11. India-4
1822 Words
I only sleep for four hours but it’s the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. Hae-in kept his promise and slept on top of the covers. My back is to him, and I’m wrapped tightly in his arms. When I try to move, Hae-in snuggles in closer. “No, it’s too soon.” He sniffs my neck, and I think he even sniffs my hair.
“I have breakfast coming.”
“When did you do that?” I ask, trying to turn to face him, but he doesn’t let me.
“An hour ago.” Hae-in untangles himself and sits up. “Let’s eat and get you to work on time.”
I smile into my pillow. I’m excited about today. I can feel today is going to be memorable. I sit up, fix my hair, and wipe my eyes. “I’m half owner. I don’t have any appointments until nine.”
“Even better.”
I make my way to the bathroom to clean up. I’m standing in front of the mirror, finger combing my curls to pull up into a quick ponytail as I tell Hae-in in the other room how much I like his drama.
“Yo, the drama you starred in what’s the name again?”
“Fighting for the Sun.”
“Yeah, I have to say I’m completely hooked, and not because you’re in it. The storyline is good. You and the female lead have some serious chemistry going.”
“Thanks, she’s a good friend.”
“I need to finish the drama. Can we make plans to finish it this evening?”
Hae-in steps into the doorway, both arms raised above his head to grab the frame. “I’d like that very much, and I’m flattered you’re enjoying the drama. It means I’m good at my job.” His body is lean, but I can still see the definition of muscles in his arms. I’m not into skinny, I’m prone to go for the more beefy, bulkier guy. But Hae-in has muscle tone, and he’s tall. I find it’s not just his looks I’m attracted to, but also his charm, and the way he looks at me. Like now, his eyes are fixed on my face, and there is nothing but warmth and affection behind his stare.
I nod. “Agreed. You’re a great actor.”
“Come and have some breakfast.”
I finish fixing my hair and meet Hae-in the dining area. There isn’t a feast of foods and I appreciate him not being wasteful. I’m not a breakfast person.
“This looks good.”
“I am not a big breakfast eater; I hope what I ordered is okay.”
“Me either.”
“That’s one thing we have in common.”
I sit down at the table and Hae-in pours me a cup of coffee. “I’m sure there are others. We are going to take this time to get to know each other. That’s our plan, right?”
Hae-in sits next to me and takes my plate and loads it with some fruit. “I’d like nothing more.”
“How many sisters and brothers do you have?”
Hae-in looks up and a grimace crosses his face briefly before he answers. “About that, I want you to hear it from me and no one else.”
I sit back in my chair. “Okay, why does it sound like I’m about to hear something upsetting?”
“Because it has the potential to be upsetting.”
“Why? You married?”
Hae-in’s eyes widen. “No, nothing like that. Why would you think that?”
“Because it’s the only thing that could piss me off.”
His shoulders relax, and Hae-in sits up straighter in his chair. “Not, married, and I do have siblings.”
“Well, then spit it out. If you’re not married, I’m sure I can handle what you’re about to tell me.”
“The day we met. I was doing a favor for my brother. My brother, your doctor, Kai.”
Shit.
I’d forgotten about Kai. He said he was coming here as well.
“Okay, your brother sent you to do what exactly?”
Hae-in clears his throat. “Hyung wanted me to just sit and spend time with you. In his eyes he thought you needed a companion. Someone you could talk to.”
I cross my arms over my chest. I could get angry. But should I be? So, Kai asked his brother to monitor me. I was emotional while in Korea, and Kai made me feel safe, and then he didn’t. I thought we had bonded over our past pain, but it seemed he used it as a ploy to treat me.
“What about his wife and child? Is that a real thing?”
Hae-in’s eyes darken. He takes a deep breath and nods his head. “Yeah, my sister-in-law and niece are no longer here.”
I let out a deep breath myself. “Well, then I don’t see it as a problem. Not unless the two of you are into playing mind games, and if that’s the case, speak up now. I don’t like to play games. I refuse to be caught up in unnecessary drama. Especially now. I have a lot going on in my life. All of it is not good, and I’m working my way through that, but the rest of it is taking me down a path I’ve always wanted for myself.”
“It’s nothing like that. I’m not here to play games with you.”
“All right then. Anything else you want to share?”
Hae-in takes a sip of his coffee. “My family has its fair share of drama as well. I have a sister who’s getting married, a mother I barely get to see, another mother who meddles more than she should, and a father who sits back and watches it all from behind his soju glass.”
“Wait, you have a mother you barely see and another who meddles? Is your father remarried?”
Hae-in shakes his head. “No, my father is with his current and only wife. My mother was his mistress. When he found out about me, he brought me to live with his family. He tried to bring my mother too, but she wasn’t having it.”
“Seriously? Your father was big timing it like that?”
“Big timing it?”
“Yeah, he had game where he could have a mistress on the side and his wife didn’t care?”
“Oh, she cared, but what could she do? She wasn’t about to divorce him. My father is the chairman of a very large pharmaceutical company in South Korea.”
“Ah, so she didn’t want to be without the money or the security your father offered? Couldn’t she have divorced him and taken half? Wait, never mind, that’s not my business. I’m being too nosy.”
“It’s okay. It’s all old news now. But my family dynamics are not as familial as my family would like to make it look. What about you? I know you have a twin, right? Any other siblings?”
“Chantelle and I are the only ones. I have a boatload of cousins, but my two closest cousins are Lola and Annabelle. You’ll get to meet everyone soon. We have more than enough drama happening. But you’ll see when you meet everyone. Just know that I warned you.”
Hae-in laughs and shakes his head.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re nothing like I originally expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“Honestly, I thought you’d be quiet. You have this aura about you that is calm. But you’re the exact opposite of that. You’re exuberant and full of life, even amid your sadness I can still see the good parts of you fighting for their space at the front of the line.”
“That was deep.”
“It gets deeper with time.” Hae-in winks, and I laugh.
It’s a comfortable breakfast, but it only lasts for so long. My phone rings. I look down at my phone and sigh.
“Seriously, I can never catch a break. I’m gonna take this. Apologies.”
“Don’t apologize, take the call.”
It’s Sawyer.
“Well, at least you’re still answering my calls.”
I sigh into the phone. “Why wouldn’t I take your calls? I don’t dislike you. I just don’t want you and your brother all up in my business like we’re a couple.”
“I don’t see why not. The three of us were good together.”
“Until we weren’t.”
“We just care about your well-being.”
I walk toward the end of the hall where Hae-in can’t hear. I have nothing to hide, but the conversation is still personal. “Sawyer, even if things did change, my heart isn’t in that state of mind for the two of you to be bothersome. It leaves room for misunderstandings. I’m trying to move on from that. To be honest, it’s exhausting, and don’t take that as a challenge either. I know how you are. Understand?”
“India, what about the babies?”
“Sawyer, they will always be our babies. Zoe, and Zion. We lost them, and they are ours. I was even thinking of doing a memorial for them on their birthday.”
“A memorial?”
“Yeah, Kai gave me the idea, and it sounds like a pretty damn good one. It still hurts to think about Zoe, and Zion as well but I want to honor them.”
“All right, I’m gonna be honest. Neither Finn nor I wanted to end things with you. But we understand we’re not the ones you want. But we love you, sweetheart.”
Normally in a situation like this I’d laugh. But I can’t. Laughing will give him hope. “Sawyer, I think you should go back home to Virginia when you’re done working with Jackson.” That cuts him off and leaves him without words. “I’ll see you guys at the office, and I hope when you come, you understand I’m going to say the same thing I said last night, and right now. My feelings will not change.”
“See you at the office.”
I end the call and head back to the table where Hae-in is on the phone. He’s speaking in Korean, and when he sees me, he smiles. I pour myself another cup of coffee and sit back and enjoy the view from the room. After some time, Hae-in stops talking.
“Did you know my brother is on his way here?”
I look up from my cup and nod. “Yup, he said as much.”
“That was him asking me to get a room ready for him. He’s coming here to see you.”
“I told him he didn’t need to, but I guess like all the other men surrounding me, they don’t know how to take no for an answer.”
Hae-in stands and walks over to me and crouches. “My brother is a great therapist. I think he just feels bad about the incident in the stationery store.”
“That’s not my problem.”
The issue I have is him treating me like some clingy broad when he was the one that made me feel comfortable and confident enough to trust him. I thought we shared the same type of wound. Not once was I considering getting romantically involved with my doctor. That would be too much drama for this Danvers.
“You’re right. It’s not. I don’t care for him that much either. He’s a bit of a snob, but I think if you agree to see him, you can get him to leave sooner rather than later.”
I lean forward and place my hands on Hae-in’s shoulders and grin. “You may be on to something. Are you trying to get me to play nice?”
He nods once before standing.
“I’ll be nice, because you asked me to.”
“Thanks.”
“Thank me by taking me home so I can get ready for work.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
- Writer
