Jennie woke up after hearing her door creaking open. She was sure it was locked earlier and the proof is that even Lisa wasn't able to get in no matter how much she tried to twist that doorknob. This person who just entered the room is surely her mother because the latter is the only one who has a key to her room other than her.
She just sighed and turned her back on her mom. She's still unsure if she's ready to talk to the woman because no matter how much she tell herself to not be mad because the latter is her mother, she just can't help it. All her life, she had been lied to. For almost twenty years of existing she just found out about her father. Just like Lisa, Dara also had a thousands, millions even of chances to come clean and speak of the truth but she decided to keep it from her too.
All this time, she had been grieving for someone who wasn't even dead. She should have found it suspicious that her mother never brought her to her 'dead' father's grave in the first place. She just thought that her mother was still not over his death yet but now everything is starting to make sense. She honestly don't know what to feel, everything seems to confusing her. It's just traumatizing how the persons that she believes and trusted with all her heart are those who were fooling her and kept on lying to her face.
"Jennie, sweetie I know you are awake. I don't know what happened between you and Lisa but you can talk to me. Mom's going to listen." Dara said as she sit on the edge of Jennie's bed.
Jennie didn't answer though. She just remained silent in fear that she might say something that she might regret. And she might hurt her mother with reckless words which will obviously not help her but only make her feel worse than what she's already been feeling.
"Ignoring people who cares for you won't help, darling. Talk to me and let me help you if I can." Dara said as she stroke her daughter's jet black hair.
She's starting to get more worried because she have no idea what's happening. The last time Jennie was like this was when she and Lisa avoided each other. And from what Lisa's statement earlier, she seems to be clueless as well. If this is just one of her mood swings, it's definitely the most bothersome. She'd prefer her daughter being grumpy than being like this, isolating herself.
Jennie took a deep breath.
"Mom, I'll give you a chance to tell me the truth and the whole truth." She mumbled without even sparing a glance at her mother.
Mrs. Kim on the other hand got surprised with what Jennie said. The latter seems to know something that is against her. She couldn't decipher which is it though. Confusion started to get written on her face.
"W-what do you mean?" She asked her child with her forehead creased as she try to wonder what in the earth could it be.
"Tell me something you have been keeping from me for a long time. This is the last chance I'll be giving you the opportunity to explain and make me understand." She said sternly, trying her best not to sound so disrespectful despite of the hint of resentment she's feeling.
By that, Dara already got an idea what Jennie was trying to mean because all this time she'd only been hiding one thing from her daughter. What makes her think is that how in the world did Jennie find out about it if she really did? It was like a dead secret buried six feet under. How did she know?
"W-what? Did find out..." She can't still find the right words to say.
"Mom, tell me the truth." Jennie said, sitting up on her bed to see how her mother would explain.
She saw how her mother turned pale, she had probably confirmed that what she was thinking was what Jennie wants to know. Maybe the time has finally come for her to tell her daughter the secret she had been keeping since the day Jennie was born.
"I-I'm sorry." Was the first thing Mrs. Kim said. She heaved a long sigh. Just by that, Jennie broke down in tears again. Her mom just indirectly admitted that what Jiyong told her was true. Jiyong is really her dad, the person she had been grieving for, the person she had been longing to know.
"Mom, why?" Jennie uttered between her sobs.
"I-I just wanted to protect you, Jennie. He was a criminal. He killed your uncle, the only family that I had. I was brokenhearted and mad because he was the last person I'd think who could do that but he did. He didn't deserve to know you or to even see you. He's a monster, Jennie." Dara explain as her tears stream down her face.
The memory is still vivid to her. In her mind, she could still see her brother bathing in his own blood. It was horrifying and to think that Jiyong, the person she loves the most did it was making her loose her mind. Everything was hard to take in.
And if Jennie think that she was the only one who was longing for Jiyong's presence, then she is wrong. There isn't a single day that go by in that twenty years where she don't wonder how her husband was doing. She miss him too, even more than Jennie do but anger and pride was reigning inside her heart. She still loves him but she loathes him at the same time. So in that twenty years, she had been restraining herself from seeing that man who took away something so precious to her.
"Are even sure it was him?" Jennie mumbled.
"He was there." Dara replied in a low voice, starting to think that there is still a possibility that he wasn't the real culprit but if it wasn't him then who? He was the only person left with Thunder that day and she knew that the two doesn't get along well because her brother and Jiyong once had a huge fight over a girl. And the beef goes on even after Jiyong and that person already broke up long ago.
"Just because he was there, doesn't mean that it was him. Did you even let him explain his side?" Jennie ask while wiping her tears, only for another batch to wet her eyes.
"I-I was mad at him. It's hard to believe someone who already broke your trust."
"And you also broke my trust." Jennie said.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. Please forgive me. I just did what I thought was right." Dara said and held Jennie's hand.
Jennie took her hand back and said. "Mom, don't you think that what you did was selfish? He's my dad. I-I deserve to even know his fucking name and you never even told me that you are married."
"Yes I admit it, I was selfish. I was too blinded by my anger to even try to understand him and the situation. I wanted to hurt him too and the only way I thought was to hide you from him. I didn't realize that by doing so, I was already risking hurting you too. By the time I realized that what I did was wrong, it's too late. I still wanted to tell you though but I was afraid that you'd hate me so I decided to keep it. I wasn't expecting that this day would come because I have never heard from him since then" Dara said while her tears we're still flowing from her eyes. Jennie could see her mother's regret but it's still hard for her to forgive her.
"I-I don't know what to feel. I want to be alone, mom. Everything is just too hard for me to handle."
"But Jennie, Lisa doesn't have anything to do about it. Why are you mad at her too?" Mrs. Kim asked out of curiosity. Lisa is out of there family problem, why would Jennie get mad at her too?
"She kept something from me too." She smiled weakly.
"What?" Her mom asked as her brows furrowed in confusion. She thought that they were doing just fine and everything was going smoothly between them.
"She is my baby's biological father." Jennie chuckled sarcastically.
"What? How?" Dara said, still can't sink into her mind what her daughter just said.
"Remember Jackson's party?" Jennie asked and her mother nodded in response. So, she continued.
"We were just supposed to party and have fun that night. We had a couple of drinks, me and Lisa. Then Kai, came into the picture. I liked him then because I thought he was a nice guy and I trusted him. T-then he grabbed us some drinks. Because I trust him, I didn't hesitate to drink it. A few moments later, I begun feeling something different. He just said that I was probably drunk but I know to myself that the amount of alcohol I drank wasn't enough to get me that wasted. H-he brought me to one of the rooms and that's the last thing I remember." Jennie stated and she begun crying again. She feels so stupid for trusting people easily. He was right, she's weak.
"Then how is it Lisa when it was Kai?" Her mom asked, still confused.
"I didn't believe it was Lisa either because the next day, I just woke up alone, naked and in pain. I didn't see her and that time I didn't even know she had that thing that could get any woman pregnant. And even after I found out about it, I still didn't believe she could do it. Then earlier today on the grocery, I accidentally came across Kai, who was missing for already a couple of months. He told me every he knew. He was even surprised that I'm pregnant. H-he said that he wasn't able to do what he wanted to do with me because Lisa came and beat him and he told me that the last person I was with that night was Lisa. I-I couldn't believe it but what he said next made sense. He said that the next day, Lisa went to their house and told him to never let me see him or else she'll do something with the his dad's reputation. That is probably why he just disappeared. Aside from that, he was so anxious to see me earlier." Jennie said and buried her face on her palm as she sob.
"And you believe him?"
"Honestly, I don't know who to believe. I-I'm so confused." She admitted.
"You just told me something about not believing in one-sided stories earlier. I hope you'll apply that to yourself. You know, I-I kind of regretted that I didn't let your dad explain and just runaway back then. I just hope you won't do the same mistake I did. I don't want you living a miserable life full of regrets." Dara said and cradled her daughter inside her arms.
"I-I'm still a bit mad at you but thank you. I love you, mom." Jennie said, burying her face to her mother's chest. Dara smiled and stroked her girl's hair in a comforting way.
"I know and I'm really sorry. Mom loves you too, always." She said and kissed the top of Jennie's head.
"Mom, how is he as your husband?" Jennie asked her mother, suddenly feeling curious about her father.
"Actually, I met your dad when I was still in High School. I liked him the moment I laid my eyes on him but that time he was in love with Chaerin, my bestfriend who was my brother's girlfriend. I felt like he only hang out with me just to be with Chaerin but I was still happy with that. At least I can be with him. By hanging out with me and Chaerin they started getting along well until they fell in love with each other. My bestfriend literally cheated on my brother with my crush and that was so hard for me. It's a messed up situation. You know, I want to tell my brother about what they were doing but I couldn't because I know my brother would be heartbroken and at the same time I don't want to betray my bestfriend. I was also sure that my brother would beat Jiyong to pulp if he find out and I didn't want that. Crazy as it may sound but that was how much I love him. I was really torn between that situation." Her mother narrated and she could she the pain in the latter's eyes while she speak.
"That's one hell of a messed up story. That's probably worse than mine and Lisa's." Jennie said.
"I know. And I felt bad for keeping such thing from your uncle. Later on, he eventually found out and of course he and your dad had a huge fight but Chaerin chose your dad instead of your uncle. They kept their relationship for a year but they eventually broke up for some reason. Jiyong and I became friends then and we started hanging out with each other behind my brother's back. I just know that he'd be so mad if he find out that I've been hanging out with the guy who stole his girlfriend. I was deeply in love with your dad so I didn't think too much about it. As time goes by, we grew so fond of each other until we feel in love." She said and sighed.
"Continue mom, I'm still listening."
"He finally became my boyfriend and I swear, he was the sweetest man I have ever met. He takes me to dates, we watch the moon together, watch movies together, and such. Aside from that, he respected me and never tried to touch me in an uncomfortable way. I was even scared that he'd cheat on me because of what happened with her and Chae in the past but he proved to me that he changed. He was a good guy, Jennie. He was that person I thought of living with until I grow old and gray. My brother found out about our relationship eventually and of course he was so mad and she didn't trust your dad. Despite his anger, I fought for your dad. We continued our relationship but your uncle and I kind have grew away from each other. Years later, your dad and I decided to get married and I got pregnant with you." She kissed the top of Jennie's head.
"He loves you so much even when you were still in my tummy. He was so excited to meet his little princess. We were happy and everything was going nicely until a bad news came. My brother died and it was said that it wasn't an accident, he was killed. The investigations went on and every evidence points out to your dad. I-I was so heartbroken. I love your dad so much but your uncle was the only family left of me after our parents died in the factory they were working for. I was angry and so that's how I hid you from him. I also don't know what kind of person he is now so keeping you away from him was the way I thought to not only get my revenge from him but also to protect you." Dara said and wiped her tears.
"I'm sorry mom for getting mad at you. I didn't know you've been through so much in the past." Jennie hugged her mother and they cried with each other.
Why does life seem so be so hard for the both of them?
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Hallurr, what can you say?