Page 63 of Illusion of Loving

Present

“You have certainly grown.” My mother’s mother gleams. “And who is this?” She asks looking over at Taurus.

My father walks into the room and glares at them. “What are you doing in my house?” His voice seemed calm but the last time I heard him use that tone was the last time he spoke to them.

“We wanted to visit our daughter.” She replies.

My mother stands at the door frozen in place.

“You may never understand this because you don’t share blood with the family that took you in, but blood ties are important.”

“Blood ties? Where the fuck was your blood ties when you kicked Yi out of the house in the snow? Where were your blood ties when we got our first home together, when my son was born, when my grandson was born?”

“Grandson? Where is my great-grandchild?”

Greyson comes down the stairs, “NaiNai, who is this?”

Chapter 17

Ru

“Who am I? You’re not young enough to be my great-grandchild, I’m guessing my grandson followed in his mother’s footsteps and had a child at an immature age as well.” My mother’s mother comments.

I can tell my dad is going to lose it because I realize we both make the same faces right when we are at the point of no return. I go down the steps and pull my father away before he loses it in front of everyone. My father is calm until it comes to my mother. He has loved her since before he even knew what it meant, and I understand his anger. In a way, Taurus and I are going through something similar with her mother and Greyson’s antics. I would do anything to keep her mind at peace.

“Dad, let mom handle this. Please, don’t let them antagonize you.” I say in Mandarin.

My father calms himself. Taurus looks hesitant about what to do, so I grab her hand and kiss it. “You’re hungry, right?” I say with a smile.

She nods and follows dad and I to the kitchen. Taurus sits on the chair connected to the island and taps on the marble nervously.

“Go, be with your mom because if I go out there, I will set this whole house on fire just to see them die.” My father admits.

I look over at Taurus and she signals me to go.

Taurus

Ms. Young never spoke publicly about her family life. All people knew was that she had a partner.

“I’m sorry if this ordeal is making you uncomfortable.” Mick starts uneasily.

I jerk my head quickly, “We all have family members we go through hell with, trust me, I understand. My mom is horrendous.”

“And your dad?” He asks cautiously.

My heart skips, “He was a nice guy, but he passed away when I was young.”

Mick nods. “So…Yi told me about…well everything.” His nervous laughter tells me he knows.

The time to speak is over. I don’t dare utter another word just yet.

“This is a very interesting predicament…” He looks out of the window in the kitchen, “How do you feel about him? Are you serious about him?”

Fuck it, I’m going to say it, “I’m in love with him. I love him, I do, and I know that I shouldn’t say that so soon, but it’s what I feel.” I pause, “You know when women get hurt in a relationship, long-term or not, it’s almost as if they are expected to grieve their relationship and not move on. I grieved my relationship for a year and somehow, I still feel as if I’m doing something wrong. Not because of the relationship between them, but because we as women are just told that we should not move on so soon and be happy. If you fall in love sooner than people are comfortable with, you are labeled as heartless, but when a man moves on, he is someone who can get back on his feet.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Mick smiles. “It’s not the ideal situation, but Ru has never introduced us to someone he was dating. Actually, I don't think he’s ever been in a relationship. You must be special to him, which makes you special to us.”

“Thank you.”

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