THE TRUTH HURTS ✔

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ

Leigh waited for a moment as if she was waiting for Lia to respond to her questions but she foolishly honestly believe that her sister's spirit will come forth and give her the advice that's been begging her for a long time.

She shook her head as she placed the most recent photo of Lia, herself, and Dean back in the box. It was a photo of them all together when Leigh first debuted.

Leigh was nervous and couldn't believe that she was going to be singing in front of many people. She was scared to think of what people may feel about her. For once, even though she was born in South Korea, she and her sister were of African heritage.

However that all changed when Gray showed her that her voice was soothing. Something unique that would get people listening. Music was universal, no matter what your background may be, those who love it won't care about your appearance and will just enjoy it because it's making them happy.

With that boost of confidence, Leigh stepped forth into the limelight and showed everyone what she was made of. And slowly but surely, she started to gain fans who wanted to hear more of Leigh.

Her popularity skyrocketed and soon after the drama began. As the fame took her to places she has never been before, and that was the dark side of it.

Leigh saw what fame can do to you when you end up receiving too much of it. That's her being jealous of the relationship between Gray and Lia. Her heart turned dark and hate spewed out from Leigh, causing her to lose the most important person in her life.

Leigh closed the box that showed all of her true feelings. She adjusted her body and laid her head on the pillow. Leigh shut her eyes and allowed her mind to take to her comfort zone. Transporting her to a time when it was just Lia and her.

Leigh smiled to herself as she saw her sister leaning over the rail at their favorite location.

The Han River. The cool breeze kissed Leigh on her cheek. Their brown hair was identically moved by the wind simultaneously. Leigh continued to stroll up next to her sister who still was staring out into the distance.

Finally, Leigh approached the bar rail next to Lia. "It's about time you made it, " Lia joked.

Leigh kissed her teeth while she rolled her eyes. She braced her body against the rail to do the same as Lia. A long pause between the sister before Leigh decided to release everything that's been weighing down on her for the last year. "Why must you go, Lia? I should have been the one to die, not you."

Lia took in a deep breath before she exhaled. Her breath joined in with the wind as if they were one. "I didn't leave you, Leigh. I'm still here," she answered.

Leigh rolled her eyes again, hearing Lia's nonsense. She was always the one who enjoyed spitting out poetic nonsense. "Bullshit, Lia. Don't give me this crap that you're here with me in my heart or mind. I need you here, physically. You were my rock that kept me out of trouble. The one that kept me grounded. And when I needed you now, Lia, you're not here. I feel like I can't do this anymore. It's hard to move forward without you."

Again, Lia deeply inhaled before she turned to her sister. And at the same time, so did Leigh. Her eyes were filled with tears that she's been wanting to express for so long. Lia lifted her arm and used her fingers to wipe away her sister's tears as a reassuring smile appeared on her face. "You always enjoy hiding your emotions from everyone except for me. It always made me wonder who was the oldest out of the two of us," she chuckled. "But understand, Leigh, I never left you. Our bond is way too strong to be broken. And just because I'm not there physically, I'm always going to be there for you, here. Plus, you have Gray as well. He promised me that he will look after you when I'm gone, and so far, I think he's doing a damn good job, even though you did kick him in the balls. "

Leigh burst out laughing as she remembered kicking Gray in the balls right before she was sent to get help. Now thinking about it, she felt bad for what she has done. "I think I need to tell him that I'm sorry, " Leigh said solemnly.

Lia nodded to agree. "You need to, Leigh, you need to apologize for all the crap that you've done to him. Gray doesn't deserve any of what you've done to him. He took your end when no one else wanted to. He was the only true friend that you had that would always bail you out from all that you've done, knowing why you kept spiraling out of control but never felt compelled to say how he was feeling cause he didn't want to hurt me. Leigh, it's time to let go of all this pain that's been weighing you down and understand that the accident wasn't your fault. None of what happened to us was your fault."

The sisters continued to cry and laugh at their inside jokes just like old times until Lia glanced up before she returned to Leigh. She cuffed her sister's hand tightly. "It's time for me to go, Lee. "

Leigh shook her no as she wiped away the tears that continued to fall down her cheeks. "No, Lia, you can't go. Can't you stay a bit longer?"

Lia smiled. She twisted her head back to glance at a small figure waiting for her. "Unfortunately, a little person is waiting for me, so I must take my leave."

Leigh looked over her sister and noticed that small figure that came into view as Lia pulled away. She walked up to the figure who appeared as a young child. Lia spoke to the young child who smiled happily as he waved to Leigh.

Leigh choked out a chuckle as she recognized who the young child was. She covered her mouth in shock as she waved back in return before Lia and the young child disappeared.

Right after, Leigh opened her eyes and sat on the bed, tears streaming down her face.

It was a new day for Leigh. Fresh day as she got out of bed and did her morning routine. Once out of the bathroom, she had her breakfast in the cafeteria.

Finished with breakfast, Leigh strolled out as the sun's rays touched her brown skin.

With a notebook and pencil in hand, she found an empty bench to sit down on and started to write until a shadow appeared at her side.

The masculine aroma that she was very familiar with sat down next to her to cause Leigh to cease writing. She tilted her head to the side and glanced toward Gray.

He had dark shades covering his eyes before taking them off as he rubbed the corners of his eyes then put them back on before confessing to Leigh.

He glanced up at the sky as he deeply inhaled. "I saw her," he said. "I saw Lia with my son, too."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

ᴛᴡᴏ ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ʟᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ