Chapter Twenty-Four
Recap:

So basically, Ivory’s mom is in a coma from an accident and there’s a bit of suspicion on what happened but she ignores it because she’s your average stupid main character.  Her college brother, Brent is back also. Madam Jin and Ivory go visit her mom and suddenly Madam Jin starts acting weird. And there are hints of warmth between Ivory and Lee, but is it all an act just for Madam Jin? Should she care about Lee while Mark is being so sweet to her? Play the song when it says, "Play Song."

“Madam Jin!”

    As the color disappears from her face, her frail body slowly crumples to the marble white floor. She lands next to where she had dropped her flowers, a few inches away from my mother’s hospital bed. The beep of the monitor connected to Mom’s heart rate is all I can hear in the eerie silence. And then I’m rushing towards her.

    I kneel down beside her, holding her forearm. “What’s wrong?” I ask. “Are you okay? Are you not good in hospitals? I can take you out for a second.”

    She doesn’t respond, her fingers shaking. I pull her to her feet. I think it’s best she goes outside anyways. I place her in one of the plastic seats in the waiting room of the hospital and rub her cold, shaking hands in hope I can calm her down. I have no idea what’s wrong with her.

    “It’s okay,” I whisper again and again. I rub her fingers with my hands. “Everything’s okay.” Should I call a doctor to check on her or what?

    Her breathing slows and I decide she’s fine.

    She looks up at me and there’s a look in her eyes. It has so much emotions. I never thought you could actually feel emotions by looking at someone’s eyes but as I look into hers I feel it—the pain, the loss, the shock—and I see the tears.  I raise my eyebrows in confusion. I know people can be sympathetic and cry with you over your loss but this is a whole other level that Madam Jin is on.  It’s like it’s her mother on the hospital bed and not mine.

    “I,” she speaks, “I’m sorry about that.”

    “I don’t know what to say,” I tell her. “What happened? Do you need a doctor?”

    Madam Jin looks away. “She just… she reminds me of someone.” She wipes her bloodshot eyes and sniffs. “It just, it can’t be the person I’m thinking of, I’m sure.”

    Oh. It’s not anything serious, I think in relief.  I speak too soon.

    “But I can’t be too sure,” she says suddenly. Her phone is suddenly in her hand and she’s up, pacing around the hallway and she punches in numbers in the phone. “I know this is disrespectful but I need to make sure.”

    I stand up. “Make sure what, Madam Jin? What’s going on?”  I follow right behind her, tracing her steps. I don’t want to let her out of my sight. She’s not stable.

    Suddenly, she stops. She rushes inside the room where my unresponding mother is. Madam Jin looks at the phone, then my mother, the phone, and then my mother. She does it one more time and then she drops her cell phone.  

    “It’s her.”

    “Who?”

    “She’s…she’s my Mary.”

    “Madam Jin… What are you talking about? This is my mother. Her name isn’t Mary, it’s Helen,” I whisper. It’s so difficult to see someone so composed standing in front of me, a complete mess, calling my mother by a different name.  I have no idea what’s going on. While Madam Jin continues to stare at my mother, I whip out my phone and text the one person that I always go to.

    Something’s wrong with Madam Jin. I need help, I text to Lee.

    “This is definitely Mary.”

    “Are you okay, Madam Jin? Come with me.” I reach out my hand. “Let’s go sit down. We can talk this out.”

    She stares at my hand, at me, at my mother. “Why don’t you believe me?” she screams and I wince. She’s never yelled at me before. Reaching down to pick up her phone, she dials a number and runs a hand through her messed up hair. “Hello? Yes… yes…it’s me. I’m going to need two units of security pronto to room A203. Yes… send the best ones you’ve got.” Her phone slaps shut and she puts her loose strands of hair behind her hair and starts pacing around.

    I don’t know what to say. She just yelled at me. But, I want to help her. “What’s going on, Madam Jin? What can I do?”

    She ignores me like I’m not even there and continues pacing and then stops abruptly. “You,” she says, “you have albums, right? Pictures? Anything of Mary—your mom?” I nod. “Good, where are they?”

    “Home.”

    “Let’s go,” she says in a frantic manner I’ve never seen her in.

     The car ride to my house is fast and reckless and Madam Jin presses her driver to hurry up even though we’ve ran over at least three red lights. Even though it’s spring and the ice has melted, it feels as if at any second the car will flip over and skid into a tree. Nonetheless, we get to my house in one piece. Both of us rush inside, greeted by Lee.

    “What’s going on?” he says. “I just got your text. I was about to come to the hospital.”

    Madam Jin rushes by him too, driven by a force to find those photo albums. She rushes to the bookcase in the living room where all the albums are stacked in perfect order from year to year. She slides a random one out and flips through it. Sweat appears on her usually flawless face.

    “I don’t know what’s going on, Lee,” I tell him, holding onto his forearms as he holds me. I didn’t realize I was leaning onto him.

    “What happened?” His face is worried and confused just like mine. His eyes dart to Madam Jin and then back to mine.

    “I—We were at my mom’s room at the hospital. Suddenly, she just cracked or something because she started crying and I had to take her out of the room. She kept calling my mom ‘Mary’ and then she called her security team to watch my mom,” I explain. “Now she said she wanted to see the photo albums.”

    “What is happening?” Mark says, walking into the room. “Grandma Jin?”

    Lee calls him over and starts speaking to him in hushed tones and I go kneel down next to Madam Jin. She’s on the floor next to scattered albums, all open. Flipping through each one slowly, she starts crying. There’s a picture of my mom when she was younger and Madam Jin runs her finger over it. “This is… This is Mary.”

    “Mary? Who is this Mary?” I ask gently.

    “Mary...Mary…she’s alive,” she whispers quietly. She closes the album and holds it to her chest, clutching it as if she lets go, this Mary person will disappear with it.

    Mark brings over a cup of tea and places it next to Madam Jin. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but drink this, Grams.” He puts his arms on Madam Jin’s shoulders. “Let’s get you on the couch, okay?”

    She nods and gets up. I help Mark support her over to the couch where she sits, still clutching the album with her dear life. Lee brings over the tea and leaves it on the coffee table nearby. We all take a seat on one of the surrounding seats, me sitting right next to her to make sure she doesn’t faint or something.

    “Can you explain what’s going on, Madam Jin?” Lee asks, staring firmly at her.

    Her wobbly and aging hands reach for the tea. Some tea swishes out of the cup and onto her lap as she brings it to her mouth but she doesn’t flinch. She closes her eyes as she sips her tea as if telling herself to get it together.

    “Mary,” Madam Jin repeats, “she’s alive.” Why does she keep repeating Mary?

    Mark’s eyes flick back and forth. “Wait a minute… you mean aunt Mary?”

    “Yes!” Madam Jin’s eyes twinkle, happy at least someone knows what in the world she’s talking about. “Yes, Aunt Mary. Do you remember her?”

    “I-I don’t know. She kind of disappeared when I was around four or five.”

    “Yes, that Aunt Mary!” Madam Jin says. It takes a while for me to register that Mark and Madam Jin are basically family—not biologically, but close enough to be one.

    “What about her?” Mark questions, looking even more confused.

    “Well, she’s alive,” Madam Jin says. “Mary is Ivory’s mom.”

    “What?” Mark’s eyes almost fall out. “There’s no way.”

    “Yes,” Madam Jin says. “It’s true. I know she and my son went missing and we presumed them to be dead, but I saw her, Mark! I saw her with my own eyes. She looks a bit different—older obviously, but it’s her. In the flesh and bone and the only question I have is how and why. I never thought I’d see my daughter-in-law again but now that I know she’s alive, there might be a chance my son might be too!”  

    I’m at a loss for words. My mother? The daughter-in-law of some rich woman with huge power and wealth? My mother, who loves to stay in and paint in ratty clothes? My mother who is so opposed of lying couldn’t and wouldn’t have been lying to me my entire life. This isn’t my mother she speaks of.

    “She had a son and a daughter! That’s you, Ivory! Your name wasn’t Ivory. It was Lilianna. It all makes sense. That’s why you looked so much like her. If the daughter had survived too, you’d be the same age as her!”  Madam Jin gushes. I would hate to shut down her moment, but I have to.

    “Madam Jin…I-I’m sorry. I don’t think that’s my mother. That sounds nothing like my mother. She could’ve never lived such an extravagant life. And my father, he’s dead. He has been for a long time.” I stand up. “I’m sorry.”

    Everyone stares at me as I run upstairs to my room. Going up the stairs, my eyes get blurry and I know I’m about to cry. I shut the door to my room, jump on my bed, and let it out. Nothing makes sense. This can’t be true. I’m not Lilianna. My name is Ivory. My mother’s name isn’t Mary; It’s Helen. And my father… he’s dead and has been, right?

    There’s a soft tap at my door. I don’t respond.

    I keep face down on my pillows, wanting to scream. I’m starting to doubt myself, my life, my mother. How did this all happen?

    The door opens and I feel weight pushing down the bed seconds later. I just want to be left alone. This is the worst day of my life. A hand soothes my back in circles and I stop sobbing. It’s getting hard to breathe on a tear-soaked pillow. I know I’ll have to turn my head eventually but I’m such a mess and I’m not ready.

    “Leave me alone,” I mumble to whoever it is.

    The person keeps rubbing my back. It does calm me down but I want time to be angry and rage. I don’t want to calm down yet. I want to be angry.

    I can’t hold my breath any longer and I turn around, flicking off whoever’s hand off my back. I’m surprised to see Lee sitting there. I surely thought it was Madam Jin coming in to apologize for her absurd statements about my parents and my life.

    “Lee?” I whisper. Crying always makes my throat hurt.

    He puts a finger to my lips. “Shh, it’s okay.”  Lee brushes the tangles of hair away from my face. “You don’t have to talk.” Instead he opens his arms and his face is firm, ready for my rejection if I don’t want to give him a hug.

    “Leave me alone,” I whisper. “Please.” A tear rolls down my cheek.

    When he sees my tears pooling down my cheeks again, he doesn’t offer the hug anymore. He takes me in his arms gently and just hugs tightly.

    “Stop,” I mumble. “Stop. I don’t want a hug.” I say it weakly because I don’t want a hug but I need one. “Stop.” I try to keep my voice sturdy but the minute he touches my back and starts patting it, I lose it. Everything breaks inside me and I let my sobs loose again. Lee stays quiet and only holds me close.

    “It’s okay,” he says, rocking me back and forth.

    “Liar.” I hit his chest. I want to be angry.  Angry towards Madam Jin for telling me this information that’s messing up my head. Angry for my father dying. Angry for my mother laying in the hospital instead of being here. Angry because somewhere in Madam Jin’s words, something spoke to me—the truth. Somewhere in what she said was real. And I hate it. I always felt this knot over these years and she just loosened it. I’m just not ready yet to deal with it.

    “Hit me again.”

    “You liar,” I say angrily even though my voice is barely a whisper. I hit him in the chest again, my sobs getting louder. “You liar. It’s not going to be okay. It’s not.” I hit him again. “It’s not… it isn’t okay.” I raise my hand to hit him again and he catches it.  “Let me go! Let me go!” He holds on firmly. I try to tell him to let me go again but I just cry and let my hand slump down.

    “Ivory, calm down. You don’t know what’s true yet,” Lee says. “We have no one-hundred-percent proof to prove all these sayings. Don’t worry.”

    He’s right but I still feel something bothering me. But I shouldn’t take it out on him. Not on Lee, who hasn’t done anything bad to me no matter how many times I’ve hurt him or caused him trouble.

    I lean against chest without fighting. “I’m sorry.”

    He holds me tighter and kisses the top of my head.

❧

“Ivory, wake up.”

    I am nudged gently. My eyes twitch feeling the presence of bright light. Someone turned the lights on. I slowly open one eye but everything is blurry and blinding. I feel dry eye crust from crying. Ew.

    “Mark?” Slowly, my eyes open and focus on the person in front of me.

    “Yeah, I’m glad to see you haven’t gotten amnesia ” he jokes, grinning. Of course, his smile’s infectious so I offer a small smile. “Come on, it’s dinner time. You’ve been sleeping for over two hours.”

    “Yeah?” I ask. I rub my eyes. “Is…uh… um—”

    “She’s gone.”

    I look at him. “Really?”

    Mark smiles sadly. “Yes, she left earlier saying she had to go find out more information.” He offers me a hand and we both start walking to the kitchen. “Something about restarting the investigation of her dead son and his family and how she’d hire the best detectives this time.”

    “Oh,” I say uncomfortably. “T-That’s good. I hope she finds out more information and proof that my mother isn’t Mary.”

    He turns to me as he stops mid-staircase. He wants to say something, I can see it in his body language, but he just tightly presses his lips together. “Yeah.”

    I’m ready to ask him to tell me what he was going to say but the front door swings open with one happy looking guy walking through it. Brent walks in holding plastic bags filled with a lot of things. Huge soda bottles are the only things I can decipher.

    “I’m home!” he yells, grinning. “I know Mark bought a shitload of food earlier but we have a special occasion—what’s wrong?” His grins slips and his eyebrows pull together. Brent walks over to me on the stairs. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

    I feel my face. “I’m not crying, Brent.”

    “Well you must have been crying. Your eyes are swollen. You look awful.” Wow, thanks, Brent. I just needed you to say that out loud right in front of Mark.

    “It’s a long story.”

    “Did someone hurt you?” Brent says. His eyes pass over Mark accusingly. “Where’s the other one too? Liam or something?”

    “Lee,” I correct. “And I have no idea.”

    “Did someone call my name?” Lee suddenly pops out of nowhere and saunters into the room. He sees the bags of food by the door and looks inside them. “Brent, why did you bring home so much food? Mark already went crazy earlier at the market.”

    Brent walks down the stairs and grabs Lee by his collar. Lee doesn’t show any emotion, like he gets grabbed by the collar by overprotective brothers everyday. “What’d you do, you shit?” Brent growls. “Why was my sister crying?”

    Lee puts his hand on Brent’s wrist. “It wasn’t me for once actually.”

    Brent’s hands just grip Lee’s shirt tighter, ready to swing at him at any moment.

    “Really, Brent,” I say, running up to him. “It wasn’t him, Brent. Calm down, please. I’ll explain it all to you. It has nothing to do with Lee, leave him alone.”

    He looks at me and lets Lee go. “Ivory,” Brent says. “You better explain everything to me right now. It’s bad enough you didn’t tell me Mom almost fucking died, but if you’re hiding something else, I will literally lose my shit. And the fact that it’s your birthday and I’ve been a pretty shitty brother and now you’ve been crying, it’s making me feel like crap.”

    Lee, Mark, and I share a look. I don’t know if I should tell Brent. He’ll handle it worse than I did and he’s already so stressed, not to mention he has to get back to college soon. I won’t tell him for now. It can’t harm him.

    “Brent, it’s nothing,” I tell him. “I’m just crying because hormones, okay?”

    He knows it’s not the truth.  “Don’t lie to me, damn it.”

    “Brent, it’s my birthday, right?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Then for my birthday wish, can you please drop it?”

    I stare at him as confident as I can, trying to show him I’m serious and I don’t want to talk about it right now. He stares back just as strongly but nods. “Okay.”  He suddenly hugs me tightly, probably breaking all my ribs. “I’m sorry for being a shit brother, but Happy Birthday, Ivory!”

    Mark suddenly runs over and jumps on us, hugging too. “Happy birthday, Ivory!”  He starts squeezing too and it’s getting hard to breathe with two equally muscular men hugging me.

    “Get off me, you losers!” I yell but I don’t mean it. I grin. “I can’t feel my arms.” They just hug me tighter and even start spinning around.

    Somewhere in the midst of it, I see Lee standing by the door, arms crossed, with the light shining over his head angelically and he mouths, Happy birthday, Miss Ivory.

    I mouth back, Thank you.

    Brent stops spinning around and looks at me with bright eyes. “Now let’s have one hell of a birthday party for you!” He goes over and picks up the grocery bags. “I bought this huge chocolate cake and we have to go eat it before it melts!”

    “Cake?” Mark says, grinning. “Hell yeah! Let’s do this.”

    “I even bought some beer!” Brent says with pride. He looks at me. “I know the legal drinking age is twenty-one but since it’s your birthday, I’ll even let you have a sip or two. I think I’m back to being the best brother ever.”

    I grin. “Yes, you win back the title. You get everything ready, okay? I just want to go get some fresh air. It looks like it’s nice out tonight.”

    Brent smiles and nods. “Let’s go, Mark.”  They both happily race to the kitchen, looking like a pair of idiots as they hold grocery bags. I take this moment to pass by Lee and go outside.

    { PLAY SONG }

    I was right. There’s a hint of humidity in the air but other than that there’s a soft breeze that feels just perfect. I sit down on the porch, crossing my legs. I think about everything that’s just happened in the last few days and hours as I close my eyes. Madam Jin and her outburst, my mother in that accident, my feelings for Lee.  Ugh, Lee fucking Richardson. He messes me up so much and then he comes and hugs me when I’m crying. What the hell am I supposed to do? He has a fiance and we didn’t end with such a sweet goodbye before my mother got into the accident.  He gets angry and jealous a lot and he never makes sense and I’m in love with him.

    I’m in love with him.

    But this will never happen. Not in reality and not even in my fantasy.  And then there’s Mark, who’s sweet and endearing. He’s never yelled at me and he has always made sure I’m having a good time with his easy going smiles and laughs.

    I put my face in my hands and groan, utterly frustrated. Everything is so messed up and fucking complicated. Five months ago, I was just a normal boring girl with stupid catfights with her ex-bestfriend and in love with boring Peter.  I never should’ve lied. I never should’ve met Lee or Mark or Madam Jin. My mother shouldn’t be in a hospital bed right now. Everything is wrong.

    “Your brother has one hell of a grip, Miss Ivory.”

    Lee’s there and he sits down, loosening his office shirt. And here he is. Stupid Lee with his stupid formal clothes all the time and his stupid way of calling me Miss Ivory.

    “Stop calling me that,” I say.

    “I’m just being polite.”

    “You make it sound I’m thirty. I’m only eighteen—nineteen now anyway.”  Nothing feels different. I still feel stupid and young and stuck with this life.

    “Oh yeah,” Lee says. He looks at me with his intense—stupid—blue eyes and has the decency to smile! “Happy birthday again.” He pulls out a sunflower and hands it to me. The flower is droopy and dying. It’s probably been in his pocket. “Uh, sorry, it’s dead, but girls like this stuff, right?”

    I look at it, and take it anyway. “Did you just steal this from my own front yard?”

    He turns a little red and looks away. “No! I would never.” He turns back and grins. “Yeah, okay, maybe I did. So what, it’s the thought that counts. You’ll get better ones tomorrow.”

    It’s so strange to see him joking around and being affectionate. I’ll never get out of this cycle of falling for him and then getting my heart broken and I know it. But my life is already so messed up, I don’t actually care.

    “Tomorrow?” I ask.

    “Yes, tomorrow.” Lee bites his bottom lip, looking a bit worried. “I know this is bad timing and a lot of things are going on in your life right now but I want to take your mind off of things and it’s your birthday. So will you come with me tomorrow?”

    “Come with you where?”

    “Somewhere. I want to tell you it’s a secret and I’ve been planning this a long time—well, I haven’t, but, uh—nevermind.”

    “No, say it.”

    “I don’t know where I’m taking you just yet but just pretend I’m this really cool guy that knows what he’s doing and is being cool and mysterious.”

    This makes me laugh. “You are definitely a cool guy that knows what you’re doing and is being cool and mysterious.” I’m happy he’s being playful and careless for a minute. He’s only a year or two older than me, though he acts like he’s forty much of the time.

    “So it’s a date?”

    I gasp audibly. I look over at him and he’s looking the other way, like the chipping paint on my porch is totally more interesting. His ears are red and this is all cute but I have to think straightly. “But, Lee—”

    He turns and looks at me in the eyes. Now it’s me who turns away. “Ivory. I know, I know there’s a lot of things between us with Penny and the lies and everything. I know there are risks and we have to face reality but for just a couple days, can we act like I’m not some world famous billionaire. Like you’re just a girl and I’m just a boy and there’s nobody else. Like there’s no Madam Jin, no Mark, no Penny, no parents. Just for a day?”

    I face him. I want it. I want to act reckless and normal for just a day. Like Lee and I just met like any other couple did. Like we didn’t have questions between us like what we were to each other. Like if he even liked me back. As if we were just regular—no lies, no reporters, no stress and as if today never happened. But that just isn’t how it is.

    “Lee,” I say sadly. “You know we can’t—”

    His lips are on mine. His hands are in my hair. I forget what I’m going to say.

    He pulls back. “Please, Ivory.” I don’t recognize his sad, sparkling eyes that seem even bluer with the moon shining down on them. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get one day without being insane.” His forehead meets mine, our noses touching. “Just one day, just you and me.” He takes in a breath. “Please. You’re the only sane thing that’s ever fucking happened to me.”

    Everything in that sentence is contradicting. First, Lee’s swearing and my thoughts are clogged and he’s so hot. Second, I lied to the world saying we were together and that’s how we met—how is that even close to sane? What he’s asking is insane, though. There are so many consequences.

    I kiss him back anyway.

I'm back, baby. Okay, I don't know if I'm really back but here's a chapter. I finally got my shit together and sat down and told myself if I didn't upload this today and now, I never would. School is still here and I haven't even done half the projects I need to, but whatever. I still have exams and everything but I will try my best to update as much as possible. I know all of you want to shoot me with a rifle, but I'm here. SHOUTOUT TO ALL THE PEOPLE THAT STAYED AND STILL LOVE ME. xoxo

Special thanks to Jen (conscience) for encouraging (threatening to kill me jkjk) me to upload and all the fans that have too. You're all the best and see you next time♥

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