3 (Giving up)

"How long?" I uttered calmly. I could barely force out those two words.

Seeing him stay silent, I clenched my hands and spoke again louder. "How long Jin? How long have you been with her?" my voice started cracking near the end. I closed my eyes as I tried to stop my tears. Moving a few steps away from the door, afraid of the answer he was going to give.

"...A year."

That was all it took for me to collapse onto the floor, my tears fell uncontrollably. My hands shook as I remembered the blood from the accident. I couldn't hear anything anymore. The multiple scandals, my mini accidents, the assaults. My vision blurred with each memory.

My mind replayed over and over the crash. The maniacal look on her face. The pain reached its maximum once I remembered my baby. My baby didn't even get the chance to live before getting ripped away from me. Why did I have to love? Why did I fight for him? I lost my family. My in-laws hate me. And Jin... My throat choked, remembering. The one person I thought would stay with me...

With a sharp cry, my brain slowly started shutting down. Locking itself out from everything.

///////

Jin started knocking on the door frantically. Calling out Mia's name as loud as he could. The moment he heard a soft thud, he knew she was closing herself off. Resentment and self-loathing filled his entire being. He had destroyed the one thing he should've valued.

He started to look around the house for the spare keys. He needed to be there. Seeing his mother, he rushed over to her.

A strong resounding slap greeted him. Clutching his face, he looked at her.

"M-mom, I-"

"Did I raise you wrong?" Jin went silent at her question.

"Did I not teach you? I may hate your wife for her family. But never would I ever agree to your decision of having an affair!" Mrs. Lim looked at her son, disappointment and sadness clouded her face.

"All the scandals, the incidents that could've either raped or killed her were all planned. All by the very person you spent sleeping with for an entire year..." she shook her head. "Son, had your father been alive till now, he would've been disappointed. I may blame her parents for your father's death, but my head is clear enough to at least see things. Your wife has sacrificed so much for you. Despite my own harassment, she stayed strong. Despite every misfortune, she fought back. She endured everything so that you wouldn't have to suffer through it. That, I honestly give her my respect. But..." falling silent, she looked at the picture in the living room.

It was the wedding picture of her son and daughter-in-law. The genuine happiness and love they had for each other was clear as day. And she wished she could've accepted that sooner. Comparing the Mia from the photo to the one now, she knew in her heart that recovery was bleak.

"I don't think she can come back from this anymore." she whispered softly. She herself witnessed the relentless attack after attack on the young woman. And if she were in her shoes, she would've gone insane. Regrets filled her as she looked at her son, then to the wedding photo.