Chapter 1
Mommy!
Mommy!
Mommy!
Where are you?
Why did you leave me?!
Why?
Why mommy?
Why?
Ian Park gasped as he woke up from the nightmare he was having. Sweat covered his forehead, and the bedsheets were soaked. He looked around the room in the darkness, but what he was looking for wasn’t there.
Running a hand through his wet hair, he sighed, ‘Another nightmare?’
Getting out of bed, he pulled on a robe and went downstairs to get a drink from the bar.
Pouring a glass full of strong whiskey, he closed it and brought the glass to his lips, pausing as he heard.
“What are you doing this time of the night?” Called his stepmother, Tiffany Shim, from behind him.
His hand clenched the glass so tight that the veins under his skin were visible. He swallowed the liquid and slammed the glass down on the counter. Leaning against it, he turned her way and smiled, “Shouldn’t you be asleep, mother?”
Tiffany scoffed. She walked up to the bar and stood beside him. Looking at him, she said, “Pour me a glass of wine, will you, child?”
He nodded his head and became her personal bartender.
Twirling the glass in her hand, she looked at the eldest son of the Park family and asked, “So why are you awake?”
He smiled, “I couldn’t sleep.”
She raised a brow. “Are you telling me the truth?”
He nodded his head. “Would I lie to you?”
She shrugged, “I wouldn’t know. Your mother was a liar too, and you take after her in every way.”
Ian took a deep breath and let out a sigh. Looking at her, he asked, “When will you stop?”
“How can I? You don’t see me as your mother, and yet I am the one who raised you,” she said.
He stared at her for a moment, then something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned to look at what it was and saw the head maid, Lilith Kim, staring conflicted at them.
When she saw she had his attention, she bowed, making him smile.
He turned back to his stepmother and said, “Well, I’m off to bed. Don’t stay too long out of bed. You might get sick.”
He walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead.
He met the head maid around the corner and saw the worry on her face.
“Young Master?” She called to him. She cupped his cheeks and carefully examined him. “Did you have another bad dream?”
He nodded his head shamefully.
She smiled, “Instead of drinking liquor, why not have some honey and milk?”
He chuckled and held her hands against his cheeks. “I’m not a child anymore, ma.”
Lilith gasped. She hit him on the chest gently and said, “Don’t let your mother hear you call me that. I’ll lose my job.”
He rolled his eyes and hugged her. “It’s alright, I’ll hire you again. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” Tiffany screeched.
Ian let go of Lilith and looked at his stepmother. Rubbing his eye, he said, “Nothing. Why are you screaming? Do you want to wake father and the others up? He’ll catch you drinking again and you’ll end up with a blue eye again.”
He turned to Lilith and said, “Didn’t you promise me milk?”
“This way, young master,” she said.
*
“I swear that bitch is out to ruin me. How dare she say that I don’t see her as my mother?” He said through gritted teeth.
Lilith smiled as she boiled the milk on the stove, saying, “I’m sure somewhere down in her rotten heart she is jealous that you aren’t her son.”
He chuckled as he ate the fruit she peeled for him. “Did you see her son? That rotten bastard takes after her.”
Pointing the spatula at him, she said, “Just like you take after your mother?”
He beamed at her. Rushing up behind her, he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek, “Yes! I take after you, ma.”
She hugged his arms and leaned against him. “Alright, alright young master. Go sit down and behave, will you? I’m almost done.”
He pouted as he let go of her. “Yes, ma.”
She poured the honey into the pot as she watched him go back to the seat. She chuckled, “Your lips are hanging on the floor, young master.”
“Meh!” He pulled his tongue at her and shoved a grape into his mouth.
They heard footsteps, and Lilith looked towards the door. A young girl, sixteen-years-old, in a set of full lavender pyjamas and messy brown hair walked through the door. Tiana Park, Ian’s younger sister, one of Tiffany’s and his father’s children.
“Oppa?” She called him but he ignored her.
She pouted and walked up to him. Pulling his arm, she said, “Don’t ignore me! Was it you that made that noise? Why were you screaming in the middle of the night?”
He looked at her and flicked her on the forehead, asking, “Do I sound like a little bitch to you? It was your mother, YOUR MOTHER.”
She pulled her face and looked at Lilith, who had her head lowered. Raising a brow, she asked, “Why are you cooking in the middle of the night? Does my mother know?”
“And where do you enter in this?” Ian asked her.
“Oppa!” She screeched.
He pushed her away, asking, “Are you trying to annoy me like your mother? Go back to bed and don’t show your face until morning.”
Tiana looked at her brother, conflicted. He was so harsh to her and their other siblings.
Was it the age gap?
Was it because he was the only one from his mother?
Was it the pressure of being the Park heir?
“You should open up more to them,” Lilith said.
Ian smirked at her as he took the cup from her. “Are you on their side or mine?”
She smiled. Rubbing her fingers through his hair, she said, “I’m just an employee. I choose no sides.”
He took her hand from his head and kissed it. Looking into her eyes, he said, “You are the only one I have. Why won’t you choose my side, ma?”
Lilith’s heart ached as she looked into his sad eyes. Rubbing his head, she asked, “Did you have a bad dream about your mother? Do you miss her?”
He forced a smile. “How can I miss someone I don’t know? Didn’t you raise me? Aren’t you my ma?”
She nodded her head. Looking at the cup, she said, “Drink up, I’ll get the bath ready for you.”
*
Lilith helped him into the bath and put a towel behind his neck. She washed his hair for him, giving him a relaxing head, neck and shoulder massage. She then washed his face with different facial products and smiled down at him when he opened his eyes when she was done.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked.
She shook her head and leaned down. She placed a kiss on his nose, then his eyes and said, “You know, young master, I am proud to have a son like you.”
Ian quickly became teary-eyed. She wiped them away, saying, “Don’t cry young master, you’re going to make your ma cry.”
He sniffled, asking in a whisper, “Why do I have to live like this? I feel like I am drowning.”
“All you have to do is call my name and I’ll reach out my hand and pull you out of the ocean that is swallowing you in. No one will ever take you away from me,” she said.
“Do you promise?” He asked.
She continued to wipe his eyes, minding not to hurt them, saying, “I promise. I will do everything to protect you, young master. No one will harm any of you as long as I am alive. Do you hear me? So I need you to be strong and endure all the hardships you face. A better day will come.”
He chuckled, saying, “You’re talking to Ian, ma, Ian.”
Tapping his nose, she said, “I know that, Ian. Don’t you think I know how you look? And if it was any of the others, I’d say the same to them. You know more than anyone that I love you all.”
He nodded his head slowly as he thought of the others. He wondered what they were thinking, but didn’t dwell on it for long.
Pinching his cheek, she said, “I’ll go change your sheets. Don’t forget that you have to work in a few hours, so don’t stay too long. I don’t want to have to carry you to the bed because you fell asleep in the bath.”
He nodded his head with a chuckle. “Yes, madam.”
“Cheeky child,” she said with a smirk and went to his bedroom. Switching on the lights, she looked at the bed and her heart bled with sadness. Sitting down on the bed, she looked at the sweat stain that was in the shape of a puddle and wondered how it was possible for him to sweat so much.
‘How many hours did he have the nightmare for him to sweat so much?’
‘I better prepare something that will hydrate him.’
She looked around the room. ‘Why is the humidifier off?’
Taking off the sheets and blankets, she carried them down the hallway to the laundry shoot and on her way back from getting new sheets; she saw Brian Park, the head of the house.
She bowed to him, and he waved at her to follow him back to his office.
