Chapter 9

When Tian opened his eyes the next morning, his head was hurting from drinking, and he felt dizzy. He walked towards the living room, thinking about his changed clothes, then he saw Taria sleeping on the sofa, and his memories about last night snapped in his mind making his face red.

On the last night, Tian insisted that Taria would sleep beside him, he even cried when she refused, leaving her with no choice other than obeying the drunk him, but he still doesn't know who changed his clothes.

Tian walked towards Taria who was sleeping like an angel. He knelt to the ground in front of her, and he moved her hair away from her eyes. He kept staring at her while trying to control his breath, then his fingers moved trying to touch her rosy lips, but he got a hold on himself at the last moment.

"Are you crazy, Tian? How can you even think about that while she is sleeping? It's her body, you can't do anything without her permission. Get up now", a voice in Tian's mind said, forcing him to get up before things get worse, but once he stood up, Taria called his name.

"Good morning", Tian said, trying to avoid making eye contact with her

"Good morning", Taria said while rubbing her eyes, then she stood up and started walking like a robot

"Are you ok?", Tian said

"Yes yes. My back hurt a little since someone moved a lot while sleeping, I now know why your bed is huge", Taria said while stretching

"Sorry, I don't get that drunk a lot", Tian said

"Don't worr~y. You were so cute, just like a child, I become really bad when I'm drunk", Taria said while waving her hand

"Mm, about my clothes...", Tian said

" Oh, you were the one who changed them", Taria said, and Tian sighed as if her words wiped his worries.

"I will make breakfast while you get ready to go to school. Take a shower first, you still smell like alcohol", Taria said while heading to the kitchen

"Pfffftttt you sounded like a mom just now", Tian said while he couldn't stop laughing.

Taria looked at him with concerned eyes, then she smiled and said "I can be your mother if you want me to. I can be your sister, friend, or anyone else you need".

Tian froze after she finished talking. He felt a strange feeling in his heart as if it was about to explode, and his stomach became hard. At that moment, Tian realized that this girl stopped being a part of his life, and became much more than that.

Taria was cutting the vegetables normally after her words pulled Tian to the blank, then Tian moved slowly towards her, and hugged her from behind.

Taria felt his warm breath on the side of her neck as he was hugging her, reminding her of last night. She felt heavy, yet she didn't know if it was happiness that Tian moved on after that horrible night, or sadness as she now know about his deadly past and the fate threads that tie them together

"I don't need anyone else in my life. I just need you, Taria", Tian said with a low voice

"You gave up on your brother fast. When is the wedding?" Ve said before Taria could understand what Tian meant with his words.

Tian took the knife that was in Taria's hand, and threw it towards Ve who moved his head slightly to avoid it as if it was a small toy

"TIAN, YOU CAN'T THROW KNIVES ON PEOPLE", Taria said while she was running towards Ve

"I told you many times to stop entering my apartment without knocking. You are not the leader here", Tian said coldly

"Are you ok, brother Ve?" Taria asked

"I'm fine, little girl. Have you been here since last night?" Ve said while patting Taria's head

"Well, mm, it's complicated. I was making breakfast, you can join us if you haven't eaten yet", Taria said with a warm smile

"When have you both become this close?", Tian said, crossing his arms

"Ah, he helped me when I hurt my hand the day after you got injured. He took me to the doctor then to the park. Your brother is so nice, you should treat him better, and you have to get ready now or you will be late for school", Taria said while she continued making breakfast

"Nice? Who? Do you know what people call this man?", Tian said, but Taria gave him a deadly smile that forced him to stop talking and to go get ready.

"What happened last night?", Ve said after Tian left

"Don't worry about that. He would be fine after a while, but brother, why haven't you told him the truth from the start?", Taria said

"Tian lost his memories after our mother got killed in front of him, then our father suicided leaving everything to me even though I was still 15 back then. When Tian woke up after three days at the hospital, his memories were lost, so I told him a fake story to keep him safe", Ve said

Taria felt bad inside her chest, especially after knowing that her father was the reason for all that, then she said "Sorry to hear that. You are really a good brother"

"You can't say good when you talk about a Leo family member. I'm not a good person, nor Tian", Ve said

"What do you mean?", Taria said, but Ve stayed silent.

After a while, Tian got out of the bathroom wearing his school uniform. His hair was so wet, so Taria helped him to dry it with a towel, while Ve was eating his breakfast and looking at them, then Tian and Taria sat down and started eating.

"Your cooking is really good, kid", Ve said, then he patted her head and went out.

"Won't you go to school too?", Tian said

"Our teacher said that she won't come today, so we don't have any classes in the first period. I will go back home before going to school", Taria said

"Taria, about last night...", Tian said while his face became expressionless

"If you are not ready to tell me, then don't. I can wait", Taria said after she felt that Tian wasn't sure if he should talk or not

"I want you to know everything about me, but I'm still.. I..I will tell you everything soon", Tian said, then he got up.

Tian took Taria to her house, then he left for school. When she entered her house, she felt it was so empty and cold, then she started cleaning to fill the gap of loneliness she felt.