Segment: Confession

Coping

Third Person's P.O.V

The entire Lee family was sent to prison. Joong-ki Young had enough of the Lees. Joong-ki was the one that made the Lee go behind the bars. Joong-ki was that powerful. He was staying dormant because they weren't doing to his family, so there was no relation, but after the incident, Joong-ki had enough and did all he could to make sure the Lees rot in prison. 

The damage has already been done and Joong-ki can't help but regret his decision. It costed him his daughter and now he was guilty for everything. He couldn't believe Vince Lee would touch his daughter even after Joong-ki talked with his parents. 

Joong-ki oversees how Jamie hold his daughter dear in his arms inside their villa. Michaela pats Joong-ki's back. They all share a regretful look. They were both hoping that they weren't going to be hated by their only beautiful daughter, but that would be them asking for too much. Now, they were both placing their hopes in Jamie, for setting their mistake right - which was wrong and they know that too. 

"Will she not come back to us?" Joong-ki asks his wife. 

"Don't think like that, dear." 

They were back to the living room and waited for Jamie. After a few minutes of silence, Jamie returns to them. He was still angry and wanted to kill Vince but he shouldn't. So Jamie brought Vince to Jamie's school, naked and caged. That was his request to Joong-ki and Joong-ki happily granted him that reality. 

Joong-ki and Michaela stands up, like how they would greet a doctor out of the OR. Both of them were nervous of the results, and how it worked. 

"How is she?" Michaela asks the angry Jamie. Jamie looks at the faces of both parents and calms down. 

He had no right to get angry when he should also be at fault. The guilt now made its way up to his heart, making him look down. 

"She's sleeping, Mr. and Mrs. Young." the Youngs sit down and sighs in relief. 

"Did she say anything?" Joong-ki asks. 

"She.. she asked for a big bubble bath." Jamie says what Michelle asks of him before she fell asleep after all the crying she did. 

"That's all?" 

"Yes, Sir." Jamie knows what Joong-ki was asking about but sadly. he could not give them the answer. 

Joong-ki told Jamie to kindly ready the bath for Michelle, but before he could go do that, Michaela grabs Jamie's arm, making him stop. 

"Thank you," Jamie didn't turn around. Michaela lets go of his arm slowly. 

"I don't deserve that, Mrs. Young." Jamie says before walking away. 

Jamie prepares the bubble bath Michelle asks and wanted but he wasn't sure how much he should put in or when Michelle wakes up. 

"Ah, f**k it." he scowls and puts in a lot, almost emptying the half-full bottle. 

Jamie made sure it was full of bubbles before rinsing the bubbles off his arm. He went back to where Michelle was and he was surprised to see Michelle already sitting upright and staring at the abyss. Her face was blank, she had no emotions but Jamie could see how dead Michelle was in the eyes, and how dirty Michelle looks at herself. 

"Michelle?" Jamie slowly comes in, not wanting to freak Michelle out. 

Michelle looks up and sees Jamie being cautious. Michelle stands up and wobbles. Jamie rushes to her side and helped her walk. 

"Take it slow," Jamie says softly. 

"Thank you." 

Jamie helps Michelle go to the bathroom. Jamie stops at the door but Michelle gripped his arm hard, making him follow her inside. 

"Uhm, Michelle?" 

"Yes?" 

"I, I think I should wait outside." Michelle didn't look at him and watches her step towards the massive bathtub. 

"I don't think so, please?" Jamie looks at Michelle's shoulder before nodding. 

"Alright." 

As Michelle undresses, Jamie turns around, giving her the privacy she needed. Jamie hears the water shifting and that his time to finally look at Michelle. Michelle's body was covered in bubbles, a good censored image. 

Jamie takes a step backward and leans his back on the wall. He sits on the floor and watches as how Michelle sinks deeper. 

"I'm sorry," Michelle suddenly says. 

"I should be the one sorry." 

It was Jamie's selfishness that got Michelle here. If only he had been careful and thoughtful, Michelle would still be by his side, being a diva and all. 

Michelle shakes her head. 

"You were right. I thought of you as lowly as someone after my body." 

Jamie didn't say anything. He wanted to hear what Michelle wanted to say. 

"I'm sorry. I should've been more honest."

"What do you mean?" Jamie couldn't help but ask. 

"I denied that I'm finally having feelings for you. I was afraid that you were only after me because of either me being a Young or my body." 

Jamie couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

"Amelia was right, and so was Lyle. I bawled my eyes out in front of Lyle, which was embarrassing." Michelle talks as if she was already fine, that was what Jamie thought. 

"Now I'm having regrets. You can't be my first now." Michelle turns to Jamie and smiles sadly, a tear escaping the corner of her eyes. 

Jamie stands up and hugs Michelle's wet head. 

"But I already told you that I can't be with you." 

"And I want to wait and know why." Jamie lets go of the embrace and kneels beside the tub.

"You want to wait?" 

"Amelia's waiting for Lyle, why can't I wait for you?" 

"But Amelia is different," Jamie says through gritted teeth. 

"Why?" 

"Well, Amelia still pays Lyle. As to me, I still have to pleasure other women for income." 

Michelle stays silent for a second. Jamie regrets saying it but Michelle needed to know. 

"Then I will too." Michelle says, determined. 

"Huh?" 

"I'll pay you. How much does Amelia pay Lyle?" 

"No, please, don-" 

"I like you, Jamie and I don't want others to have you. I don't want them to touch you. I want you to be mine." Jamie blushes at Michelle's sudden outburst. 

"Triple," 

Jamie felt guilty. He was feeling like he was manipulating Michelle to pay him.

"I understand, Jamie. I want to wait for you until the day that we can finally be together. Your situation? I understand too. It's not easy and this is not me pitying you, this is me trying to do this my way." 

Jamie kisses Michelle's forehead. 

"Thank you," Jamie says, full of heart. 

"I doubt the school will like this though." Michelle chuckles. 

Jamie missed Michelle's chuckle, making him remember that she was just raped.

"Are you okay?" Jamie asks. 

Michelle was ready for that. 

"I'm not." Michelle shivers and looks away from Jamie. 

"What did he do to you?" Jamie's anger was building up again. 

"He.." Michelle trails off.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Jamie's concern was written all over his face. 

"If I were a normal girl, I would be fine." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I'm afraid of people's touch, and if someone touches me or I touch someone accidentally, I scrub the part, I panic." 

"I don't see you like that to me though?" 

"I don't know too. Our first touch was us linking arms, right?" 

Jamie nods, remembering the company's party his father's company held in France. 

"I thought it would irk me but it didn't. My suspicions were correct when you suddenly kissed me. I felt fine, I felt okay." 

"Oh," Jamie couldn't help but smile at that fact. 

"There are a bunch of people I'm immune to but just a few." 

"What does that have to do with him though?" 

"Well, after he inserted it, he immediately climaxes." 

Jamie let the information process first before bursting in laughter. But after he had realized that it was Michelle, he stops laughing, clearing his throat and looks at Michelle blankly. 

"I didn't feel a thing, really, he was small. But the thought of him touching me made me sick." 

"Are you scrubbing the part where he touched you?" Michelle looks at him in surprise. 

When Jamie understood what he was asking, he backed away in defense. 

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to, uh, sorry. I didn't mean anything by that." Michelle laughs. 

"After you hugged me, I felt fine. But my fear of being touched worsened. I can't even seem to be just within one meter of another person." Michelle answers him, avoiding the sensitive topic. 

"Oh, uhm, okay." 

Silence then befell them. Jamie wasn't sure what to say anymore. Now, he was semi-hard. He was angry and horny. Michelle was taking a bath in front of him, defenseless but also damaged. He can't afford to make another mistake. Michelle was just kidnapped and now he wants to do something with Michelle. 

Jamie calms himself down and kept replaying the scene where he gauges the man's eyes out. His hard on went down and can now focus again. 

"My parents, how are they?" 

Michelle wanted to see her parents but her parents seemed to have kept their distance. They were looking at her from afar, watching over her and sending someone else in their stead. It wasn't admirable for Michelle, but Michelle could tell what was holding them back from interacting with her or be in the same room as her. 

She could tell because Jamie was the same too. The three of them were regretting and guilty of things that they shouldn't be. Michelle was fine, but why were they making a big deal out of it? Michelle was fine for someone who was just assaulted. 

"They're waiting for you," Jamie answers with a fake smile. 

"I want to talk to them after I'm done here. Can you tell them?" Jamie flinches. 

"Oh, uh, sure. Now?" 

Jamie isn't sure if her parents were willing to talk to her. They were too guilty about it that they can't face Michelle face to face. 

"Yes, please," Michelle smiles angelically at Jamie. 

"Alright." 

Jamie excuses himself and closes the door behind him. He walks towards the living room, where he saw them last. Fortunately for Jamie, they were still sitting there and talking in hushed voices. Jamie made his presence known by clearing his throat. Two heads turn to him. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Young, Michelle wants to talk to you." 

The both of them couldn't say anything. Jamie waited for an answer when suddenly Jamie could feel his arm being gripped. There was Michelle, fully clothes and hair still a bit wet. 

"I'll take it from here, Jamie. Thank you," 

"You're welcome." 

Jamie excuses himself again. 

"Mama, Papa," 

Michaela started crying upon seeing her daughter. Joong-ki kept his eyes down, not wanting to meet eye contact with his daughter. His consciousness was preventing him to look his daughter in the eye.

"We're so sorry, darling." Michaela says while sobbing. 

Michelle sits beside her mother and hugs her from the side with a smile. Michelle draws circles with her palm on the back of her mother's, soothing her. 

"I'm fine, Mama. I'm fine." 

"If we had only watched over you closely, we're so sorry. Forgive Mama." 

"Mama, it's not your fault. Don't cry." 

"Do you need anything? Can we make it up to you?" 

Joong-ki was being silent. His guilt didn't allow him to talk. He only listened. 

"Actually, yes, I do need something." 

Jamie came back with a towel on his hand and smoothly dried Michelle's wet hair. Jamie doesn't even feel any shame. He felt like he was family. He oddly feels happy and contains his smile for the situation. 

"What is it, honey? Anything, please." Michaela sobs harder. 

"I want Jamie by my side and he can't be by my side unless.." Michelle trails off but her mother understood it well. 

"Like Amelia's? Sure, baby. Is that all?" Michelle was shocked. 

"Are you sure?" 

"I know Jamie's situation. Like Lyle's. Dear, we're so sorry." Michaela continued sobbing. 

Michaela was a bit down that Michelle was only asking for something like that. 

"Other than that, Mama, Papa." 

"What is it, honey?" Michaela answers again. 

Michelle was enjoying Jamie's gentle scrubbing on her scalp. It had made Michelle level-headed and cool headed. Jamie gave her a good gentle scalp massage. 

"I want to wait for Jamie. I like him," Jamie's eyes bulges out. 

She did not just semi-introduced me as her boyfriend.  

Jamie now feels nervous. What ifs were forming inside his head. His fingers stopped doing magic. Michelle smiles because she could feel Jamie's stare above her head. To Michelle, this was her sealing the deal of them being together in the future. 

Michaela stops crying and looks at Michelle and then to Jamie. Jamie chuckles awkwardly and starts massaging Michelle again. 

"But aren't you already..?" Michaela asks, getting confused. 

"Oh, we were only pretending before. Now, I want this to be real." 

Michelle's radiance made its way to Michaela's eyes. Michaela remembers her past self when Joong-ki had spontaneously asked her to be his girlfriend, first meeting. Michaela was so vibrant then, and until now when she and Joong-ki are having a moment. 

"Why would you pretend?" 

"I was afraid you'd give me to some family like the others would, since Papa was also eager for me to have a boyfriend. I asked Jamie, I was the one who did and now I was falling for him." 

Jamie couldn't help but blush and avoid any eye contact from the Youngs. He was beyond nervous and flustered. He was getting ready for a rejection, an objection to their future relationship. 

But it didn't came.

"I couldn't ask for anyone else, honey." Michaela says in approval and finally smiles, wiping her last batch of tears before hugging Michelle. 

"Really? You're not against it?" they break the hug and Michaela shakes her head. 

"Jamie's good for you. Your phobia and for your entire well-being. Though I wonder what your father would say." 

Joong-ki tenses up beside his wife. Now the spotlight was on him. 

"Darling, Jamie, can we talk?" Michaela asks. 

"Oh, uh, sure, Mrs. Young." Michelle grabs Jamie's hand and squeezes it lightly before letting go. 

Michaela and Jamie goes to the kitchen. 

"What, what is it, Mrs. Young?" Jamie was fidgeting with the towel in his hands. 

"Don't be so nervous. I'm not here to chew your consciousness. I just want my husband to finally talk to his daughter." Jamie sighs in content. 

"Ah, alright." 

Michelle scoots closer to her father. 

"Papa?" 

"Yes?" Joong-ki still couldn't look at his daughter in the eyes. 

"Won't you talk to me?" 

"I'm just, this is still too much. You're just an innocent child." 

"Papa, I'm a grown up now." Michelle grabs her father's hand and grips it tightly. 

"Because of my work, I can't take care of you." 

"Now you don't have to worry. I have Jamie by my side." 

"He was by your side before, how did this happen? I'm not blaming him, I'm blaming myself." Joong-ki's anger was now surfacing. 

"Jamie and I had a fight because of me. It was my fault so don't blame anyone, please. Jamie makes me feel safe and secure. It's a new feeling and I don't ever want to let go of this feeling." 

"I'm not object to your relationship. But should I ask for guards?" Michelle shakes her head. 

"Papa, I'm okay. You should trust the killing machine you guys built." 

Joong-ki thought about how savage Jamie was in battle and how angry he was when he heard that Michelle was missing. Was Joong-ki making a big mistake by now trusting one man to protect his daughter? 

"What if you guys have a fight again?" Michelle smiles.

"If you and Mama gets into a fight, do you forsake her?" 

"We're different," 

"But we're not, really. Now that Jamie and I confirmed our feelings for each other. Trust and needs are compatible even in a fight. I'm sure you know that." 

Michelle's words finally got inside her father's hard skull. Joong-ki looks at his shining daughter. Had he not looked up, he wouldn't see his daughter smiling peacefully, her body at ease and barriers now finally gone. 

Joong-ki couldn't help but cry at the sight of his happy daughter. He was too blessed. He couldn't ask for more. Joong-ki cries harder. 

"Papa, don't cry." 

"You're the best daughter I could ever ask for, Michelle." 

Michelle was taken aback by his father's choice of name. Joong-ki rarely says her name, because he thought that it was too formal and serious. Joong-ki told Michelle his reason, that's why Michelle settled for the sweet nicknames her father had to offer her. Although a bit embarrassing, finally gets used to it. 

"And you're the parents I could never replace." the both of them hugs, finally feeling warmth a family should have. 

Joong-ki asks for his wife and Jamie to join them. Michaela smiles at how accomplished his husband looked just by talking to their daughter. 

"We shall celebrate by asking the entire council and and Amelia for dinner." Joong-ki says. 

"Should we, darling?" Michaela asks her daughter. 

"Yes, please. I want to thank them properly." Michelle takes Jamie's hand in hers. 

Jamie was still getting used to Michelle's warmth and bold gestures. His intestines did a flip. He felt gassy and giddy by Michelle's beauty. 

"Jamie, thank you. I can't express how thankful I am to you." Joong-ki pats Jamie's back in a manly way. 

"Oh, it's nothing, Sir." 

"I can't believe you made my stone cold daughter fall for you." 

"Papa!" Michelle exclaims, making the three of them laugh at Michelle. 

"Your father is right, darling. We thought you would get old without a spouse." Michaela confesses to their daughter. 

"I can't believe too that Michelle is finally looking my way." 

Michelle and Jamie exchanges looks making Michaela and Joong-ki exchange looks too.

"Off we go now!"