Our Scented Garden (JoongNine AU)

Chapter 7 (Finale)

Joong

"Joong....". That familiar voice that was calling my name, caused me to stop arranging the pots on the rack, inside the flower nursery that I worked part time in. The sun was blazing, my shirt was drenched with sweat, my hands full of dirt and I looked less than presentable.

I turned and saw Mrs.Kornchid smiling gratefully at me. Her face didn't change that much, except that a few strands of white hair was there, almost undetected if not for the blazing sun that caused them to shine.

"Hello, Madam", I greeted her respectfully. But, that didn't mean that I wasn't agitated that she still found out where we'd gone. It had been 5 years since we left the mansion. We managed to find a decent house to live in, at the rural area where my parents used to live a long time ago. It made it easier for them to ease back into the community, because many of the people were either longtime friends, or distant relatives.

I taught art at the village school as a teacher. Not many wanted to teach at rural area, so the post was vacant when we arrived here. Although I was overqualified, as they said, I insist on teaching with a minimal pay, and worked odd jobs on night and weekends to support my family. My father couldn't bear lazing around at home, worked full time in this nursery, and I helped out when I was free.

"Go wash your hand, luk. Madam comes here with Sir too. They wanted to talk to you", my father ushered me to the water tank to clean myself, and then brought the Madam back to our home which was nearby.

My parents waited outside, to give space for us to talk. This was liked a de javu, only that I was the one waiting for them to start. I thought our path would never cross again, but I guess nothing was ever easy in this crooked destiny of ours.

"How are you, Joong?", Madam started lightly.

"Very well, Madam".

"I didn't know how to start this, but I just hope that you'll listen to the end", Madam said again, but, Sir suddenly held her shaking hands, and nodded, confirming to her that he would continue.

"You already knew about you and Nine, from what you heard. But, give me a chance to start from the beginning, so that there's no more mess we fell into. I had a longtime lover, Nine's mother, a good lady, daughter of my father's driver. We loved each other, but couldn't be together, because of the difference in status. So, on the last night of my bachelorhood, we were together. I never cheated on my wife after marriage. But, my former lover, she got pregnant. I couldn't be with her to raise the baby, and she couldn't marry anyone else too having a baby, so that was when I had to do a despicable thing, forcing my wife into the start of a big mess. We managed to fool everyone, nobody knows except those involved. Unfortunately, Nine's mother died in childbirth.

In the second year of our marriage, Madam found out she had an ovarian cancer on one of them, that might affect her chances of getting pregnant and if not treated would cause death. She opted to harvest her egg, with hope of getting pregnant later. But, after the chemo started, the condition was not good, that the doctor had to remove both of her ovaries. Knowing that she would never be able to be pregnant herself, though she loved Nine, she wanted her own child. So, your parents were chosen as surrogate, because they were very kind, trusted people and worked in the Kornchid's house the longest.

What she didn't know was, the Aydins came to me, begging me to not tell Madam, that the surrogacy won't be able to be done; because God blessed them to be pregnant naturally almost at the same time. The reason for their silence; Madam was fighting for her life, and her only motivation to live was to be able to see her child. I had always felt indebted to my wife; because she loved Nine, yet my heart was never there with her, and then she got sick. So, everything happened as it was. I pretended not to accept you into the family, when in truth, you belonged rightfully so, to the Aydins. As long as everybody was silent, nothing would get entangle. Except that when we played God, messing with fate, God laughed back at us mortal, liked a child's play, he let you both fell in love with each other, in front of our eyes, until we started to get clumsy, making a wrong move one after another, and the secret was now getting messier. We didn't learn. And the price to pay was too huge, Joong".