chapter48 The Xins

*hello Mr and Mrs Xin.

" you are looking as gorgeous as ever miss Grace"

"and its a nice fur thing you're wearing Mrs Xin" Grace scowled

" oh Grace, still a sarcastic as ever I see. but if you must know this is an exotic wolf's fur" the older woman bragged.

" wearing an exotic wolf's fur to a charity event for Wildlife preservation is a dumb idea. don't you think?" Grace mocked.

"I'll advice you to refrain from talking to my wife in such a manner" Mr Xin warned. he is just as two faced as his wife. the two of them deserve each other.

hate is such a small word compared to the how she really feels about the couple.

despite being such talented doctors, they turned out to be horrible parents. the absolute worst.

even though Grace's mom died when she was still young, Grace knew for a fact that her mother loves her. a lot. and even if her dad is terrible at expressing his emotions she knows be beyond reasonable doubt that her father loves her.

these two are vivid examples of how parents shouldn't be like.

they shouldn't treat their children make trophies on a display case.

they shouldn't care more about medical researches than their children.

they shouldn't care more about public appearance than their children.

most importantly, they shouldn't make the children feel unloved.

and that is exactly what they did.

Grace was too busy at the parents scowling at her best friend's parents to notice someone behind them. it until he stepped forward to greet Lucas.

" Lucas you've finally decided to come out of your little corner" Lucas chuckles in response.

" Martins?" this man is none other than Maya's older brother an older brother to her too. " I haven't seen you around in a millennia"

"yeah" Martins scratched his head "I uhm.. went on my honeymoon"

" you got married?!" Maya didn't mention any wedding "when. who. how?"

" you came here with Mr Lin. as your date I don't think its proper to be so concerned about another man's married life" Mr Xin scoffed.

Grace was about to make a snarly remark of her own but Lucas beat her to it.

"don't. speak to her that way. ever" Lucas growled and the older stepped back in surrender.

"so. who is the missus" Grace asked 'this can't be good'

"young Miss LuXing" Mrs Xin answered instead.

" who is lucky lady" Grace repeated ignoring the other woman completely.

"Sylvia LuXing" Martins muttered.

Sylvia? pretentious gold digging airhead. Martins is the most damaged of the Xin siblings. he's actually eight years older than his immediate younger sister, Maya. and he spent those years alone, with no present family member. imagine how happy he must have felt when his sisters came along.

it's one thing to marry pretentious snobby brat it's another thing to marry of gold digging airhead. this must be his parents idea. the Xins and LuXings have always being closely connected but, rumors has it that the patriarch of the family got tricked and lost most of their fortune while gambling.

'bunch of sucker'

hasn't Martins suffered enough?. first he was born to neglecting parents like Mr and Mrs Xin and now his so called parents has taken away the rest of his life and giving it to an airhead.

Martins is like an older brother to her, always looking out for her, Maya and Mia. he stood by Maya's side even when their parents kicked her out because she insisted on studying architecture and not medicine like they wanted. and even though Maya studied via and academic scholarship, he paid for everything else; her apartment, her feeding and upkeep just so that his little sister achieve her dreams.

Grace respects this man so much and earnestly hopes he gets the happiness he deserves.

she felt the urge to hug him, so she did. she hugged him with so much force, they almost fell over but Martins steadied them.

" are you going to be okay?" she asked in a sad whisper.

Martins nodded against her shoulder "we had an agreement. she does her thing and I do mine. no intrusions. besides I have Ricky and he is my world"

Ricky is Martin's three year old son with the woman he loves. Martins parents didn't approve of her. so they tried buying her off when she refused, they threatened her and her blind father. she had to run away but not before leaving little Richard in Martin's care.

maybe if Martins isn't so shy, soft spoken and introverted maybe if he was braver and outspoken. maybe just maybe the man Grace regards as on older brother would be living a life of happiness, free from the chains his parents has tied him down with.

" make sure to be happy for little Ricky's sake"

Grace said before stepping out of the hug.

"I will"

~~~~~~~~

"that was... intense" they were calling it a night "yeah" silence. "Martin is my best friend's brother he's also like a brother to me"

Lucas nodded in understanding "he can be really reserved but he's also a great guy and one hell of a doctor."

" I'm sorry for all the drama"

" are you kidding this is by far the best social event I have been to"

"better than standing in a corner and observing?"

"way better" Lucas laughed" we should go out together more often"

" like more dates"

"yep. more dates"

they were both grinning like idiots