𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧 𝐠𝐨 → 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺

→ chapter seventy two

; ♡⋆.ೃ࿔*

Droplets of rain tapped gently against the window, the sun no longer visible like it was earlier on during the day. The weather had taken a drastic turn for the worst, shades of blue and grey made their way across the horizontal sky blocking any ray of light that tried to make its way through.

Any bit of happiness that Chaerin had felt earlier on had dissolved only to be replaced by an empty feeling as she sat in the living room of her family home. Nothing had changed since she had moved out, her bedroom was still upstairs if you walked through the first door on the left and the family photos were still hanging on the white walls of the hallways.

Chae sat on the linen sofa, the softness instantly welcoming her. The tv was in the corner next to the grand fireplace that stood in the middle of the wall, there was a loveseat sofa next to a lamp in the corner that added a touch of light to the gloomy room. A coffee table sat in the middle, various bits of pieces had been left on top of it.

Alice Chang entered the living room with two mugs of tea in her hand, she placed them on the coffee table in front of her daughter who didn't bother to look up. She knew this day would inevitably come, the day where she would have come clean about what really happened with her ex-husband.

She took a seat next to Chae, sucking in a deep breath whilst her heart beat rapidly. There were no words to fully explain the regret and shame Alice felt for lying to both of her daughters. It was only moments ago that her eldest daughter had shown up at her door as if she were a bull and her mother was the colour red.

"Chaerin, I lied because I did not want to hurt you, you girls had such lovely memories with your father and I just didn't want to take that away from you," Alice sighed, running a hand through her short black hair.

"That's not the point though because it hurts me even more that you didn't tell me the truth," Chae scoffed angrily.

"Because I didn't want to upset you, you have to understand that."

"I do understand that, but I would like to hear the truth because right now I am more upset with the fact that you lied to me. How many other times have you lied? You may as well come clean about it all now!" Chae yelled exasperatedly, standing up from her seat.

Alice stayed silent, hoping that if she let Chae scream and shout it would help her calm down just a little bit. However, the harsh glare coming from Chae's brown eyes did not soften and her jaw seemed that it would not unclench even if it was pried apart. Chaerin Chang was absolutely enraged.

"So go on, tell me! What really happened between you and dad?!" Chae spat venomously, her chest heaving up and down.

For a moment, nothing was said. Alice knew she had to be honest but she was terrified that if she admitted the truth her fake reality would fracture and she could no longer enjoy the bliss that was ignorance.

"I loved your father, I really did but it would be proven that he did not love me as much as I loved him," Alice started, emitting a shaky breath whilst she avoided Chae's scrutinizing gaze. "Your father was having an affair, when I first found out you were only young, you were about eight and Cho was only six. I let it go the first time, I thought the two of us could move past it because I truly did love him, I would've done anything for him. In my eyes he could no wrong, in fact, I even thought it was my fault that he cheated. Gosh, I was so stupid!"

"For a while, I was fully convinced that we had moved past it, and although it lingered in the back of my mind we had left it in the past, I had given him the benefit of the doubt. Well, that was until I heard him talking on the phone one night, it was your fifteenth birthday. When the four of us arrived home from your birthday meal, he sneaked off into our bedroom and by now I had seen the signs,"

"I think I had already known, but I didn't want to admit that I knew because then everything would have to change. A few months later, whilst you and Cho were at Hogwarts, a woman knocked on our door. I knew who she was the moment I saw her, she asked if she could talk to me so I let her in. I then found out that your father had got another woman pregnant, it was a pain that I never knew I was capable of feeling. And yet he had the nerve to lie to me and then send his mistress to break the news."

Chae's features softened even though the fire stormed on through her veins, she didn't know what to say. She thought she had wanted to know the truth, and now here it was staring right back at her and she suddenly wished it would all go away, the betrayal of her father stinging more than an open wound. He had replaced not only her but their entire family and part of her was even glad that he no longer remembered her.

The rain thundered on outside, pattering gently against the window, the sound mixing with Alice's quiet sniffles. 

"It turns out that he had been living a double life and I was foolish enough to even believe that he had stopped seeing the other woman because he hadn't. Throughout everything, he hadn't changed and I believed deep down he could because I truly wanted him to. But I should've known that a man like him would never change and I'm terribly sorry that I lied to you Chae, I should've been honest from the start but I couldn't hurt you or Cho."

Chae's eyes locked with her mother whose features screamed that she was pleading for forgiveness, and Chae would give it to her because she knew that there was a war raging on outside and her family was one thing that she needed. Chae didn't know what to respond with and instead opted to give her mum a hug.

She gently wrapped her arms around her mother's frame, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume. Chaerin couldn't stay mad at her because the truth was far uglier than the pretty lie she had been told.

"Would you have told me if I didn't see him with his new family?" Chae asked quietly, staring down at her hands that rested in her lap. 

"I-I don't know Chae, I know that your father meant a lot to you and I really didn't want to ruin the memories you had with him," Alice explained, the small brunette nodded her head in response.

"Those memories are not ruined, they cannot be ruined because they are pictures of the past that are frozen in their respective moments. I view him differently, but that does not mean my memories have been ruined because I was happy in those memories, they cannot be changed because they aren't the present nor the future."

Alice smiled at her daughter softly, leaning forward to kiss her on the forehead lovingly.

"I'm so proud of you Chae, you've done so well." 

Chae smiled before she responded "Thank you. But I do want you to tell Cho, she deserves to know."

"But Chae, she's so young. I couldn't do that to her..."

"Mum I love you, but if you don't tell her then I will. She's sixteen, she's not a child anymore and she deserves to know the truth," said Chae, causing her mother to nod her head.

There may have been a war dawning on them, but Chaerin Chang would not let that stand in the way of her family and she was ready to fight tooth and nail to protect them. They were precious to her and she needed them, Chae loved them irrevocably.

a/n~ i apologise that this chapter has so much dialogue but it was something that needed to be done lol. thank you for reading, please don't be a silent reader, your votes and comments are appreciated <3