"I always make you feel bad. I’m sorry." Ge Chen said regretfully as he held her left hand. Her hand was cold. His warm hand slowly warmed her hand along with her heart.

  "No, it’s okay. Sometimes, talking about things like this makes people feel better." Xue Lin exhaled loudly.

  Ge Chen asked, "What’s your relationship with your sister?"

  "I thought she was the best sister in the world. She was always sweet and her lip service always worked. I saw her real self when she got married. My mother was mentally and verbally abusing me after her beloved daughter got married. I was eighteen at that time. I called my sister while crying. She was laughing and having fun with her husband when she answered the phone. She heard I was crying but she didn’t even ask what was wrong. She was totally unconcerned."

  "But when I was preparing for my final examination, she was having problems with her in-law’s family. She didn’t even think about the importance of my exam. At the end, when my exams started, she and her husband started to live with us. She disturbed me whenever I was taking a nap after being tired of studying. She stayed awake along with her husband until the late nights when I was sleeping. When I woke up and started studying with a headache, only then they went to sleep. Even with good preparation, I couldn’t get good marks. When my friends all got the highest marks, I was getting scolded by my mother. My father was disappointed too. And my sister and brother-in-law said nothing."

  "I didn’t know much about their matter. My family never let me join the family conversation. They always kept me away from them. Especially my mother. She couldn’t stand it when I’m with them. If I didn’t look like her, I would have thought that I’m adopted." Xue Lin shrugged.

  Ge Chen politely asked, "Do you want to talk about why your relationship with father became worse? If you don’t, it’s fine too."

  "No, since I told you most of the part, I better tell you this one too." She wanted to tell him because she didn’t want to repeat this scenario. Since she started, she will end it. The last thing she likes is talking about her family issue.

  "I was preparing for my middle school final exams. At that time, my father was working hard for his promotion. He came back home late at night. He only had to take one step inside and my mother would start complaining about me. He was tired and got irritated. He would scold me. I started to lose my affection for him and then he got transferred. I showed him how happy I was for his transfer. I got free from him but my mother also started to show her real face after that. Everything was like a long nightmare. And then something happened after my sister got married."

  "When I was eighteen years old, I lost the key to the gate lock but I found it the next day at my school. But my parents were way too excited as if their house was robbed. When I found the key and told my parents…… my father…… he said something mean to me…… he…… well, he said, "If you ever lose the key, I will sell you in the market because my wealth is more valuable than you are……" She opened her mouth and inhaled. She felt that something was pressuring her chest and she was unable to breathe.

  "I was hurt because I thought that I wasn’t more valuable than his properties…… How naïve I was. It took me four years to understand the hidden dirty meaning behind those cruel words. From then on, I decided he doesn’t deserve my respect and of course, I have a vengeful heart; I will make his life hell for what he said."

  Her voice was devoid of any emotion. It only showed that she didn’t care about her family anymore. She doesn’t feel anything for them. "A man who doesn’t know how to respect women, cannot be a gentleman. A person like that doesn’t deserve respect. Same goes for women too."

  After a moment of silence, Xue Lin said in a low voice, "There is nothing else to talk about my family."

  Ge Chen couldn’t speak for a while. He couldn’t understand why his mother-in-law was so hard on her younger daughter. "It must be very hard for you. You are stronger than I thought."

  Xue Lin said, "Well, I haven’t suffered as you did. Compared to mine, you went through a lot. However, it pains more when your close ones hurt you rather than the outsiders." Her tone became lighter as she tried to ease the atmosphere.

  Ge Chen nodded in agreement. "Yes, I think so too."

  Xue Lin turned to see him and asked, "Were you in agony when your father betrayed you? Did it pain you a lot?"

  Ge Chen looked down at their joined hands and gave her small hand a soft squeeze. He smiled a little. Her question was unanswered but she understood everything.

  They were grabbing each other’s hands. It wasn’t because of romantic feelings. They are husband and wife. With that simple gesture, they wanted to make their partners understand that they would support each other, they would be there when it’s needed.