Hello Tutorial • liskook.

Chapter 40 • Pt. 2

And he could also understand better the way Lisa handled all that pre-dating situation with him and Chaeyoung before. It was in her blood in some way but gladly, she was less judgmental and maybe it was because she herself was judged her whole life.

"Do you ever know she's afraid of needles?" he decided to ask and it puzzled her for a few seconds.

Preeda quickly pulled herself together though and put her hands on her waist, looking at him exactly the way Lisa did when angry. "That didn't stop her from getting piercings in such a private place"

Good point but: "It didn't but it was an one-time thing when she was having fun with friends, I didn't even know her yet when that happened," he clarified. "And she did so because she's an adult with her own mind and choices, she wasn't influenced by someone, she wasn't dragged to something," he explained calmly, trying to make this lady understand that Lisa was not a poor and stupid manipulated woman as she believed. She might get mad and hate him but he wasn't going to get down on her level because she knew he wasn't going to gain anything from it. "If you can't drag her to do things without manipulation in the game, why do you think I can do it?"

Why did her mother think he would? Why did she think he would drag Lisa to do things she didn't want to do?

Oh sure, because she did it herself all the time and it was normal to believe that everyone did it.

"She would let you do it," Preeda said and he considered that yes, maybe, Lisa allowed Chaeyoung to be a bitch for years because she loved her, and for a moment he saw a mother's concern in Preeda, but this mother was also a problem.

"But I won't," he was withering. "I'm not a bad guy, ma'am, I'm not what people might have said about me and you should know that Lisa would never date a man like that," and he was fed up with being prejudiced, implying that he was something he definitely wasn't and further stain that reputation that he had and didn't deserve.

Preeda kept staring at him and he didn't know if she was considering his words but she had to, at least for Lisa.

"She told me about the talk she had with you," he said and her eyes widened in surprise. "She told me she made you choose between accepting the situation or cutting ties with her"

Preeda looked away, sighing. "Yes, apparently you have my daughter that attached that she's pulling those stunts"

"We both know is not just about me," he cut the shit out of her and he knew now for sure that she said what she said only to make him feel guilty when she turned to look at him, glaring and caught in her lies or, actually, omission of information. 

God, she really could be despicable and he felt slightly better knowing that he wasn't as weak as he thought and he wouldn't fall easily into her stupid games.

This was Lisa's influence, definitely.

"I know a career as a freelancer can be concerning, my mom is worried about me too," he commented casually, as it was true. "But Lisa deserves more credit than this. Lisa is working hard and she's succeeding, so she deserves respect for that regardless of your opinion, "and he may have been crossing limits by saying that but this woman had to change her attitude. "Accepting me is not just about me, it's about her too because she chose to date me and she deserves respect and trust from your part for making a decision like that"

"And what if that's the wrong decision? What am I supposed to do? Let you ruin her?"

"Ma'am I have no intentions of ruining her but that's something just time will prove, meanwhile it wouldn't be bad to support her, her choices, her career and her relationship. Or do you really want to cut ties with her?"