Hidden: Strings of Fate

CHAPTER 47

Flashback
11 months ago
After Jun Seo left

Leo closed the door after Jun Seo left. He had gone. He had left. My legs gave in. I fell to the floor. I took deep breaths. He touched it. Touched me. I began to look frantically for a pair of scissors. I needed to get rid of everything he touched. I found a pair in the front pocket of my suitcase. I ran in the bathroom and began hacking away at my hair. With every chop I made, I willed the memory to go away. Tears began to fall and I started to uncontrollably sob, with every snip.

"Honey-ah, what are you doing?!!" Leo tried to take the scissors away from me.

"Go away, Leo! This has nothing to do with you!"

"Give me the scissors before you regret..."

"Regret?! You're talking to me about regret? I already regret choosing the life I have. So don't you dare think that a little pep talk from you is going to change anything!"I pushed him against the bathroom door frame, throwing him out of the bathroom and yanked the door shut. I couldn't have any remnants of him on me. I couldn't. I couldn't go back to being her again. I just couldn't. I wouldn't.

I kept at it. Grabbing bits of my hair, yanking it and then roughly chopping it. I could hear screams of protest coming from outside the door. Leo was banging the door, begging me to open it. Yelling at me to stop. I couldn't. I wouldn't stop. I had to keep on going. I had to do this so that I could get rid of my sin. It was because of my sin that I was being punished. I had chosen to follow through with that sin and now I had to live with the consequences. Nothing could save me...not even...

I looked at the mirror. The deed was done. I finished it. My hair was at different lengths. Some of it long, some of it short. All that was left for me to do now was to scrub my body until his scent left. I opened the door. Leo jumped up and held my arms.

He scanned my face. His hand came up to my cheeks, holding them up so that he could see my face clearly. I don't want him to look at my face. I was ashamed of what I had done. I kept my eyes down. I was used to holding everything in. I never wanted to share my burden. It was my burden and my burden alone. He shouldn't have seen it. He shouldn't have been here.

"Honey... please speak to me... don't suffer in silence." He whispered. Should I be relieved that he cared... or should I be angry because he barged in on a private matter?

I leapt out of his grasp and headed to where my toiletries were. Opening my suitcase, I rummaged through it looking for my exfoliating gloves. I found them. They had fallen beneath all my clothes.

I got up and grabbed my towel and whatever clothes I found near and headed towards the bathroom again. After locking the door, I ran the shower, setting it to the highest temperature. It was the only way I could be rid of him. Even though, the water was scalding me and I felt like I was in the deepest part of hell, I endured it. If it means that there will be no more of him on me then I'll endure. I scrubbed repeatedly until my skin turned red. I did the same with my hair. Until it began to hurt. I won't lose myself again. I will not be his property again.

My ritual of torture ended and I put on a fresh set of clothes. This time, longer pyjama shorts and a t-shirt. I opened the door to the bathroom to find Leo sat on my bed, with his hair stylist waiting for me. He muttered some words to her and she came towards me. Her hands delicately evaluating my hair. Her gaze soft, and understanding.