I'm Impressed.

Fin opens his arms wide and circles around the shop, looking the perfect picture of an excited man child,

"So what do you think, think this is enough to support Mrs Merwe?" Um...

I'm not supposed to laugh at him, right?

What he wanted to show me, and I was anxiously counting down time to see...is a store, an antique store. My husband's really...

"You're going to appraise stuff?" I say doubtfully, my nose wrinkling... I'm not looking down at this kind of work, I'm trying to picture Fin doing it and, I don't see it.

Mason is standing besides a thorn like table, his shoulders shaking and hands on his mouth. Good for him, he can laugh... no matter how unwell hidden. I can't laugh...even hidden, Fin looks so excited... it'd be bad if I, downed his enthusiasm - right?

"Actually, working at the family company is something I just did, now I've got a second chance and want to lazy about." Really...What happened to supporting Mrs Merwe?

Well, we're not short of money, let's let Fin do what Fin wants.

"Tell me honestly, you're really going to be a...a collector now?" For lack of better word, he's going to own an antiques store?

From business deals to well... business deals, excluding the prison in between - the change isn't drastic at all, who'd be surprised? Definitely not me or everyone else.

This is too much of a change, right?

"Actually, I'm searching for something and this is the best cover to find it without making it obvious."

"What are you searching for?"

For it to need this grand front?

"Boss..." Mason comes to our side, makes a face at Fin, cautioning him really...okay?

"What?" I am his wife, what can't I know?

"This..."

"Boss lady, we'll let you know if there's anything you can help with. What do you think of the place?"

I can get mad now - right? Who's this Mason anyway!

"Fin?" my eyes are prying - begging really, I could use a distraction, something entirely not to do with me and inclusive to my husband's life, he just saw me in my worst state and I, I would really appreciate if he could make me feel like I'm something to him...please!

Fin takes my hands and leads me to his office, leaving a disapproving Mason behind.

Me and that Mason aren't going to be best friends, I can tell.

"I'll tell you a story." He goes to the window, his back to me,

"There were four youngsters who grew up together, two were fraternal twins while the other two were cousins - only one girl in the group, they did everything together and considered themselves family...

One day, the girl went missing. The boys were frantic, they turned their town upside down looking for the girl but couldn't find her anywhere.

A month after the girl's disappearence, the brother found out that his sister wasn't the only girl to go missing in town, actually there's been a lot...going back thirty years to be exact,

The brother started to investigate and found out, the father of one of the cousins was behind it, he took women and..."

Fin stays silent after that, his hands clenching and unclenching, putting his hands in his pockets and taking them out. I go to him and hug him from behind,

"Hey, it's okay. You can tell me the other part later." I say into his back, he's so tense...

"No, no. I have to get it out now or I'm never going to."

"Okay."

"The...the cousin's father took women and, and they were never seen before. He was a serial killer...

The brother grew frantic and confronted the cousin, telling him what he'd found and asking for help, the cousin turned him down.

He knew, he'd known all along what his father was, his family all knew and they were helping him cover it up, hunting prey...

The boy went to his family and his family...they took to the cousins family and interrogated them, they got the answer but...

By the time they reached, it was already too late. He'd already killed the girl.

The twin's family, they killed everyone who'd known and said nothing...

That's how I went to prison. That girl...was my sister."

Ah...damn. Now I wish I hadn't asked...

I hug him tighter, he's suffered... hasn't he? His sister...

Wait... What does all that have to do with the store?

Fin turns in my arms and bury his head on my neck. Heavy...so heavy.

"What's all that have to do with the store?" since his in the mood to talk, I might as well take a mile. He doesn't say anything for a while, just breathes in deeply and hugs me tighter. I don't know, this is the first time I feel like Fin is in a relationship with me.

He moves back a little,

"They escaped. The father and son, I'm not sure about the father, he might have died but the son...he definitely escaped.

The heirloom, their family heirloom would've been the only thing he had to survive with." What?

"So, you came to Bronze this time?"

I'm not trying to be suspicious or paranoid, there's just been a lot of plotting and being used going on around me - my nerves are at their wit's end, a part of me is already standing - waiting for the other shoe to drop bit from Fin...

"Yeah. I've found out he might be in Bronze."

"In Bronze where? Related to me or my father? Is that why you approached me?" My worst fear...

I'm already backing away, don't blame me...but his chuckle stops my retreat,

"What are you thinking about? You bumped into me, remember? No, it has nothing to do with you. You're...you were unexpected."

I let out that breath I was holding. Thank goodness. My husband is still my safety net...

Isn't it funny, I haven't known him for long but out of everyone in my life, he's the most trustworthy. Life really...a wondrous thing, isn't it?

"You're not expecting him to walk in here, are you? Won't he know, I mean...a store that he desperately needs suddenly pops up, he won't be that stupid, would he?" How does being on the run work and having been in hiding for eight years, why would he come out now? Something's missing...

Fin comes to my side then, lifts my head and looks into my eyes, he's turned serious all of a sudden. This man...

"Trent, you have to deal with your parents. I've told you this before and I'm saying it again, you're too soft and they're going to keep dancing over your head."

What a change of subject. Point taken. Mr Merwe's opening up has come to an end.

He's right though, I know this...I should've cut my parents off my life a long time ago, the moment I turned eighteen really but have been dragging my feet, making excuses for them and myself... it can't go on, I know that but just because I know...doesn't mean I can do it.

I'd said it, they're cancerous to me, too toxic and without a remedy... would disowning them solve the problem?

No, I'm shaking my head with you too. It won't solve the problem... they're still going to be there, just like this incident, I wasn't in contact with them and they could still collude with the Quinns to mess up my life.

"If you won't do anything, I will." Real motivator. With Fin's warning, whether I want to or not, I'll have to face them.

"Fine." I plant myself on a seat.

This time, they went too far? No.

In middle school, I had a trip my mother asked me to skip, something about bonding time she'd said and being naive-desperate-for-their-attention little I was, I agreed without hesitation. We were to go on a vacation and finally have the family time I'd been yearning for, I got on the plane by myself - they'd bought tickets, booked the hotel; everything needed to be done was done and I followed instructions. I waited at the hotel, all alone for ten hours until a man came, the man apparently my father had tanked his business and had been threatening my father's life..

They'd used me as bait, booked everything in my name and made me go there, to flash the man out. He had a gun and all, a hostage situation...

Meanwhile I, I was none the wiser... that's how Mama Jewel came to pick me up, from the police station after the man had been taken into custody, all along they never made an appearance, there was never a vacation... I was just, a means to end. Death threat or not...

What he's done with Lydia this time, it's child's play. Don't look so surprised, they left me to a nanny to raise after all, why would they have any feelings? It's all my wishful thinking, I'm aware of this...I am but, I don't know, I can't help but hope...maybe, maybe but it's never going to happen.

"What are you thinking about?" Fin brushes my loose hair from my forehead, "You're going to get wrinkles if you keep thinking that hard."

No - not wrinkles, the horror! He laughs at the face I make and smoothes out the lines on my forehead. So comfy...I could purr.

"Go home, don't wait up tonight." He plants a kiss on my forehead and goes to seat.

Home...

Do I have one of those? I have a house, Mama Jewel took good care of it for me and she's not there anymore. Letting her go wasn't the wisest decision I'd ever made - story of my life. Can I call her back?

Surprisingly, it doesn't take that long to get home. One of the times I need the driver to be terrible at his job and he doesn't delay at all...

What do you think of Fin working with antiques?

Don't look at me like that, I know I'm dilly dallying but sympathize with me here, I'm dreading what's waiting for me inside the house. Something's as miraculous as - they've already left isn't in my fortune and I don't exactly want to face them,

Why bother with you, you won't get it.

I drag my exasperated self inside the house - yep - they're still there, their suitcases too. Maybe an hour later and they'd have been gone? Probably not.

My mother's the first to break the stalemate,

"Trent, how could you leave like that? You didn't wait for us to explain. What did that savage say to you?"

Does he need to say anything?

"I'm here now, you can say what you want." Why bother is what I want to say but again - habits are hard to break. I'm giving them yet another chance...

Alright. I'm giving you permission to scoff at me. I'm a lost cause, I know. What can I say... they're my parents at the end of the day.