A Beautiful Paradox (COMPLETE)

Chapter 18

When Kit finally arrived in front of his parents' house, he was met by his oldest brother, Kieng, who had been impatiently waiting for him right outside the door.

"Is she still inside?" Kit asked, as he approached his brother with cautious steps.

"No, she left a while back. Good Lord that woman came by when it was just me and Mom in the house," Kieng grumbled with a scowl. Despite his deep frown, Kieng's eyes immediately softened with concern as he studied the face of his little brother. "Do you want me to go in with you?"

Kit gave him a small smile and shook his head. Although he truly appreciated the offer and was slightly tempted to take it, he knew that he needed to do this alone. Letting out a weary sigh, Kieng gently ruffled Kit's hair with one of his calloused hands.

"Just know that I'm on your side, okay?" Kieng confirmed.

Kit nodded and mumbled a soft thank you, which earned him an affectionate pat on the shoulder. Leaving a worried-looking Kieng behind him, Kit took a deep breath before opening the door.

It had been quite a while since Kit last saw or talked to his mother. In fact, his last memory of her went back several months. She eventually had called him a couple of days after the moment when Ming's mother told her the entire truth.

"Kit, let's talk," she had said over the phone.

With a face all drenched in tears, Kit had let out a forced laugh at that. Because, unfortunately, her offer came way too late. She had called him on the day when he ended his relationship with Ming. On that regretful day when he broke Ming's heart and tore apart his own soul as well.

"No," he had spat out in a trembling voice. "I ended everything, so there's nothing left for us to discuss."

And with that, he had hung up on her in an instant. Even though he really didn't blame his mother for what had happened, Kit just couldn't stand taking any more agony that day.

From that day forward, an awkward tension hovered over their relationship. Mostly due to his fright, Kit kept refusing to talk to his mother at all costs, despite her attempts to try to reach out to him. After a while, she had seemed to given up and Kit wasn't sure when he would ever have the courage to face her again.

So, when he walked inside the house in order to meet her face-to-face on his own volition, Kit couldn't stop himself from shaking. He vividly remembered all the excruciating pain and despair he felt that day when his mother rejected him. And he knew that no amount of preparation would cushion such a tormenting experience.

A silence momentarily filled up the entire house. Although he had come to see her, from the moment that he stepped inside, Kit avoided any eye contact with his mother. He just couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes. Which he expected to be rich with disappointment and rejection once again.

"Is it true?" she asked after a while, breaking the silence.