silent room. Prigkhing watched silently, her gaze flitting between her tearful friend and Orm, who offered comfort with a tenderness that warmed Prigkhing from within. A suspicion flickered in Prigkhing's mind. Could it be that Lingling had finally discovered the truth? After all, she was the one who had anonymously sent incriminating evidence to June's aunt.