★★★★★
NEXT MORNING, THE HANS MANSION**
Echo woke up with a throbbing headache and struggled to sit up on her bed.
“Gosh!, My head!” She squinted, holding it with her two hands.
“How did I even get home last night?” She wondered.
Mrs Han came in with a bowl of warm hangover soup.
“eomma” Echo pouted.
She sat beside her and hugged her.
“It’s fine, sorry” she said, patting her back.
“Mum” she groaned again.
“It’s ok, did someone say something about it again?” Mrs Han said.
“Yes, but it’s true anyways, I ki||ed him” she replied.
“No you didn’t, it was all a coincidence” Mrs Han replied and Echo broke the hug.
“How did I get home last night?” She asked.
“Reece brought you” Mrs Han replied.
Echo remembered hugging and pecking someone last night, thinking it was her late dad.
“It was him” she muttered with a dry smile.
“Who?” Mrs Han asked.
“Mummy’s boy” Echo smiled.
*****
THE ALEJANDRO’S MANSION**
Reece fell on the couch and his mind went to last night when he took Echo to her house.
FLASHBACK, LAST NIGHT**
Reece had to struggle as he took Echo out of his car.
She’s wobbling on her sneakers and saying gibberish, struggling with him as he took her in.
They’re in front of her house.
She got drunk in the party earlier and slept off in his arms after saying the words he’s still yet to understand.
He finally succeeded in taking her to the door, he rang the doorbell.
Mrs Han opened the door and looks surprised to see them.
“Echo!, Reece!, Gosh she’s totally wasted” she said and tried to take her from him but she’s staggering so much.
“Dad I’m sorry” she muttered again and Mrs Han understood immediately.
Someone must have said something about her past.
Reece heaped her on his back and took her upstairs to her room.
He placed her on the bed and covered her before going back downstairs with Mrs Han.
“I’ll be on my way ma’am” he said immediately.
“I know she’d have said some words that sounds like gibberish, like she ki||ed her dad” she replied and he got more curious.
Mrs Han sat with a sad smile.
“Echo was once a kleptomaniac” she said and Reece eyes widened.
He sat in front of her slowly.
“Kleptomaniac?, How did she…
“I dunno how she developed the monstrous disorder….she started by stealing my jewelries, not like she’ll sell it or use it, she’ll just drop it in her room and when I start searching for it, she’ll open up that she mistakenly took it, that went on till she stole cash from one of her classmates and she was disgraced in school, she has vowed never to go to school anymore but I had to coax her, she resumed school but it won’t stop, she steals pen, notebooks, phones, even hairpins, things that are of no use to her” Mrs Han explained in tears.
“Her dad and I…we were ridiculed and we turned to laughing stocks for everyone that time…we were in Busan back then, her brother Asbel tried everything he could for her but it still persisted , she kept disgracing us with the disorder till one day….”
She shed more tears at this point.
“Her dad came home with two bags of cash meant for a huge contract in the company, the two bags disappeared before daybreak and no one suspected her cos she wasn’t at home, she didn’t come home that night…her dad was already crying, thinking it’s finished, we contacted the police and told them about it but nothing could be done, unknown to us, Echo sneaked in that night, she took the money and… dropped it anywhere, she didn’t even remember where she dropped it, her dad was driving and thinking about the huge lost so he lost concentration and jammed a truck, his car blew up and he got burnt with the car, Echo confessed about it that same day and she was arrested, she was jailed for six months in juvenile” Mrs Han cried as she explained.
Reece is already in tears too but he quickly wiped it when she was about to look her way.
“Miraculously, her maniac is gone when she came out of jail, I dunno how it happened but it ended there, but she’s still guilty, she believes she ki||ed her dad, that’s why we relocated from Busan to here Reece” Mrs Han completed the story.
She bursted into hysterical tears immediately and Reece stood and went to her.
He hugged her lightly.
“It’s fine, she’ll be fine, I’ll help her” he assured, patting her gently.
END OF FLASHBACK**
Reece sighed and stood from the couch.
He checked the time and gasped.
“9:30!”
He ran upstairs to prepare for school.
******
MAYBELLINE COLLEGE**
After the first class, Polly got her phone and left the class.
She went to the back of the block and dialled the attorney’s number.
Luckily he picked fast.
“Attorney Klein?” She said.
“Yes?”
“It’s Pollyanna Kang” she replied.
“Oh Polly, how’re you?”
“Is the request for appeal regarding my twin sister successful?” She asked impatiently.
“I tried my best and trust me…”
Polly held her breath.
“It was successful, I was just about to call you” he replied and Polly smiled.
“It was?, Yes!, So when is the date?” She asked.
“It’ll be set tommorow and she’ll be on probation till the set date will come, try to talk her into not cause trouble before then so the appeal won’t be cancelled” he said.
“I’ll do that, I’ll call you tomorrow to know the date set for the appeal” she replied.
“Sure, take care” he replied and she hung up.
She smiled widely afterwards.
Their twentieth birthday is coming and she badly wants to celebrate it with her.
She turned to go back to class but saw Twinkle behind.
“You scared me!” She held her chest.
“I came to say sorry about last night” he said.
“I’m not angry” she replied and made to go but he held her.
“But I’ll be angry if you do this” she said, looking at the arm hes holding.
He quickly let her go.
“I’m sorry Pollyanna, I was just…
“I don’t like you Twinkle” she said flatly.
“Why?, I’m not handsome?” He replied.
“I don’t judge faces and even if I were to, you’re handsome” she replied.
“Then?”
“I just don’t feel attracted to you, right from day one at the station” she said.
“Polly” he said hurtfully.
“Follow another girl but definitely not me”
“I came here cos of you seriously” he said.
“You shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry” she said and left him there.
He tried not to cry but the tears came out.
Polly came across Travis who’s just coming out of the library.
“Bookworm” she teased.
“Whoa!, You talked to me first, that’s strange” he smiled, looking at the hairpin in her hair.
She took in her lower lip slightly.
He came closer and pushed the hairpin more tightly into her hair.
“It might just fall off” he said.
“Thanks, mum gave it to me, thanks for finding it too” she replied and they started looking at each other, staring endlessly and smiling till some students ran past them.
? She was once a kleptomaniac?
? Echo I can’t believe it!
? That’s a shameful disorder!
Travis and Polly exchanged glances before rushing to the main block where students are already standing in groups, looking at their phones.
They both did the same and saw the news.
**ECHO HAN WAS ONCE A KLEPTOMANIAC WHO ki||ED HER DAD AND WENT TO JAIL**
“What the hell..” Polly said and made to rush into the class but Echo came out with tears in her eyes.
? Were you really a kleptomaniac?
? Did you really ki|| your dad?
? You’re wicked.
? You even went to jail once
? I can’t believe this!
? How could you ki|| your dad!
The questions came in folds and Jules is obviously the ringleader of the questionnaires.
Echo kept looking around at the girls who are questioning her.
The scene of how her father’s car blew up in the accident that year came to her head and she cried more profusely.
“I’m a murderer” she said to herself, guilt enveloping her completely.
“So you can cry too, never knew” Jules laughed.
Reece stepped in and pushed Jules, she fell to the ground and everyone shifted back as Jules looked up defiantly.
“How could you push me” she glared.
“Posting about her past on the group was petty, slut, she didn’t ki|| her dad” he said and pulled Echo’s hand away from the scene.
He took her to the park and helped her into the car, he got in too.
He started wiping her tears gently but she kept crying.
He hugged her and she cried on his shoulder.
“You didn’t ki|| your father, it wasn’t you Echo” he said.
******
GSH**
Clara finally woke up and Mr Blackstone sat in front of her.
“Dad” she said drowsily.
“Let’s go back abroad immediately, we can go to Britain this time around” he said.
“No,I came all the way here for Mr and Miss Korea which is just a week and some days away so I’m staying till I win” she replied.
Mr Blackstone started crying.
“I don’t want to lose you Clara, you’re my only hope, please”
“It was just a movie with Genny, I know now” she said and he quickly looked up.
“Huh?, You’re out of your illusion?” He said shockingly.
“I am, but I still love Genny” she replied.