Flowers for you

"You don't need to answer if you don't want to," Jin said.

She lowered her head slightly, deliberately avoiding his concerned gaze. She felt as if he could read her mind and her eyes got a little teary of a sudden.

"It's ok to be not ok." He said, his voice gentle and strangely reassuring.

For the first time since her rebirth, someone had shown genuine concern about her wellbeing. To be fair, Tracy had been good to her but Sefi couldn't help but think maybe it was just part of her job. She was being paid to look after her.

The evil twins hated her, that was obvious. Her aunt and uncle didn't think much of her apart from seeing her as a stepping stone on their path to climb the social ladder.

Maybe life was fair after all, she deduced. She had had everything handed to her on a silver platter previously and now she had to start from scratch.

"I tried to visit you at the Tang's house," he said softly, "they said you were resting and didn't let me in. The flowers I sent were also returned."

Sefi shifted her gaze onto him. He did what? Suddenly realising why Nathan was so angry now, and the accusations he made about her sneaking around behind his back. It kind of all made sense now.

If she thought her fiancé was having an affair, she wouldn't tolerate it either.

The golden retriever got tired of chasing the butterflies and halting in his tracks, he turned his head around and saw that he was no longer the centre of their attention. He immediately trotted back and started wagging his tail at his owner and Sefi. Sticking its tongue out playfully and gazing at them with his large puppy dog eyes.

Sefi reached down and stroke its smooth fur coat. It didn't matter now, she thought, just let it go. She wasn't planning on staying there long anyway. But there were still some questions that confused her. "They told you that I was resting?" She wanted to confirm again.

"Yes," Jin said, "what's wrong?"

"And you sent flowers?" She asked. Why would he send flowers?

Generally, men give flowers for two reasons. One to express their affection, but surely Jin wouldn't be so stupid that he would send flowers to the house. The other reason was to send their good wishes. If the person was sick or if they've had good news like passing an exam or if they got accepted for a new job.

So why did Jin send her flowers?

"I heard that you were sick." He said as if he had read her mind.

"I was sick?" Sefi repeated. "What was wrong with me?"

He was silent, he looked uncomfortable as if he wasn't sure if he should say it or not.

"What the hell, tell me already!" She asked, a stern look in her eyes.

"I heard that you fell downstairs." He said, slowly pronounced each word.

"What?" Sefi thought she heard wrong.

"Yeah, you fell down the stairs."

She felt a chill down her body. Why hadn't anyone mentioned this to her before?

"How did I fall?" she asked. It wasn't like she was a baby and couldn't get her balance right. How could she just fall down the stairs? Was she drunk at the time?

"I don't know, I just heard that you fell."

"Who told you?"

"Caitlin told me," Jin said.

"Caitlin?" Sefi asked. Did she know anyone by that name?

"Eve's friend."

Then the image of a slim and glamorous girl with shiny long hair popped into her mind.

Eve's best friend. And one of the most popular girls in the University. She too came from a well known and well-established rich family like the Tang's and they also lived in the same prestigious neighbourhood. Not only that, the girl was a model. She would often take time off to jet off to Paris and Milan to grace the fashion shows.

And just like Eve, Caitlin had shown nothing except for contempt when it came down to Sefi. She had made cruel jokes around Sefi's dress sense and her greedy relatives.

Oh great, Sefi thought. If Caitlin knew then it probably wasn't a big secret.

"Are you ok?" Jin asked.

"Yes, I think I need to go back now," Sefi said weakly. She needed to lie down.

"I'll walk you back." He offered.

Sefi didn't refuse since she wasn't entirely confident that she would be able to find her way back.

They walked in silence towards the Tang's mansion and it turned out it wasn't very far at all. Sefi spotted Tracy standing by the front gate a mile away, stretching her neck. She must've been waiting for her a while because her face was red from being under the sun for too long.

Tracy was ecstatic when she saw Sefi, "Miss Sefi, thank goodness you're back, I was worried you got lost!" She ran up to them and bowed at Jin, "Hello Master Jin."

"It's fine, I bumped into Jin and he walked me back," Sefi said.

Tracy's mouth dropped, "your voice is back?!" She exclaimed, her face was of such disbelief and excitement, Sefi thought she was going to start crying tears of joy. "You're better!"

"Yup," Sefi said unenthusiastically, getting ready to go in.

Tracy recovered quickly and bowed again at Jin to show appreciation. "Thank you, Master Jin. Would you like to come in for some tea?"

"No thanks, I'd better be off." Jin refused politely, still eyeing Sefi.

Sefi however was not in the mood for pleasantries. She waved Jin and Tank goodbye. Tank seemed saddened by the fact there was one less person to dote on him and was forced to be coaxed away grumpily by Jin.

Stepping into the gates, Sefi could feel that same repressed feeling returning. It was like the air in her lungs had been compressed by an invisible force, making it difficult to breathe.

"Shall I call the Doctor to check you?" Tracy asked, following her closely from behind.

"No, it's fine." Sefi shook her head. She didn't need a doctor.

"Oh, the young master will be so happy to see your recovery." Tracy clapped her hands.

Yes, Sefi thought. It's about time I got some answers!