A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Gripping his hand back for a moment, (f/n) pulled her hand away afterwards. (F/n) took a few more bites of stew, which finished most of it in the process. As she broke off a piece of bread to scrape off the edges of the bowl and what she couldn't get with the spoon, she glanced over to him. "You still haven't told me, though, what you found out." Her (e/c) optics focused back on the bowl. "Was it like my case? Was your partner going to try and control your future?" She dipped the bread. "You mentioned that he was after your wealth. That has something to do with it, right?"

He had told her that he'd disclose his past to her now, and after their more recent exchange, she thought that it'd be okay to ask such questions openly without worry. They were ... friends. Mentally, she smiled a little. It certainly was odd and not what she expected of Lee in the beginning, but he was turning out to be a better friend than Anita ever had been.

Yes. He was using me; he made sure that my future was connected to his as long as it benefitted him. I was a way to easy money for him. While she read, she ate the bit of bread. After she finished, she stopped reading, but that also was because he hadn't written anymore. (F/n) peered over to him. Lee was slouching as though he had immense weight on his shoulders. His hands were clenched into fists, and she had a feeling that he was frowning.

Noting that she was staring, he met her gaze and wrote again. Sorry. It's just ... She reached over and stopped him. (F/n) smiled reassuringly and shook her head.

"I know what you're feeling. You know that. You don't have to explain yourself."

When she removed her hand from his, he nodded and wrote once more. Thank you.

"Do you need to tell me another time?" she asked, her eyes now back on the remainder of her bread so as not to pressure him. She did wish to know, however, and when she saw his next note, she had to admit that she was curious for him to write more.

No, it's fine. I'd rather just get it all out now. (F/n) waited, and a new note was in front of her soon enough. His name was Jared, and we didn't just live here. We had a business here too. He ran a bakery and café while I ran a women's clothing shop on the other side. She no longer was eating since curiosity was getting hold of her more. While we both earned our own money and used it together to further the business, I had an inheritance that I could claim. I hadn't yet, though, since I wanted to make it on my own first, like my father.

If she could see his true expression, she'd spot a soft smile on his lips at the memory of his father. He had struggled so hard to make it here. He pulled off what not even his parents thought he could. My grandparents and he didn't have a lot of money, but he managed to work his way up into the women's fashion industry. When I was four, his own fashion chain rose to success. Lee folded his hands on the table and leaned forward a bit. I admired him so much. I wanted to know what he went through first.

"Your father ... Did he ..." she trailed off, not sure if she should finish her question, but she didn't have to for him to understand. When she received a nod, she gave him a look of sympathy. With how he spoke of his father, she could only imagine how rough that must've been.

I had been eight. It was said that he had died of an overdose. People talked that he finally had succumbed to grief from my mother leaving when I had been born since he had mentioned her from time to time in interviews. Never her name, though, since he didn't want to impact her life negatively; he didn't want to become like her. His hands tightened around each other as she read. Just thinking about what his family had done to his father would've made his blood boil if he had any. I knew that wasn't true. Yes, he was heartbroken over my mother leaving for another man that offered her more travel, more chances to test out new recipes. (F/n) wondered if that was why he didn't like cooking so much, but she had a feeling that it also was because of his partner, who sounded like he had been a cook too.

But, he didn't let that control him. He looked after me even when he was extremely busy. My grandparents helped too, and I suppose that's why it came as such a shock. (F/n) looked to him briefly and watched him pass her another note. When she saw it, she almost could feel the pain and surprise coming from the words. I also knew that the overdose was a lie because I saw what they did. Once my father had wealth, my grandparents must've become consumed by it and the new lifestyle they had. But, they hid that side so well.

I had no idea until I saw them. They made it look like an overdose. Gave him too many pain relievers for the headaches he'd sometimes get. They were the kind that dissolved in water. Lee's head hung forward. He had trusted them and probably didn't think too much on the water being more concentrated from more of the pills. Somehow, he managed to tighten his hands around each other, and he wished that he could tell her instead of writing it all down. It hurt more to write it.

Getting up from her seat, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. "You don't have to continue." But, she was beginning to understand how he might've turned to violence. At a young age, he witnessed people who he trusted kill the person he looked up to, the person who always had been there for him.

Slowly, he reached his hands up and held her arms to him. If he could cry, he would be from the sorrow and fury that his grandparents had caused him at such a young age. Lee shook his head, though, to her statement. He wrote another note when he withdrew his hands from her. She read over his shoulder. No one believed me when I tried to tell them what had happened. No one believed that I witnessed them upping the dosage or that they had locked me away to prevent me from telling my father when they noticed that I saw them. When he rocked back and forth a little, she had a feeling that he might be chuckling but not from happiness. Who'd believe an eight year old?

"I don't know if it counts for much, but I believe you." Slightly, he smiled even if she couldn't see it, and he leaned back into her arms, enjoying the comfort they brought him. "But, what about when you got older? Couldn't you report them?"

I could've, but the case was old. Not to mention that they had all of my father's connections. Even if I claimed my inheritance when I had turned twenty one, I wouldn't have been able to do much. I would've just looked like I had been after the business and was making lies up. It would've been easy for them to frame it that way. Lee moved his seat closer to the counter so that he could write better while leaning against her. She didn't mind, and he appreciated that immensely.

Even as a preteen and teen, I realized that would be the case as I got older. When I turned eighteen, I left that house immediately and kept my distance so as not to draw their attention. I told them that I wouldn't talk if they left me alone, and that arrangement seemed to work. He seemed to be chuckling again, but she had no idea how to read it that time if he was. I suppose my lack of being able to do something led me to darker thoughts that festered with time. And when I entered college, I met Jared in our shared business courses. We clicked when we had to work on a project together. Our way of thinking and interests were similar.

"Had he gone through something similar?" She went to move to his side and pull her chair over closer, but his hands reached up and held her to him. (F/n) glanced down before she settled back into the position she had been in before.

Yes. He hadn't experienced death, but his parents, like my grandparents, had lied to him on many accounts. They told him that they loved each other, yet he saw them cheating. They thought that he hadn't noticed. But in public, they looked to be the perfect restaurant-owning couple. And, he knew that his parents only had him so that the restaurant stayed in the family.

"And, that led you both to murder?" she asked even though she already knew the answer.

It did. We both had morbid interests, and we learned that after talking with each other further after that project. It had taken several conversations, but we eventually trusted the other one to open up to each other. Lee's hands grabbed hers before she got further in reading. He held onto them tightly but not uncomfortably so. She hadn't left him, and he doubted that she would now, but holding onto her reassured him further of that. We wanted to see what made people tick, what their interests were. Jared wanted to learn the reasons why people lied, and he'd dispose of them once he had that since he no longer carried interest past that point.

Thumbs rubbing over the backs of her hands, they caught her attention. Even if he didn't want to admit it, she had a feeling that he was nervous. So, she leaned against his back more to tell him that she still was there. Already, she had accepted a lot of information. It wouldn't make sense for her to back out now. I wished to learn people's truths and use those to break them before they died.

We trusted each other enough not to tell on the other. By day, we'd be running businesses we enjoyed, and by night, we released our darker desires. As you know, though, that didn't last. To get more comfortable, she rested her chin on his shoulder, and he leaned his head back into her. If he could close his eyes, he would, just to enjoy her presence further. I got into an accident, and he slipped up. He saved my life only to end it.