An Inevitable Fate?

Rachel fidgeted in her seat as she tried to collect words carefully.

"I'm sorry but, can we meet tomorrow, if you are free? I want to meet you in person…. Okay… Sure… I will see you tomorrow then. Bye."

She had thought that Darren wouldn't agree to meet her but thankfully, he said yes. At least, she could explain and apologize to him in person.

She released a breath that she had held for a long time.

"Are you going to see him?"

Aaron questioned.

"Of course, I should see him. He deserves an explanation."

Aaron tightened his grip around the steering wheel. He reminded himself to stay calm and not to say nasty stuff at this time.

He nodded his head and the silence fell again.

After thirty minutes of driving, they reached their destination.

It was slightly dark outside with one or two street lights. The land was not crowded with buildings like the city. It was so calm that they could hear each other's breathing.

"Where are we?"

Rachel asked without making an attempt to get down from the car.

If she was given an option, she would choose not to put her foot on the land! It was as scary as hell.

But of course, Aaron never gave an option.

He got down and motioned for her to do the same.

Just as her feet touched the ground, a howl echoed through the silent land.

Her back went stiff for a second.

'Damn it! This place is so creepy and you called it home? It's more like a graveyard!'

She cursed his ancestors for bringing her to such a place.

'Calm down, calm down.'

She chanted all the while and soon, they reached the door.

Aaron entered the password and the door opened.

She squinted her eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light.

"This is..."

Hey! She knew this place. She was 'escorted' to this place when she was drunk back then.

Back then it was quite clean but now it was... a little dirty.

There was dust almost everywhere. All the windows were closed and due to this, there was no ventilation. The air was a little stiff in there.

"I couldn't inform Aunt Lucy to clean beforehand. Just make do for now."

Rachel was confused.

'Who is Aunt Lucy?'

"Is this… Is this yours?"

Didn't he live with his family at the Lee mansion?

He removed his blazer and rolled up his sleeves. He spoke as he started to clean.

"Yes, this house is my grandfather's gift."

He cleaned the sofa set and the small dining table. He went to the kitchen and came back with a plastic cover that contained trash.

In just a few minutes he had cleaned almost everything. But Rachel had stood at the door all the time awkwardly. She didn't move or try to help him mainly because she wasn't comfortable in touching other people's stuff.

Time to time, she would ask him questions to get rid of the awkwardness.

"My grandmother's tomb is in this town. I used to visit her a lot when I was a kid. But when my family shifted to the U.S, I had to travel and stay in the hotel. To make it easy for me, my grandfather bought this for me."

"Oh, is it okay for you to stay here now?"

He came out washing his face and hair in the washbasin. The water was dripping from his hair making him look hot.

Any other woman would be drooling right now but unfortunately, Rachel didn't even notice it.

"Except for my grandpa, my family doesn't know about this place. I mean, they know I have a house but they don't know the exact location."

He wiped his face with a clean white towel and motioned Rachel to clean up.

"There's a bathroom down here as well as in the room. You can go wash up first."

She nodded and started to climb the stairs. Though she was here before, she had not got the time to look around on that day.

The house was not too big but a small one-storeyed building. There were two rooms on the first floor.

One was the master bedroom and the other was a small study room.

There was not much furniture, to begin with. There was a king-size bed with a white bedsheet covered.

She stood at the door and contemplated a moment.

Last time she had escaped from here but now, she was going to stay here!

She took a deep breath and walked inside. Everything looked the same except for a few items.

Pushing the attached door, she entered the bathroom. It was simple and clean. There were a small bathtub and a sink at the corner.

A small wooden cabinet was filled with white towels. She chewed the inner side of the cheek as she got lost in her thoughts.

Down in the hall, Aaron's mobile rang loudly.

He saw the caller ID and pinched his forehead. Nevertheless, he answered it.

"Mom,"

"Mom? Now you remember that I exist? What have you done, you unfilial son of mine!"

His mother was roaring in a fit of anger.