Shen quickly found Lina. She was sprawled like a lazy kitten on the sofa watching an action movie.
She giggled every time the protagonist shot someone through the head.
Before she knew what was happening, Shen switched the movie off and picked her up and started walking towards their bedroom.
"What did you do, stupid hubby!"
"No time"
"What?"
"Be quiet"
"WHAT?"
She spoke louder to annoy him.
He turned her movie off! Another great head shot was coming up.
"SHHHH"
Shen started walking faster.
5 minutes up. The psychos were getting closer.
He was moving just as fast across the mansion's hallway as he could, trying to hush the spoilt wife up.
Suddenly, he heard the doors slam open behind him.
'CRAP'
They got Ayu to trick him. She had told him they were 20 minutes away on purpose.
He could sense there glares on his back. The parents were here.
"Put her down. NOW."
Lina heard a woman's controlling voice ring through the hall. She sounded stern and authoritative. It sent shivers down he spine.
Shen slowly turned around with a massive fake smile plastered to his face.
"Mother! She's recovering and weak...I was just helping her go to the bedroom to rest."
Internally he was hoping Lina caught the drift and decided to play along.
'Mother?' Lina was astonished. Why was Shen trying to escape?
"Son, you know better than to lie to your parents."
A smiling, friendly-looking man appeared next to Shen's mother. He was tall and lean, despite his age. Shen was an exact copy of this man. Even though he was smiling, there was something dangerous lurking beneath.
Shen's mother was also tall, with a slender reed-like figure. Her every move was graceful, as if choreographed. Even though there was a sternness in her voice, her eyes were gentle. Shen had her eyes.
Lina sprung out of his arms, her eyes puppy-like.
"He really is lying! He is!"
She cursed silently under his breath.
His wife was a traitor. Even before the attacks, she was specially attached to his parents. He knew she never talked about her own family, and that she had lost them when she was young.
But they were just too much.
They would keep her on the weekends, holidays, and sometimes she'd be with them at the old residence even during the evenings he came back from work early.
Rika Moshi's tone turned gentle as she rushed towards her daughter-in-law.
"My sweet baby girl! Come to mother, let me look at you!"
As she fawned over Lina and thoroughly inspected her to make sure she looked fine, Shen rolled his eyes.
"Mother, I know how to take care of my wife!"
"Be quiet."
Lina giggled at Shen's annoyance while a warmth entered her heart. She felt close to the woman pampering her. She wanted to be around mother more and more.
Another part of her felt so lonely, as if she missed out on this love and affection for a long time.
She began to wonder why the names of her parents weren't on the marriage certificate.
"Lina, dear, we brought you some warm chicken soup that Rika made herself. You used to love it!"
It was Soren, Shen's father who spoke this time. There was a doting softness in his eyes that wasn't there earlier.
He was holding a large bag that was filled with food and goodies only for their Lina.
She could smell the chicken soup from the flask in the bag and her stomach growled loudly.
"Did mother really make that soup herself?"
Lina's face was glowing at the kindness her in-laws were showering her with. Why was stupid hubby in such a bad mood.
"Yes of course I made it myself. That's how you always loved it. You said you'd never have chicken soup any one else made, because only mine was the best."
There was a strong sense of pride in Rika's voice. Only she could satisfy this daughter's appetite.
"You look so thin and starved, my sweet baby girl. Come let's eat."
As Rika beckoned Lina to the table, Shen was more agitated than ever.
"Mother! She just ate a large breakfast. I watched her myself!"
"Shen, let them be. Let's go to the study. We haven't talked about last night."
Shen's father spoke to him in a neutral tone, but the air of danger had returned. He looked at Shen with a sharpness, that made Lina think of an emperor's gaze.
Shen nodded and silently walked behind Soren.
As much as Lina's curiosity was piqued, she decided not to intrude on these matters and focus on the chicken soup.
She settled down on the table with Rika and sipped on the warm, delicious soup. She was touched at the care taken in preparing it. Her body felt nourished and strengthened already.
"Thank you mother, for your care."
Lina's eyes glistened, tears threatening to fall. This feeling was so unknown to her, yet she missed it so much, her heart felt like it would break.
"A girl should never be deprived of a mother's love, my dear. And a mother should never be deprived of a daughter's adoration."
Rika's quiet words broke a dam in Lina's heart. The tears fell uncontrollably as she looked down to her hands sobbed.
Seeing her in so much pain, Rika's heart couldn't bear it either. Her voice cracked, as she embraced Lina.
"Lina, you don't remember me yet, nor do you remember what happened. But to me, girls have always been precious. I lost my own daughter when she was three, to an accident."
Lina stopped crying and listened silently.
"Shen was only a baby. He doesn't remember his sister. But everyday we lived with a massive hole in our hearts. Then you came along and the hurt we felt for years eased."
"Mother, I don't remember anything, but I can remember your affection. And right now, that is enough for me."
Lina's words brought a smile to Rika's face. She wiped away Lina's tears and opened up all the other boxes of food.
She decided that Lina would be pampered even more.