"Not bad." Mandy bit her lips, not daring to look at Madeline's eyes. She hadn't been good at lying ever
since she was a kid. To know she was lying, her tell sign was always the fact that she refused to look at
the person she was lying to.
"You haven't changed at all, Mand. You're still a bad liar." Madeline took a sip of her coffee, her face
scrunching at the bitter taste it left on her tongue.
"Mom, I didn't lie." Mandy looked up at her mother, furrowing her eyebrows.
"I went to your hospital last night, wanting to ask how your blind date went, only to hear from your
colleague that you weren't in the hospital these last few days." Madeline set down her coffee cup with a
loud 'thump.' Mandy knew that to be a sign that her mother was getting impatient.
"I... I'm living with my colleague now since it was uncomfortable living in the hospital. Her house isn't
that far, so she asked me to live with her." Her voice was trembling now, and her fingers fidgeted
around the fabric of her clothes.
"Really? Which colleague of yours? A man or a woman?"
Madeline shot an eyebrow up in the air, leaning forward. Mandy didn't answer.
"How did your blind date go? I heard someone was calling you sister-in-law. Who is your husband?
Why didn't I know?" Madeline clenched her jaw when Mandy continued to be silent. She had worked
tooth and nail to give her daughter the best education and made sure that she had everything she
could've ever wanted or needed, and here she was, lying to her right in her face.
Mandy paled in an instant after hearing the sharp intonation of her mother's voice. She bit her lip, lost
as to what to say or do.
As the silence persisted, Madeline scowled, her grip tightening around her cup. She knew Mandy better
than anyone else did. If she found herself trapped in a lie, she'd just keep silent, just like what she was
doing now.
"Tell me!" Madeline slammed her hand on the coffee table.
The atmosphere around them started to tense up as Mandy lowered her head. As much as Madeline
was angry at her, she really couldn't find it in herself to say what had really happened, and what she
had gotten herself into.
"You can ask my colleague if you don't believe it." Mandy forced a smile into her lips, acting as if her
mother's reaction had not bothered her at all.
"Really? Then who was the man who had called you his sister-in-law?" Madeline questioned coldly.
"I don't even know that person!" she protested. She really didn't know who that person was, so the
expression her face was convincing enough, but it didn't fool Madeline fully.
"Who the hell are you living with then?" her mother forced out, trembling with anger.
It was the first time Madeline had ever gotten so angry with Mandy ever since she was born.
"It's just my colleague," Mandy stated firmly.
"Shame on you, child! Do you think I'm that stupid? Tell me! What did you do?" Madeline pronounced
each of the last words for emphasis. Madeline stood up. Her face was red, and her voice was near to
screeching. Mandy couldn't bring herself to look her mother in the eye anymore.
"I didn't do anything!"
"Slap!" the loud sound echoed in the office as Mandy's face was whipped around upon impact.
Madeline drew back her hand, trembling from what she had done. She had done everything, she had
asked everything, yet Mandy was still lying to her.
Mandy stilled from the impact, feeling her left cheek pound from the pain. She was already sad from
her fight with Nathan the other night, and here was her mother, who had now continually
misunderstood her words. Even if she had done something humiliating, it was all for the family.
"You're being ridiculous. Get out, and the next time we meet, I prefer a better explanation than your
bullshit lies!" Madeline always had a sixth sense when it came to her daughter, and she knew that what
Mandy was saying was absolutely nowhere near what really happened to her.
Mandy's vision started to blur as she stumbled out of the office. She sniffled, pushing through the
people that blocked her path. In all her life, her mother had never treated her like this, never!
Covering her face with her hands, she had almost escaped the Zhou Group. Almost.
As Mandy passed by them, she could hear the murmurs and mutters from the employees of the Zhou
Group. However, Mandy couldn't care less as she pushed through the doors. All she wanted was to get
out of there.
With tears pouring over her cheeks, Mandy paid no heed as she ran down the sidewalk, not minding
the cars that were speeding along the road.
Before she could go any further, she found herself an inch away from being hit by a car. The car
screeched to a halt as the driver stuck his head out of the window. "Do you want to die, bitch? Get out
of the road!"
She looked up at the car with eyes swelled with tears that continuously trickled down her cheek. At that
moment, the driver was dumbfounded, not knowing what else to say.
Her tears slid down the corners of her mouth, and she could taste the bitterness of what had happened
in these past few hours.
Mandy didn't know how long she stood there, in the middle of walking crowds and chasing cars. She
didn't really care. Suddenly, a strong force pulled her over, and she closed her eyes.
When nothing happened, she opened her eyes only to see that she had fallen into a warm embrace.
She looked up.
It was Damian!
Mandy stumbled upwards, wiping the tears almost immediately as she lowered her head, not wanting
him to see her this way.
"Doctor Zhou, what a coincidence to meet you here!" Damian said, not commenting on her appearance
as he warmly smiled at her.
Mandy lowered her head, ashamed that she had to meet Damian under such circumstances. "Thank
you."
"Doctor Zhou, you really shouldn't have done that. Life is precious, and you, as a doctor, should've
known that. Don't do this..." he whispered seriously.
Hearing that, Mandy felt shame wash over her. The tears finally stopped, but she still felt down.
"Sorry, I have to go back now." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"Let me give you a ride. You don't look well," offered Damian.
"No, thanks. I can handle it." Mandy shook her head. It was too troublesome for him, plus, she didn't
want to owe him afterwards.
There was a glimmer of worry in his eyes, but he let it go. "Are you really, really sure? It's really no
trouble."
"Yes." She managed a small smile.
Heaving a sigh, he shook his head. "You really are stubborn," he teased lightly. "As you wish."
Although Damian was unable to drive Mandy back to the hospital, he didn't leave until he saw her
safely head towards the hospital.
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