Always, It's You

Chapter 42

I named the picture" Glimpses of us."

Slight Violent content ahead:

"I guess Pip...I mean Ashley didn't tell you anything about her?" Maya asked.

"Just bits and pieces," Taehyung replied looking at her.

She was very pretty to look at. She had that straight brown short hair with a pair of azure eyes. She was tall and there was this elegance in her appearance. She radiated maturity and beauty at the same time.

"Let me tell you from the beginning." She smiled.
" Though Pip would never admit it, she is not an orphan to be exact."

Taehyung  stared at her, "But she told me....."

"I know," she stopped him.

"Her mother was a single mother. And her family never approved Pip and marked her mother as a disgrace to their pure catholic traits. Her mother cared more about her future rather than Pip, so she left her to this orphanage just after her birth and went on to rejoin her family. I heard she got married according to her family's wish again and is a mother of two children now."

"Did she know it?" Taehyung asked.

He never could imagine someone being so hated that she had to live like that even when she had everything!

"Not at first, but yes, eventually she found out. She had no friends while growing up. She practically had grown up all by herself.
You know, perks of being smarter than your age, and suddenly you become the outsider in your group!"
Maya sighed.

Taehyung nodded, tried to fit himself in her shoes. It's just too sad.

"She had one friend though, his name was Jimmy. They were practically best friends until Jimmy got adopted. But unfortunately, nobody ever wanted Pip. She was not pretty or childish enough or whatever you call it in parents' eyes."

Taehyung didn't say anything.

"Sometimes I went to pay a visit to the orphanage with my father. I noticed Pip every time, along with her sketchbook or any storybooks, totally alone in her little world. I made friends with her then. And still am!"

"Ash is lucky she has you, you know that noona?" He smiled at her.

"That's opposite, Tae," she spoke softly, "I am lucky that I have her."

"Anyway, she was a quiet girl, an introvert who tried to fit in and was tired of trying it. She never had fitted in the mold we created and never was loved by anyone."

"She is still a quiet girl," Taehyung smiled at her thoughts.

"She was a gifted child. She never studied much, actually, she never had any interest in studies. She spent her days reading storybooks, painting, and spending time alone just wandering around.
But she always topped at class. I was jealous that she was getting every teacher's attention, good grades without even trying and I had to work hard to catch up with her," Maya gave out a small chuckle, "how naive was I !!"

"Everything was fine and she got approved in a reputed med school. This time, her mother came to the orphanage to take her back."

"Just like that? After all these years?"  Taehyung asked, surprised and a bit annoyed.

"Yeah. Just like that. But you know what? She refused it. She even refused to see her or know who she was. She just said that she was ok off alone, she didn't need anyone's mercy to live on."

"It's totally like her," he admitted. Yes, she had that personality, that fire hidden inside her. You can't see it but definitely can feel the heat.