yeah this might get confusing because imma be changing the name of each part - lets just call this the 'lee felix series'.

I strongly suggest you play the above at 0.5 playback speed but silence is great too :)

TW: MENTIONS AND DEPICTIONS OF PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS (kinda)

Word count: 4, 900

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The following takes place 5 years after the prologue. The main character, Zoya, is now 23 years old.

Every single day I'm getting more and more fed up with living in this household. Most 23-year-olds would simply just take out a loan and move out. Not me though. I'm still under my parents' control. They say I can't move out until I marry. And not just any guy, one they approve of. Ironically, my ideal guy isn't exactly someone they would approve of. Their standards are pretty high - even I don't meet their standards.

My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl a few months back. I chose her name: Mia-Nora. A Latin-Greek name that means 'my wished-for shining light'. Because that's what she is to me. A wonderful gift that never fails to make me smile. Mia-Nora already has a beautiful smile and I absolutely love babysitting her. At least when she's around our house, the shouting voices turn to hushed whispers and for a while, everything seems peaceful. I love her more than anything but it hurts to see her get more love and get treated with much more care than I was.

Right now, I'm currently getting dressed to welcome the newly moved neighbours into our neighbourhood. We usually don't do stuff like this - we usually just kept to ourselves, but apparently our neighbours were dad's important work colleagues or something like that.

15 minutes later, I hurried downstairs in a frenzy as the neighbours had already arrived. Being late was a notorious habit of mine, but this time it really wasn't my fault. They arrived earlier than they said they would - a whole hour earlier. I mean, what were they expecting?

Slowly, I opened the door to the lounge. Without even looking, I knew my father's eyes were on me, staring daggers. After trying on about 10 different outfits, I got fed up and just put on something risky. This particular dress really helped me feel confident because I looked amazing and I knew it. It hugged my body in all the right parts and the baby blue looked magnificent on me.

The only problem was that it was too short and showed quite a bit of cleavage. The strap strings weren't helping either. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved dresses in this style. I just wasn't allowed to wear them. They were considered 'inappropriate' and 'slutty'.

Somehow legs and shoulders were considered inappropriate - I have no idea where that logic came from and so you'll always find me rebelling against it.

"So sorry I'm late, I'm Zoya Munoz. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I stuck my hand out to shake who I presumed to be my dad's colleague's wife as she was the closest to me.

"No worries, dear. My name is Ji-Eun Lee. You can just call me Ji-Eun. You look beautiful, by the way."

"Thanks, Mrs L - uh, Jieun. You look amazing too." I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. Thanks Mrs Lee, I needed that.

I then turned to Mr Lee, who had a beaming smile on his face, seemingly happy with our interaction. He greeted me politely, as did I, and nudged a hunched figure by his side that I failed to notice before.

A blonde boy who seemed around my age slowly looked up at his father as he took out his headphones before looking up at me with wide eyes. Upon further inspection, I could see some freckles dusted across his skin as well as soft, blush coloured lips with kind eyes.

Zoya fell into some kind of trance as she stared at him. She was so distracted that the world around her faded. She could no longer feel her father's harsh eyes on her (even though they still were) and she missed the look in his eyes as he slowly stood up to greet her, lost in her beauty too.

"Uh... hi. I-I'm Felix. Felix Lee."

This was possibly the most awkward way to introduce yourself, but Felix was stunned. He just stood there blinking like an idiot until Zoya smiled softly and held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Felix."

"Oh! I'll get you a chair." Felix said quickly, snapping out of his daze and dashing out of the room.

I blinked in surprise, the action too quick for me to process. After a couple of seconds, I looked over to see my dad's gaze on me hardening.

'This is not how you treat guests.' I could feel him saying, causing me to quickly run out of the room in search of Felix. I was in for it later, and I knew. Felix seemed to have gotten lost as I found him in the pantry.

"I thought you were going to get me a chair, not bake me a cake." I raised my eyebrows as a smirk played on my face.

"Oh, hey." He was a little startled as he turned around to face me. "I, um, got lost... but I actually wouldn't mind baking you a cake."

Cute.

"All right, you owe me a cake then. Go and sit back down, I'll bring a chair."

"No, let me help-"

"I'll get in trouble if you do."

"What?"

"What?"

"Why would you get in trouble for letting me be a gentleman?"

"That's just what my parents believe." Crap. I revealed too much.

"Huh? I'm so confused."

"Basically, you're a guest. I'm supposed to serve you and whatnot. It's like how when you go over to someone's house you're basically forbidden to ask for food? It's like that but with rules for hosting guests instead."

"I still don't get it. Why won't you just let me get you the chair? I won't be offended, I promise. I'm just trying to do something nice for you."

"I know, and I get that, but I'll get in troubl-"

"You seem my age. What are your parents gonna do, tell you off?"

"Not exactly."

All of a sudden, voices were heard outside as the light turned off, followed by voices receding. Felix's hand immediately found mine.

Ha, there goes all that talk of being a gentleman.

But the longer he held my hand, the more I understood. He wasn't holding my hand; he was grasping it desperately, tightly. The sounds of shallow breathing slowly became audible.

He wasn't trying to make a move, he was scared.

I slowly moved my hand so that our fingers were now interlinked, and held his other hand with my free one.

"Are you scared of the dark? I promise nothing will reach out and nab you. Plus if something is here, it'll hurt me first. You'll have time to run away to safety."

"Do you always sacrifice your life for strangers? How do you know I'm worth it?" He chuckled softly, and his tight grip loosened a little.

"Hey, if there's a way to stop others from getting hurt by sacrificing myself then I would. And you seem like you want to live a lot more than I do. That's how I know. "

"Don't say that. What about your parents? I'm sure they'd be devastated if you died out of nowhere."

"Eh, debatable." I looked around as my eyes adjusted, slowly walking us to the door.

"Come on, your parents are probably annoying sometimes, but I'm sure they love you really."

Yeah. Love. Sure.

"Seeing as you know so much about the subject, how would you be able to tell if your parents truly loved you or not?"

We were getting dangerously close to a triggering topic. Something I would usually never even let someone talk about with me. But Felix was no longer shaking, he was more interested in me than in his fear of the dark. It was distracting him. So, until we were back out, I endured the way we danced on the topic.

"Well, I guess you could just tell. Hugs and kisses, saying 'I love you', making the effort to at least try and make it home for dinner so you could all eat together, having their support. When you know that they'd always have your back, that they'd never judge you. They always have your best interests at heart and always let you know when they've done well. It's probably different for everyone, but that's what I can see my parents doing. I'm so thankful for them."

We were by the door but I couldn't open it. I couldn't risk the light flooding in and exposing the saltwater that had somehow found its way down my cheek.

"Must be nice."

I quickly took my hands out of his, trying to wipe my eyes as discreetly as possible.

"Here, let me."

Felix gently reached out and cupped my cheek as he wiped away my tears. A shiver ran down as he continued to do so. My body seemed to react on its own as I leaned to his touch and more tears began to spill.

"I'm sorry, I don't even know why I'm crying. Must be that time of the month again."

Please please please, believe me, just this once.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. Not everyone has great parents... that was insensitive of me."

He didn't even take the bait.

He tried to dry my neverending tears, but eventually got fed up (I guess) as he wrapped his arms around me and pushed me to his chest.

"Cry as much as you want. If you can't stop, it means that it's been long overdue. Your heart's really been hurting lately, hasn't it?" He asked softly as he rested his head on mine.

Shut up, I hate how you're reading me so easily.

"W-we really need to get out of here. You wouldn't happen to have a tissue, would you?"

"No, but I do have this."

He took out his pocket square and wiped my tears ever so delicately. The fabric was soft and silky - definitely expensive and hard to wash. His touch was much more gentle than what I was used to. Ironically, I could feel more love and care from a stranger than I had than from the two people who supposedly knew me best my whole life.

"Wait." I put my hand on his, causing us to both freeze. My eyes still hadn't adjusted to the dark just yet, but they didn't need to. I could feel just how close he was. Something tells me that if the light was on, I would have ran away straight away. I could feel his breath hitting my jaw slightly, and it felt so exhilarating.

"What is it?" He whispered, breaking me out of my trance.

"I, um, I think that your handkerchief is too expensive to be used on my tears. You'll get it dirty and then you'll have to dry clean it and Lord knows that'll cost a fortune."

He chuckled softly as he carefully took my hand off his and continued to dry the remnant of my tears.

"This could cost me an arm and a leg and you'd still be worth more than it. It's just cloth. Expensive, yes, but I'd use it on you a million times." I could feel the smile on his face from the way he talked. He paused for a second, allowing me to see slightly more than just his silhouette. His eyes seemed to hold a confused expression before he continued on. "And don't you dare let anyone tell you that you're worth less than something material like this. You're worth more than the world. Don't sell yourself short."

My heart was caught in my throat; I had never been told this personally before. Sure, you hear it all the time, 'value your self-worth above all else' 'don't settle for less.', but when you hear it from someone who's speaking directly to you, it feels so... encouraging. It felt as if Felix was giving me a green light to stick up for myself, to keep going. And I couldn't be more thankful. That's probably why the tears fell. Again.

My eyes had finally fully adjusted, allowing me to see Felix, who was looking at me with so much... so much emotion. What emotion, exactly? I couldn't tell you. His lips turned up into a soft smile as he spoke.

"No need to cry, princess. We're pretty much best friends now. You ask me for anything, no matter how expensive and I would happily give it to you. But nothing would be able to compare to the real masterpiece that is you. And that's the simple truth. So don't you go around letting others tell you and make you believe otherwise." He said softly.

At first, I thought that his expression was one of pity, but it was too... determined to be pity. Looking back, I now know that that gaze was one of endearment. It just looked different from the TVs and how I imagined it in my head.

This guy standing in front of me, Felix, was a stranger. And yet, I couldn't help but draw closer to him. "Can you stop speaking? You're hitting deeper than I'd like."

In response, Felix smiled as he wiped the last tear. "Yes ma'am." He put the pocket square in his pocket before taking my hands in his. "But, can I offer something before I shut up? A hug? They're really healing, I promise."

I nodded slowly as Felix cautiously moved towards me and wrapped his arms around me again. Except, this time, he hugged me tighter. I actually enjoyed it, it made me feel protected. I could feel him pulling away so I wrapped my arms around his torso and laid my head on his chest.

"Well, would you look at that? The princess doesn't want me to let go." Felix said, the smirk evident in his voice.

"Hey, I'm only not letting you leave because you're warming me up. Don't get any ideas, mister." I looked up to scan his face, raising my eyebrow slightly.

"You're right, though. This is nice. Relaxing." he said as he placed his arms back around me and rested his head on mine.

"So do you always comfort random strangers you get lost in the pantry with?"

"No, but you comforted me first so it's only right I repay the favour."

We stayed like that for a couple of minutes. Either I desperately needed a hug, or Felix was just a really good hugger. Either way, I didn't want to let go. That hug was super warm and enveloping to the extent that I really wanted to just sleep right there and then. Yeah, I was probably hug-starved.

"Our parents are probably wondering where we are so, um..." Felix started, caressing my back softly as if to gently tell me to let go.

"Oh right, yeah."

I slowly pulled away and cleared my throat, opening the door.

"Our parents would've moved to the dining table. Don't worry, there are enough chairs."

I led Felix down a couple of hallways on our way to the dining room.

"Wow, this place looks like a palace! You must love living here!" He exclaimed, looking up at the marble walls."

"Yeah, it has it's advantages. But why are you surprised? From what I've heard, your family is quite well off. I mean, you live next door. Your house probably looks the same."

"Not really. I could probably afford a house like this but my parents feel like it's a bit intimidating and not 'homey' enough. I agree with them, to be honest."

"I see where you're coming from. This house is magnificent but it's never felt like home to me. I don't know if that's the house or if it's because of..." I zoned out as we passed by a cupboard I used to hide in when I was younger.

"But surely you must enjoy living here? Zoya?"

"H-huh?" I looked up at Felix who had taken a few steps forward.

"What's so special about this cupboard?" He said with a smile as he approached to stand in front of it. He tilted his head to look at it.

"It was my favourite cupboard when I was younger." I cleared my throat and started walking again. Felix seemed appeased as he started walking again.

Our footsteps echoed loudly as we walked down wide halls decorated with marble walls. The constant clacking of our shoes against the floor filled the awkward silence as we worked our way from one end of the house to the other.

"So what school do you go to? And should I go?"

I chuckled at his attempt at conversation. "Elmsbury College. I don't think you should come here. You'd probably get eaten alive."

"What? I can be scary when I need to be!" He said defiantly with a frown on his face.

"I meant the girls. You're straight out of a magazine, they'd definitely want to date you one after the other. Which is fine if you're into that, but it'll probably get quite tiring after a while."

Felix stopped walking and leant against a wall, posing.

"So what you're saying is, you'd really love to date me? You find me attractive, right?"

I raised an eyebrow at him before checking him out, and ending with a cringing face.

"Sorry Felix, I have high standards. You don't meet them." I said with a shrug and walked past him to open the door to the dining room.

"You coming?"

"Is there food?"

"Well yeah, why would we be in the dining room otherwise?"

"Great!" He excitedly says and walks in.

I don't know what I was expecting my father's colleague's son to be like but it certainly wasn't that. Thought he'd be a bit more... reserved.

I follow in behind him and take a seat next to him. When we start to eat, I make sure to offer food to the guests, waiting for them to be satisfied before taking my own portion and sitting down to eat. I open my mouth to put a spoonful of food in before seeing an arm reach to get some food.

Ah, Felix. Forgot about him.

Ignoring my father's disapproving stare, I put my spoon down and get up to see what he's reaching for.

"Oh, would you like some rice?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'll get it. You seem hungry so sit down and eat."

"No, it's fine. It'll only take a few seconds." I said with a small smile and grabbed his plate from him and put a serving spoonful of rice on it. "Anything else? Maybe some meat? Or soup?"

"That's it, thank you." He smiled, reaching for his plate. I gave it to him with a skeptical look.

"That's all you're gonna eat?"

"I have a small apetite. Don't you see how skinny I am?"

I didn't believe him. I mean, there's no way he could possibly be eating that much and staying healthy. That's why I should've seen what happened next coming.

Felix ate his rice but slowly, aware of the fact that Zoya kept looking to see if he really was just going to eat the rice or get more. When he was sure that Zoya had lost interest and was focused on her own food, he got up and quickly reached for the meat, putting two slices on his plate.

"What are you doing?" My father's voice cut through the air as he made eye contact with me. Confused, I looked around to see Felix frozen, holding his plate and a serving spoon for the samosas. He smiled at me, almost as if he was trying to comfort me before putting samosas on his plate.

"Felix-"

"It's okay, Mr Munoz. I'm a big boy who's blessed with hands. I can serve myself. Zoya can enjoy her food whilst I get mine." He offered my father a smile whilst I looked on with wide eyes.

"It's not proper. You are a guest-"

"And I feel uncomfortable having someone else serve me food. I feel like they might judge me if I ask for more portions."

My father just stared at me as Felix continued to serve himself.

Uh-oh. I'm in for it later.

"It's really no big deal." Mr. Lee cut in. "Anyways, back to our conversation. Are you absolutely sure this is the best plan of action?"

"Can you just let me do it next time? I promise I won't judge you." I whispered to him.

"It's awkward. Plus you've barely eaten. You keep getting up every time someone makes a move to get some food."

"Don't worry about me. Just don't get involved and make things worse please."

"I'm really not going to get up to get more food-" He paused as my stomach rumbled. "See? You're hungry. Please eat."

I sighed and ate, knowing the damage had already been done. Halfway through my meal, our parents had all finished eating.

"This is no good. Come on, let's go talk in the drawing room." My mother tutted.

"Oh, but your daughter is still eating. Let's wait for her." Mrs Lee answered, giving me a soft smile.

"We can leave her here. She won't mind." My father said.

"Still, I'd rather have her in the room with us than by herself."

"Oh, it's okay, I wasn't that hungry anyways." Putting my fork down, I smiled at her and stood up.

"But your plate is still pretty full..."

"I'll stay with her, mum. Then you guys can all go talk about work or whatever. It's not like we need to hear whatever you guys say anyway."

"Thanks, Felix. "

As soon as they left, I turned and stared at Felix.

"I don't need babysitting."

"You know, your dad really gets on my nerves." Felix ignored me, changing the subject.

"You and me both." I turned focused on my food. I really was quite hungry.

"Wait, you're Felix Lee? As in Lee Felix?" I turned back to face him, something clicking in my head.

"Yes, that is my name." He answered, amused and then walked to the other side of the table. "So you can finish your food while talking." He explained when I looked at him weirdly.

"I thought you were trying to avoid me for a second. You're the heir to Modem Industries?"

"Yes. Your point?"

"So your father..."

"Is the CEO of Modem Industries. The company that owns your dad's company."

"That's why you guys are here then..."

"And you're Zoya Munoz?"

"Yeah." I answered, confused.

"As in Forbes' Most Interesting Individual to Watch Out For in 2022 from their Top Ten Most Interesting Individuals to Watch Out For in 2022 list?"

"Yeah, I guess. Don't really know why I'm on there if I'm honest."

Felix frowned. "Do you really not know? Did they not tell you?"

"I genuinely don't even know how Forbes found out about me. They didn't interview me or anything. I just got sent the article by my friend."

"I didn't mean Forbes - I meant do you really not know what's happening this year?"

"No. Why do you seem concerned? It's not like the world's going to blow up or anything."

"Zoya. Your dad - no - your parents plan to-"

"I'm done. Let's go."

"What about the plates?"

"Oh, Lily will get it."

"Who?"

"My parents hired a maid for the day. Come on, lets go back to the drawing room."

We went back and found our parents engrossed in conversation about both companies. Felix seemed to be interested and diligently payed atttention to what they were saying. I couldn't be bothered. The company wasn't going to me anyway, so I just zoned out instead. After a while, they finally got up to leave. We said our goodbyes, nothing out of the usual there. But just as Mr Lee stepped outside, he said something that bothered me.

"It was nice meeting you Zoya. I look forward to talking with you next time."

When he was out of earshot, I turned to my mother. "What does he mean next time? Are we inviting them around again?"

"Well, he works with your dad and I so he's likely to come round again. Him and his family."

I nodded and left to go to my room. It was safer there. Except, my father was already there. Waiting for his prey.

"Your behaviour today was unacceptable. You made me look like a fool in front of the Lees."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, it's just that Felix-"

SLAP!

"YOU KNEW THAT THEY WERE IMPORTANT. YOU KNEW WE HAD TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION, BUT INSTEAD, YOU EMBARASSED ME. YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAS NO CONTROL OVER THEIR HOUSEHOLD."

SLAP!

"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?"

SLAP!

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?"

SLAP!

My father paused for a moment before speaking again.

"And that dress. Just what were you trying to insuinate? You embarassed not only me, but yourself. Felix definitely thought you looked like a slut." He walked out and slammed the door behind him.

I broke down in tears, trying to quiet down my sobs. I knew this was coming and yet, it still stung. It hurt. It hurt so much after hearing Felix talk about his parents. And even more after that moment we had in the pantry.

I got up to go check my face, see how bad the damage was. A few red marks, slightly swollen. Heavy makeup should do the job.

CREAAAK.

I froze in my place. That sound was eerily familiar.

Before The Lees moved in, there was another family living in the house next to us. Old money, just like us. Their daughter was similar to me. Tanuja. We bonded over the fact that both of our fathers were absolute trash. So, when builders were working on her room to do an extension, both our parents out of the country for work, she managed to take some money and convince the builders to build a sort of treehouse. Except it connected the two houses - her room to mine.

The way our houses were built and laid out allowed for this to go without notice: a row of large, bushy evergreen trees hid the small room from view as well as the fact that it was quite a trek to go from the front or back doors to where our rooms were located. So no one ever noticed.

The small room had two doors on both ends, each with locks so that if our parents ever found out, we would be given some time to let the other know. The door was hidden behind my bookshelf and her makeshift closet. We learnt how to make mechanisms that would move them out of the way, each cleverly hidden and disguised so that you'd only be able to activate them if you knew where they were. We even added those mechanisms inside the room so we could move the bookshelf and closet back to its original position once we were inside. You'd be surprised how nifty a girl can be when backed into a corner.

We decorated it, and that tiny room became our safe Haven. We'd always go there to escape, to rant and relax. When she moved away, I helped her deactivate her mechanism and board up the door from her side. So, there's absolutely no way someone could be in that room right now. And if they were, they definitely heard everything my father just said.

I quickly activated it, pulling out my least favourite book which had been fitted with a fingerprint scanner. The bookshelf moved aside and I frantically unlocked the door to find no one. Did I imagine the creak? I hesitantly stepped inside to the floorboard we knew creaked. It had been Tanuja and I's signal to each other that we were inside and we needed the other.

CREAAAK.

Yup. Definitely the same creak. I did not imagine that. I stepped outside and locked the door and the bookshelf moved back to its original position. So, someone in the Lee family had heard everything that just went down.

I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be Felix or not. If it was Felix, I could probably sway him into not telling anyone. But, it was likely he would be at the same school as I attended. He didn't give me bad vibes or anything but I still wasn't sure if I trusted him. What if he tells people? But, better him than his parents. If his parents found out and did something at work then mine would take it out on me.

Sighing, I flopped on my bed and picked up my phone.

instagram: Lee Felix ✨ followed you

I clicked on his profile and checked it out.

felixlee

Lee Felix ✨

Current COO of @modemind

I want to meet someone who makes me feel the way music does 🐣

Follow                   Message 

I clicked on the message button, confused as to how he was already a Chief Operating Officer, only to a find a message from him awaiting me.

felixlee

You looked beautiful tonight                              22:55

That dress really suits you                                 22:55

Baby Blue is definitely your colour                    22:56

Message...

It was Felix standing in the room. He sent that a minute ago.

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I'M BACK!

I'm still going to take time writing and posting stuff but for my mental health, I've decided to write for at least one hour every day after school. I've got a lot planned for this series as well as nothing at all. It's gonna be a wild ride for you guys 😚

My dms are always open! do message me if you feel the need to talk or if something here upsets you.

Domestic abuse is something that I see happen to the people with the biggest hearts and it saddens me. Especially because their parents won't be the ones who are responsible for their lovely personality and will still take the credit for it when complimented on how amazing their kids are in public. It also happens to be something a lot of people in wattpad comments go through - that says a lot doesn't it? 🙃

Anyways, happy new year and merry christmas! I hope you all enjoyed 🥰❤️‍🔥