The Birthmark(1)

Author：Han Zhi Le

1

At first sight of the wealthy Jefferson McKenna, Kathleen Yandow remembered what Joyce had told her years ago.

"You will fall in love with someone because of this birthmark, and you will also kill someone because of it."

Back then, Kathleen had just started studying at a junior high school. During the summer break, she went to the seaside with her parents and stayed at a hotel in Bloudence.

The hotel was not far from the sea. Reconstructed from a residential building, it had a large courtyard, where broad-leaved ornamental trees surrounded its walls.

Joyce was the proprietress of the hotel. A woman in her thirties, she was slender and charming. Kathleen had no idea where the woman came from. Joyce possessed a dulcet voice and sounded like she was singing whenever she spoke.

As soon as Kathleen saw Joyce, she stared at the latter intently and did not react until her mother patted her.

"Don't keep staring at others. It's impolite," Kathleen's mother whispered.

Although she spoke softly, there was nobody else in the hotel at that time. As such, Joyce, who was behind the counter, still overheard those words. She looked at Kathleen and blinked mischievously.

At that moment, Kathleen sensed her heart skip a beat. It was the first time she felt her heart flutter. Moreover, it was a woman who had elicited this reaction from her.

Kathleen's family had planned to stay in the hotel for three days. When they returned from the seaside the following afternoon, Kathleen's parents went back to their room to pack up.

Kathleen was still excited and did not want to stay in the room. Thus, she took a glass and sat on one of the chairs in the courtyard, which had been reserved for guests to lounge on. There, she drank her orange juice.

There was no one else in the hotel at that time. Joyce, who was bored and had nothing else to do, left the counter and sat beside Kathleen to chat with her.

She asked Kathleen about her name, age, and grade. They were the boring questions that adults typically asked, but Kathleen did not feel annoyed at all.

Instead, she answered them one by one, as if these questions became important as soon as they came out of Joyce's mouth.

That day, Kathleen wore a milky white chiffon camisole, her two smooth arms bare. She chatted with Joyce happily.

However, when Joyce saw the birthmark on Kathleen's left shoulder, her expression suddenly changed, and her gaze darkened as if she recalled something ominous. After that, she touched the birthmark and said those words to Kathleen.

2

The birthmark was located on Kathleen's left shoulder and on the right side of her shoulder blade. It was as big as the lid of a mug, and it was made up of several blue-black lines. It looked as if someone had used a marker with a thick nib to scribble on her body.

At one point, when Kathleen was in elementary school, she had a strong interest in the birthmark. She would face the bathroom mirror and draw the birthmark on her notebook.

Then, she would stare at her drawing all day long, feeling as if she could detect the signs of fate in a child's doodles. Soon, however, she could not discover anything special, so she stopped caring about it.

Kathleen ran the fingers of her right hand over the area Joyce had just touched. She felt slightly confused and thought, "It's just a birthmark. Why did Joyce say that?"

Nevertheless, Joyce's words piqued her curiosity, so Kathleen asked in a confused manner, "In that case, how do I know who that person is?"

Joyce caressed Kathleen's cheek with a compassionate expression and said, "You don't need to know. You'll understand when he shows up."

Kathleen wanted to ask Joyce why she said that, but her mother suddenly ordered her to head inside. Her mother was shouting anxiously and harshly. Kathleen was afraid that her mother would get angry, so she decided to go back to her room first and ask Joyce later.

Unexpectedly, Joyce did not show up again, even when they left Bloudence. Joyce's husband had taken over as the manager of the hotel. He was a soft-spoken bald man with a kind and approachable appearance. The man sat behind the counter and read a newspaper.

That day, Kathleen's family was about to leave Bloudence. Kathleen's parents were busy packing up their things and ordering their daughter about at the same time. As such, the girl did not have the opportunity to ask about Joyce's whereabouts.

Ever since that encounter, Kathleen did not forget about Joyce's words for quite some time. Later, she was occupied with her studies and other matters, and she eventually forgot about the issue.

3

Kathleen studied business management at university, thinking that she would become the manager of a large enterprise in the future.

However, she did not expect that she would only become an administrative specialist after graduation. People who took up this sort of role were known to carry out odd jobs.

She joined a film company, and her boss was a wealthy man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was not just an ordinary rich man but super rich. The man's name was Jefferson McKenna, and Kathleen had heard about him.

Apart from rumors about being in relationships with various celebrities and models, Jefferson was also listed as one of the country's ten most enterprising business elites under the age of 30 by a famous local business magazine some time ago.

During that period, Jefferson was on a business trip abroad. After working at the company for nearly a month, Kathleen finally met Jefferson in person.

Jefferson was tall, handsome, and dignified. Kathleen had trouble breathing when she saw him, and her heart pounded in her chest. It was not that she had never seen a good-looking man before, but it was her first time experiencing this feeling of infatuation.

It was at this moment that Kathleen remembered what Joyce had told her, "You'll understand when he shows up."

Another piece of evidence that proved Jefferson was the person Joyce was referring to was the birthmark on Kathleen's shoulder blade. Perhaps it was just a hunch, but no matter how Kathleen scrutinized her birthmark, its left half seemed like a combination of the letters "J" and "M," which formed the initials of Jefferson's name.

Kathleen held her shoulders and looked in the mirror for a long time, wondering why she had never thought of the meaning of those lines before. Then, she thought, "By this logic, the right half of my birthmark is made up of two 'Zs.' Could the other man who's destined to cross paths with me have two 'Zs' as his initials?"

When Kathleen discovered these signs, it seemed that the threads of fate between her and Jefferson had begun to intertwine. Jefferson's assistant was fired because of her incompetence, and Jefferson decided to get someone from the administrative department to temporarily become his assistant.

The person who got transferred to him was Kathleen.

As soon as Kathleen received word about this, she started to panic. The way things developed was a little too cliché. She had read a lot of Mary Sue novels like "Domineering CEO Falls in Love with Me." The same situation often happened at the beginning of these types of novels.

Kathleen was nervous yet somewhat expectant. After waiting for so many years, she finally felt that she was going to be the main character in this life.

4

On the first day as Jefferson's assistant, Kathleen showed up for work very early. There was still no one in the spacious office.

The assistant's desk was just outside Jefferson's office. She walked over and noticed the door to Jefferson's office was open. There was a sound coming from inside.

Kathleen peeked inside and saw Jefferson standing by the window, drinking a cup of coffee. She was startled and quickly retreated.

"Come in!" Jefferson, who remained in his office, called her. His voice was gravelly, and he sounded like a man who just met another human being after being imprisoned for a long time.

Kathleen set her bag down, took her notebook and pen, and entered Jefferson's office.

"Sit anywhere you want," Jefferson said with his back facing her. He was looking at an artificial lake in a park nearby.

Kathleen found a chair with a backrest and sat down.

After drinking coffee, Jefferson turned around and walked to his desk. He was about five feet eleven inches tall with slender limbs and a small, oval face. A fair-skinned man with slight, natural curls and a tender gaze, he seemed a bit effeminate at first glance.

However, upon closer inspection, he had rather strong facial features. His nose and eyes were arranged in a way that produced a charming and handsome face. Simply put, in terms of appearance, Jefferson was as attractive as those celebrities on television.

Kathleen kept her eyes on Jefferson. The latter remained expressionless and did not even look at her.

They were facing each other with a desk between them. Kathleen felt nervous and thought, "Is he going to assert his dominance?"

As if treading on thin ice, Kathleen was on guard. Suddenly, Jefferson asked, "Well, have we met each other before?"

Jefferson's words caught Kathleen off guard. She thought, "Is he hitting on me? This doesn't seem to be the right place and time for him to do so. Is he testing me?"

"No." Kathleen denied it firmly. "You must be mistaken."

Jefferson grunted in response. After a moment's silence, he pushed himself toward his desk, rested his arms on its surface, and stared straight into Kathleen's eyes. Next, he asked even more directly, "Do you have any feelings for me?"

Upon hearing Jefferson's words, Kathleen almost passed out. Instinctively, she asked, "What sort of feelings?"

Jefferson scratched his head and replied in a troubled manner, "I don't know. Perhaps that includes shortness of breath and weakness of the limbs. It's like being drunk."

As her heart beat faster, Kathleen thought, "Didn't I feel this way when I first met him? Could this feeling be mutual?"

"To tell you the truth," Jefferson continued without waiting for her answer, "I purposely transferred you here. There's not much work for you to do. I just want to, uh, spend some time with you. By the way, you don't have a boyfriend, do you? Your résumé states that you're unmarried."

Kathleen widened her eyes, and she almost fell off her chair.

She thought, "What the heck? Does he have to be so forward?"

5

[Leave him, or you will die!]

When Kathleen received an anonymous note with these words, she had already been dating Jefferson for half a year. The relationship between the two was loving and harmonious. Simply put, it was a match made in heaven. Kathleen had never experienced this kind of relationship before, and she often harbored fantasies about it.

As a result, for half a year, she lived as if she was in a beautiful dream that she could never even dream about.

The longer the time spent with Jefferson, the better Kathleen got to know him. It turned out that most of the rumors and gossip about her boyfriend were baseless.

Jefferson's personality was unique, and the man could not be described as a cheerful or introverted person. Kathleen had read about this sort of personality in a book on psychology, though she could not remember its name.

There was a type of person who would develop a fake personality as a result of external stimulation. He might look bubbly and cheerful on the outside when in fact, he was introverted and silent.

Jefferson seemed to be this kind of person. He often gave off an optimistic and cheerful vibe. However, after spending some time with others, the demeanor he had created for himself would fade away briefly whenever he was tired or at ease.

When that happened, Jefferson appeared to be melancholic and lonely. It reminded Kathleen of a hunter sitting alone in front of a bonfire in the wilderness.

Kathleen was deeply attracted to Jefferson, and at the same time, she could feel Jefferson's strong desire for her.

After working at the company for three months, Kathleen resigned at Jefferson's suggestion. After all, office romances were sensitive. Plus, she was dating the boss.

After resigning, Jefferson asked Kathleen if there was anything she wanted to do. She thought about it carefully and said that she had been interested in drama since she was a child, so she wanted to pursue this field. However, she was still not sure what exactly she wanted to learn.

Instead of expressing his opinions, Jefferson showed his support through action. Three days later, he used his resources and pulled some strings to secure a special pass for Kathleen. With this pass, Kathleen could participate in the courses at the university at will.

To Jefferson, money had nothing to do with satisfying basic needs like food, clothing, housing, and transportation. On the contrary, he used money as a tool to change the world and enjoy what the world had to offer him.

In his opinion, Kathleen was the world's gift to him. Therefore, when it came to material goods, Jefferson was not stingy toward Kathleen at all. In fact, he behaved very generously toward Kathleen and was even willing to give her the world.

Kathleen agreed that Jefferson had settled all her living expenses. However, it was done in a less-than-dignified manner.

Nevertheless, Kathleen did not refuse her boyfriend's offer. She accepted it willingly and, with a chuckle, said, "I didn't expect to be your sugar baby."

Jefferson also laughed and said, "I didn't expect there would be a girl in this world who could make me feel this way."

Kathleen asked, "What does it feel like?"

Jefferson stroked Kathleen's chin with his slender fingers and looked into her eyes affectionately. "It feels like I'm willing to give you the world!"

Upon hearing this, Kathleen held her breath and felt a lump in her throat. Following that, she burst into tears.

Jefferson looked for a tissue hastily and handed it to Kathleen.

Kathleen wiped away her tears, looked at Jefferson's wary expression, and spoke with a smile. "Haven't you seen a girl cry before?"

Jefferson scratched his head sheepishly. "I hardly have the chance to do so!"

"Don't tell me I'm your first girlfriend," Kathleen replied.

Jefferson shook his head. A wistful expression appeared on his face. "I had only one girlfriend. She loved to laugh, and I never saw her cry."

Kathleen asked, "Then, why did you two break up?"

Jefferson shook his head in a confused manner. "I don't know."

Kathleen was surprised. "You got dumped?"

Jefferson smiled sadly, "You can say that. She left me."

Initially, Kathleen wanted to ask Jefferson whether his ex-girlfriend had made him want to give her the world. However, when she saw the crestfallen look on Jefferson's face, she decided not to ask him that question.