Redemption! (2)

After a while, Sarah and Louis separated. Returning her younger brother to her mother, she faced Martin quite angrily.

Seeing her stare full of anger and hate toward him, Martin pronounced the following words as he bowed in shame before everyone, “ I’m sorry! “

Laughing sarcastically at the word pronounced by Martin, Sarah glared at him even more as she retorted, “ You’re sorry? You? The great Martin Kyung who tormented me for months? You’re sorry? Don’t make me laugh! “

—

The atmosphere got all awkward once Sarah had concluded her statement. Still silent, Martin spoke forward, “ I can understand why you would doubt my intentions. After all, I’ve been nothing more than a rich brat who cared about nothing more than having you, going to all lengths to reach that goal. “

—

“ If anything, you shouldn’t forgive me for my misdeeds. Don’t forgive me, Sarah! Instead, you should punish me severely for what I had put you and your family through. “

!

At hearing those words, Jennifer flinched slightly as she wondered internally what Martin could be up to. Gazing inside, Martin’s attention led to a broom. Making his way inside, Mrs. Evangelina protected her son, fearing he might take him away as he once did in the past. However, instead of doing what she had anticipated, he grabbed the broom and walked back to Sarah who he extended it and said feeling quite remorseful, “ Take it, Sarah, and have your revenge! Punish me however you wish until you’re satisfied! “

—

Jennifer and Lucas were stunned by the sudden turn of events. While Jennifer looked on, Lucas whispered, “ Do you think Sarah will do it? Do you think she’ll have the guts to punish him? “

To that question, Jennifer had no answer to give. Instead, she said, “ Knowing Sarah, she probably won’t do it, but you never know, I guess. “

Grinning suddenly, Jennifer was put off, “ What’s the grin for? “

“ I just had a great idea. “

“ A great idea! What’s that? “

— “ Why don’t we make a bet? “ He grinned maliciously, putting Jennifer off even more.

Before she could ask what kind of bet he had in mind, Lucas said, “ Let’s bet on what Sarah will do! I think she’ll punish him. What about you? “

Silent for almost a minute, she responded, “ She won’t do it. She’ll take the broom but won’t do it in the end. “ Her response was sharp and concise.

Grinning even more as a result, Lucas said further, “ Let’s wait and see! “

—

Back to the two, Sarah’s expression turned dark as she glared at Martin with hatred deep within her heart. Recalling all the moments Martin had tormented her and all the times she had to cry because of her younger brother, or even the times she had to console her mother to sleep due to her son’s disappearance, Sarah’s decision was clear and precise in her mind.

Grabbing the broom from Martin’s hand and recalling his smudging expression as he mocked her to his heart’s content, Sarah extended the broom high. With enough determination in her eyes, she inadvertently dropped the broom to the ground when the moment came to strike.

In a loss, Martin asked, confused, “ Why, Sarah? Why won’t you punish me? “

“ I did you wrong not once, but numerous times, so why won’t you take your anger out on me? I deserve your hatred and should be punished for my actions, so why won’t you punish me? “

—

“ Because I’m not like you, Mr. Kyung. “ She said simply. “You indeed hurt and tormented me, but what wrong will that solve to take my anger out on you? Will that take out all the pain you’ve caused me? Will that erase all those months, all those nights my mom and I had to cry because of you? If beating you up to a pulp will take all those sorrows away, then I’ll gladly do it, but will they? “

Glaring at him and uttering sadly, she said, “ You’re not worth it, Mr. Kyung! You’re not worth my tears and neither my hatred, because in the end, you mean nothing to me, so why should I hold you accountable for your actions? We only ever get angry at those we care deeply about, but you’re not one of them. “

Turning around as she was done speaking, she said with her back turned to him, “ I’m thankful that you brought my brother back to me. I could never thank you enough for bringing our joy back into our lives. Now that you’ve done what you came here to do, I’ll kindly ask you to leave and I hope to never get to see you again, Mr. Kyung. “

Running toward the kitchen, Mrs. Evangelina and Louis followed her while Martin remained immobile.

“ I guess you won our bet, Jennifer. “ Lucas said to which Jennifer retorted, “ She might have hated him to the point of wanting to hurt him, but deep inside, she’s still grateful to him for his help back then. “

Advancing toward Martin and standing right in front of him, she spoke up nonchalantly, “ Were you expecting a better result than this? “

Having lowered his head at the time, he lifted it and looking at Jennifer, he said, sadly, “ Not in the slightest, but I suppose deep within my heart, I still hoped for a better result, you know—------ “

“ When I looked into her eyes and saw all that hatred she harbored for me, I realized at that specific time that what I had done to her could never be undone. I have marked her for life and for that she’ll never forgive me, but even though I know that, why do I still feel this way? Why exactly do I want her to forgive me? Why exactly do I intend to earn her forgiveness so badly? “

—

“ Why not figure it out, then? “ Jennifer uttered out of the blue, confusing Martin in the process.

“ What? “

Retorting to him, she said, “ Figure out your feelings and make up your mind about what exactly it is you want! “

Two hours later, at home, Sarah was nowhere to be found after dinner. While looking for her, Jennifer found her to be outside, her mind wandering far into the distance.

Not making a sound, Jennifer joined her. Supporting her in silence, at some point, she started sobbing uncontrollably, unable to explain the reason.

Leaning on Jennifer, she cried her heart out. Supporting her the best she could, she tapped lightly on her back and said, “ It’s alright, Sarah, go ahead and evacuate your emotions! I’ll be here with you until you’re done. “

Within an hour of getting everything out, Sarah’s eyes looked all puffy due to a lot of crying. Wiping off her tears gently, Jennifer uttered, “ It’s alright, Sarah—-- Things will slowly get back to normal, I can promise you that much. “

Speaking after all the crying, she said, “ Thank you, Jennifer, for being here with me and lending me your support. I truly appreciate it, so thanks. “

Flicking a finger over her head, she retorted, “ What are you saying, silly? Aren’t we friends, so why shouldn’t I be here with you? Where should I be if not by your side? “

“ No, not a friend! “

?

“ You’re more than a friend to me, Jennifer. You’re more like a big sister to me, so, would it be alright if I called you sister from now on? “

!

Surprised at first, Jennifer soon grinned and said, grinning slightly, “ Yes, of course you may, my baby sister! “

“ Thanks, big sis for being here. I hope you’ll always be here with me and never leave my side. “

Those were the words Sarah pronounced toward Jennifer as she hugged the latter lovingly.

Whereas, in Martin Kyung’s mansion, he was constantly thinking about Sarah and the scarred face she had on while facing him head-on. Recalling Jennifer’s words next, he mumbled, “ What exactly was I after in the end? Why in the world did I have to hurt her like that in the first place? “

As he was mumbling, his mother made her way inside his room. Not noticing her presence, she sat beside him and asked, “ What are you mumbling, Son? Is everything alright? “

Noticing his mother’s presence at last, he landed his head on her lap as he lay down. Not understanding at first glance why her son was behaving so bizarrely, she patted his head gently.

At some point, he asked his mother, “ Mother, do you think I’m a good son? “

?

Confused by the sudden question, she asked, “ What kind of question is that? Where is this coming from? “

“ Please answer me, Mom! “ He retorted. “ Am I a good son? “

Sighing, she said, “ Of course, you’re a good son, Mat. You may be impetuous at times, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. Why did you ask me such a question? Did something happen? Did someone say bad things about you? “

—

“ Of course not, Mom. “ He laughed it off. “ Who would dare ridicule me? It’s nothing like that. I was asking merely out of curiosity; There’s nothing more to it, I swear. “

Although hard to believe, she nodded and said, “ Alright, I believe you, Mat. Now, come down with me for dinner! “

“ Sorry, Mom, but I’m not that hungry, so you go ahead. “ He said simply. “ I promise to eat something once I’m hungry though. “ He grinned slightly, but the mother could feel something was amiss with her son even though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly it was.

Walking out of his room, she mumbled, “ What could be troubling my son and why isn’t he confiding in me, his mother? “