Chapter 8
Nicholas pov
We got into the car, then a message popped up. I had no idea who they were, but it said the Paradoxes.
They are seven groups of families with connection and authority within the country. The main reason why business runs well.
They believe they are perfect, and sacred, and they believe if they continue to be together as one, no one could stop them.
The name Paradoxes originated from their surname. The Page family and Rabb family are known for their political power and connection around the world, while the Demers family, O'Bannon family, Xavier family, Edmond family, and Simpsons family are known for their power within the country.
Apparently, their children are in the same university, so they formed another club for punishment and leadership for other students based on the power of their family.
After finishing the message, I asked Laurel, "What are you going to do now?"
She smiled. "What do you mean? Teach them a little lesson."
"How?" I said.
"Nothing happens in Canada without Mr. Tucker Morqles knowing. He is the backbone for each and every one of them."
Mr. Tucker Morqles, my father's friend. A ruthless being that will sacrifice anything that comes his way, or people he cherishes. He took a liking to Laurel shortly after the accident. Even when my dad lost all hope on Laurel, he always said she is the toughest.
Immediately, Laurel booked a flight for both of us, heading to the Morqles house.
On getting to the house, we were stopped by the bodyguard, asking if we had an appointment with Mr. Morqles.
Then I said, "Tell him that the children of Min Williams are here." He looked at us one more time, then walked away.
His friendship with my father has been for a long time, since they were kids, and sometimes we consider each other as distant family.
Some minutes later, the bodyguard rushed out, saying, "You can come with me." He took us inside, and there he was, sitting with a cup of wine in his hands.
He stood up laughing. "Is this not Laurel and Nicholas? What took you so long to remember me?"
Laurel smiled faintly and said, "We didn't forget, it's just we've been so busy, and you have also been busy as well. We didn't want to inconvenience you."
"True, but nothing is inconvenient about Min's children. So tell me what really brought you here," he asked.
I allowed Laurel to go ahead and explain. He smiled and said, "Since when do you start caring about others, Laurel?"
But she didn't budge.
She only replied, "I'm not caring about anyone. I just don't want inconvenience in my school project."
"Stay for dinner, I have a surprise for you," he said as he walked away.
I looked at Laurel and said, "I thought you left this life back in Korea. You even started going to church. Why come back to it?"
She looked at me and said, "I left South Korea for a purpose. I found it, and if I'm going to keep it, I need to protect it. Either you sin or not, we live in a game called life, and no one is getting out alive. I might as well live it so that I don't regret in hell."
Then she stood up and asked one of the bodyguards where the kitchen was.
"Are you hungry or are you going to keep ranting?" she said as she walked towards the kitchen.
It was around 7 pm in the evening when we suddenly heard a noise of cars coming.
There were about 5 vans.
On getting close to the scene, I realized it was the Paradoxes. Laurel was also there, her eyes cold, and I couldn't predict what was in her mind.
Mr. Morqles walked out laughing. "Long time no see, Paradoxes. Unfortunately, this reunion isn't a happy one."
The group were shivering in fear. "Please forgive us," one of them said.
"Your forgiveness is not in my hands," Mr. Morqles said as he walked away, patting Laurel's shoulder.
Laurel stepped forward, her gaze piercing. "Where are your children?" she said and they rushed out. "Do you remember my face?" she asked, and one of them replied yes.
"I told you you chose the wrong target the other day, but the good news is, I won't kill you."
"You will apologize to her publicly on every social media channel, then you all will stay in the same pool that you poured ice into for 7 hours. Your heads must be above the water. If you drown before 7 hours, it is not my business."
She motioned to one of the bodyguards to ensure everything goes as planned.
Then her gaze fixed on Mr. Page's son. "If I were you, I would stop sleeping with your stepmother whenever your dad travels out for business."
They gasped.
"What is surprising?" she said.
"You all are pathetic. You don't even know your daughter slept with two of your friends before you were assigned to do the gateway project." she said facing another.
"Sacred, perfect my ass. You all are nothing but a bunch of stupid people with money and titles," she said, laughing loudly as she walked up to me.
"The show is about to start. You don't want to miss it."
The water was worse than they expected.
The moment their bodies touched it, they froze, not from discipline, but from shock.
One of them gasped, trying to step back.
"Stay in," a bodyguard said flatly.
They obeyed, but pride didn't last long.
Within minutes, their bodies began to shake, teeth clattering, breathing uneven.
Then one slipped, his head dipping too close to the water. A hand grabbed him immediately, forcing him back up.
"Heads above water," the guard reminded them.
I glanced at Laurel, but she didn't move.
She didn't speak. She just stared at the TV, calm but cold.
Like this meant nothing.
Or everything.
"They won't last," I said quietly.
She didn't look at me.
"They don't have to," she replied.
A pause.
"They just have to remember."
Mr Morqles walked in, "Good hahaha," he said. "You really want them to have a taste of their work."
Then my phone rang and I immediately excused myself. It was Lee Joon, and he said that Lee Seo is awake. I told him that we will be there the next day.
I rushed back to the house. I leaned towards Laurel, close enough that only she could hear what I was about to say, then I whispered, "Seo-hee is awake."
Then silence immediately.
Mr Morqles noticed and said, "It seems something already happened. Are you going home already?"
"We leave tomorrow morning," I said.
Then I turned to look at Laurel. Her cold face with no emotions had dropped to something that felt like relief and a bit of sadness.
"Thank you so much," Laurel said. Mr Morqles smiled and said, "My regards to your father when you get home," and walked to his room.
I stayed a while with Laurel, and then I said, "When we get home tomorrow, Dad wants to talk to you."
She smiled faintly and said, "Thank you."
She closed the door to her room while I stayed there, wondering how she will feel when father breaks the news that her long-dead younger brother might be alive.
"I need to stay close to you, Laurel. You've been through a lot already."
Morning came faster. I had booked our flight very early that morning before the sun could even rise.
We greeted Mr Morqles and took our leave to the airport. Laurel was awfully quiet, like someone who just wants to get to where she is going to confirm if everything is still okay.
On getting to the hospital, we saw Kang Dae there.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked.
"What do you mean? I am also Lee Joon's friend, and there is nothing bad in checking up on him."
Laurel said, "Don't allow him to fool you, Nicholas. He is here because he has feelings for Seo-hee," she said as she walked past him, grabbed the door knob, and went into the room.
I just stared at him for a while, then patted him on his back and went inside as well.
On getting inside, Laurel was standing close to Seo-hee. Then she said, "I have a surprise for you," and showed her the video.
Seo-hee wasn't pleased with her actions.
"You shouldn't have done that, Laurel," she said.
"Then they shouldn't have played with lives as well."
" This is who I am, and now that you know it is not too late to walk out of my life. It is the best decision you could ever give yourself."
Seo-hee stopped for a while, looking at everyone in the room, her brother Lee Joon, Kang Dae, me, and then Laurel.
Seo-hee then said, "I see you now, Laurel." Her voice was calm, not in the playful way she always was.
She continued, "You are like an ocean beautiful, cold, quiet, yet in a loud way. When you care about someone, you always protect them no matter what it might cost."
"At first, I wondered how you become friends with people at least 7 years older than you and still maintain the friendship for many years, but with time I see that your heart isn't cold. It has just been taught pain constantly."
"What are you trying to say?" Laurel asked.
Seo-hee replied with heavy eyes, "I see you, and I still want you like that."
"It is okay to choose someone knowing exactly what they come with."
"And if you regret it later in the future," Laurel said.
"Then it will hurt less because of the memories I would have."
Laurel looked at her and said, "I warned you enough. And by the way, you are always free to go. Judging from the way you talked, you are healing quite well. If you may excuse me, I have things to get back to," she said.
I followed, telling Lee Joon to call me if anything happens.
When we got home, she suddenly turned to me and said, "What is it, Nicholas?"
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"You want to act like nothing is happening, Nicholas," she said.
She continued, "You've been following me everywhere. You aren't arguing, none are you also disturbing me, yet you allow me to do what I want."
"What is that your dad wants to say?"
immediately my chest beat fast. "How will I know?" I said.
"Because you always know what is about to happen if it involves your dad, Nicholas."
Then I stopped. "If you want to know, then I bought my phone, dialed my dad's number. Here, talk to him."
I handed her the phone, then she greeted my dad.
"Laurel, how are you doing?" he said.
"I found someone who can be your personal assistant in your oil and gas company in Korea. You don't have to worry since you said you wanted 6 years of experience before you come back to take over the company in Korea. He is good and intelligent as well. I will send him to Canada next month so you two can talk about all other things."
Then Laurel said, "Thank you, sir." Then she said, "Nicholas said you have something to tell me."
Then silence immediately.
After a while, my dad said, "I went to a conference last week, and there I ran into the doctor that operated on you when you had the accident."
"Oh, is that what Nicholas has been hiding? How is he doing?" Laurel said.
Her face showed concern.
Then my dad replied, "He is very well, but he said something to me, Laurel." He stopped for a while, then continued.
"He said after your surgery was done, a boy was rushed in, brown hair, grey eyes.
Though he was in a fatal condition, he survived. Days later, you left to Korea. They checked his necklace that was found on the floor, and in the names engraved in it, yours was there."
"Laurel, though I might not know his name, it is worth checking if he is the one," he said.
"No," Laurel said, tears swelling up in her eyes. "Eric is dead. I saw the car turn not once but 4 times. It is not possible."
"Okay," my dad said, "but if you want to check, he was last seen in New Brunswick. Take care of yourself, Laurel." She handed me the phone.
My dad said, "Take care of her, Nicholas."
"Yes, Dad," I replied.
A person who hasn't been with Laurel after the incident might think she doesn't have a heart, but here she is in front of me, forgetting how to walk well after hearing her brother might still be alive.
"Laurel," I said gently, then she fell hard on the couch. "It is not possible. People look a lot like each other. Tons of people were rushed into the hospital." And then I placed the necklace that Dad had given me before coming to Canada in her hand.
She stared right into it. She held it like some treasure she has always longed for. Then suddenly she cleaned her eyes, stood up, and looked at me saying, "My brother died that night. He is no longer alive," and started walking towards her room.
I didn't say anything. I needed her to get hold of herself. She is strong, yes, I know, but even the strongest person has a weakness. Others might not know Laurel's weakness, but I do.
It is her family, and now that she found out there is still one alive, there is guilt in her heart, and also pain.
The next day, Laurel was nowhere to be found. From panic, thinking maybe she had done something crazy, I called others.
We all went in search of her, called her phone, but she wasn't picking.
Then later in the evening, she walked in and said, "What's going on? Why are you all in my house again?" Then faced Lee Joon and said, "Shouldn't you be with your sister at the hospital?"
Lee Joon stood up and hugged her tightly, like if he didn't, she would be gone for life. "Don't do that again," he said. "Do you know how worried we were?"
Laurel replied, "Why are you worried? I only went to do some shopping and get groceries. It's no big deal."
Kang Dae replied, "That's true, but disappearing after hearing your brother might still be alive?"
"Where have you been since morning, Laurel?" he asked.
"God forbid, I went to get groceries," she said.
"Yeah, but getting groceries for hours? Were you shopping for the entire world?" Kang Dae said.
She looked at us, trying to cover up the fact that she was tired and in pain, but seeing us panicking so much, she said, "Fine. I was in church. Then I went to get groceries".
"You all are being paranoid with everything. I needed a place to breathe, and now that you all know where I was, move on with your lives and stop treating me like your fucking Younger sister," she said.
She went to the kitchen, brought out wine from the drawer, and said, "Shoo. Get the fuck away from me please."
"Laurel," I said, "you can do all you want to hide your pain, but not from us. And Laurel, I don't see you as my younger sister. You are my family. All of us in this room are one family, Laurel."
"We know how much you have been hurting, but what if he was your brother?"
She looked at me, and then silence fell.
"You can say all of that, but if he really is my brother and he doesn't want me? What if he blames me? The fact that he might still be alive makes me wonder the kind of life he has been living, the way he has been surviving."
I looked at her, and yet all I see is someone who doesn't want a memory she always survives on to change for her. Her face shows nothing but fear in the coldest way.
So I said, "You will never have answers to that if you do not check, Laurel."
She looked at me, all of us in the room, took her wine with her and said " Am done having this conversation". Then she slammed her door closed.
Hours passed. We were all sitting in the sitting room when Laurel suddenly walked out of her room and said, "I am going to New Brunswick tomorrow."
Kang Dae rushed to her and asked if she really meant it, but she only nodded and sat with us.
The next morning came fast. Sunrise hit the curtain in the room. I went to get water and saw Laurel standing at my room door.
"Good morning," she said.
"Morning," I said.
She continued, "Can you come along with me to New Brunswick?"
I stopped midway and said, "Is that even a question? Whether you asked or not, I am going with you."
"Thank you," she said. "I made breakfast already." She turned me back to my room.
"Go and have your bath. I will pack the breakfast and we can have it in the car." She walked off immediately.
Soon after, we were set to leave and bade goodbye to Kang Dae and Lee Joon.
As we were about to enter the car, Laurel called out to Lee Joon, saying, "My regards to Seo-hee."
He nodded, and we drove off, facing the unknown.