Chapter 184: EMA; THE PAST
"Your home is in the opposite direction. You don’t need to walk with me," Ema said to Ranon. This man didn’t talk much. During their walk, he only said a few words.
"It’s okay. It’s not safe to walk alone this late," Ranon replied. He walked on the outside of the pavement, closest to the street.
Ema bit her lip when she heard that. "If you are being nice to me, I will misunderstand your intention."
She chuckled nervously and tried to be cool with it when she spoke again. "I will think you like me." She tasted the water.
Her heart was beating so fast. She was afraid the taciturn man beside her would be able to hear that, especially during the silence that ensued between them after her offhand statement.
Heaven! Ema could feel her face turn red, and her heart was pounding against her chest. The urge to take back her words was very strong.
"If I don’t make my intention obvious, then I am terrible at this."
Huh?
Ema blinked her eyes; she thought she heard him wrong, but when she lifted her head and looked at Ranon, she saw that he avoided her eyes.
Was he... being shy?
This shocked her because she didn’t think Ranon Carson would be able to be shy. People knew how cold and scary he was, but shy? That word was not something that people used to describe him.
And actually, the sight of him was rather... cute.
With that thought, Ema couldn’t help but chuckle. "I am sorry." She grinned. She had liked him ever since she saw him, despite what people said. Ema thought Ranon was not that bad.
He was a year older than her even though they were classmates at college. From what Ema knew, he had to work hard to earn the money so he could send himself for further education.
Ema herself was not well-off, but she was grateful that her family had the means to send her and her sister to college. Even so, she needed to take part-time jobs here and there to make ends meet.
And despite the rumor out there that Ranon made money through street fights, he was a diligent and smart student.
"Is that a confession?" Ema tried to press her smile, and the more Ranon avoided looking at her, the bolder she became. "Do you like me?"
And that was when they arrived at Ema’s house. It was a small house with a broken fence. There was nothing extraordinary there. A tree that almost died and a swing that hung on its branch.
The grass had grown so long, and her mother had been asking her father to take care of their small lawn.
However, standing before this man under the moonlight, everything looked beautiful in Ema’s eyes. She couldn’t believe he liked her too.
"Yes."
One thing that Ema noticed about Ranon was that this man always cut to the chase. He didn’t know how to beautify his words, nor did he try to. It was simple and clear with him.
And with that answer, Ema tiptoed and pecked his lips. "Goodnight," she said softly before she rushed back to her home.
Ema felt giddy and excited.
***
[I am sorry, I have to cancel our date. I can’t go out because my parents fought again with Lena.] Ema texted Ranon and then tossed her phone to the table and screamed into the pillow out of her frustration.
Her parents had just found out that Ema was going out on a date with a man twice her age for money.
Saying they were furious was an understatement, as they grounded Ema and Lena because apparently their younger daughter also knew about this, but she covered up for her older sister.
"Why don’t you apologize?" Ema asked Lena, who was sitting on the bed beside her. They had been sharing the same room since childhood, which helped them build a strong bond. They were very close, and Ema always looked up to her sister.
"I didn’t do anything wrong. The money I received, I gave it to our parents to help them." Lena pressed her palm against her cheek, which had been slapped by her father.
"Yes, that’s because they thought you worked for that." Lena lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She reached out to her phone again when she heard a notification. Ranon replied to her chat.
"I worked for the money. They only assumed I worked somewhere else." Lena corrected her. "Are you still with that street fighter?" Lena glanced at her younger sister, who texted back and forth with her boyfriend.
It had been a year since they were together. Ranon was a nice guy, but Lena didn’t think her sister suited him. Her sister could be very childish sometimes, but weirdly enough, that scary guy was always very patient with her.
"Hm." Ema nodded; she blushed reading a message from him. She was in love.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes." Ema grinned and glanced at her sister. "Do you love that man?"
This time Lena was the one who chuckled. "I don’t do love, but I love what he can provide for me."
"Does he know about that?" Ema sat up and fixed her focus on her sister when she nodded. "Is he fine that you are using him for money?"
"Yes." Lena then laughed. "He is an old man. He has a family and children. He will think I am crazy if I actually love him."
"Then why are you two together?" Ema couldn’t understand Lena’s logic.
"We have a mutual benefit," Lena said, winking at her before kissing her cheek. "I need his money, and he craves excitement with a younger woman. He seeks the attention that he doesn’t receive from his wife, and I can give him that. He wants to feel powerful and important, as if he’s on top of the world. As long as he provides me with money, I don’t mind playing the role he wants, even if it means being his maid and bitch."
Ema looked at her with a dreadful look. She was stunned to hear what exactly was in Lena’s mind because they had never talked about this. Lena always avoided this topic.
"He needs someone to stroke his ego, while I need someone to provide for me. Love is not always everything, my lil sis." Lena caressed her head.
"I can’t imagine living with someone that I don’t love."
Lena grinned. "You will think twice when the bills are involved."
Ema made a disgusted look when she heard her statement.
Two days later, Lena left the house. She only told Ema about it. With the opportunity when their parents were not at home, Lena left with only the clothes she was wearing.
An expensive car picked her up, and Ema could only stare at her sister from the window when she jumped into the car.
Outside, rain was pouring down, and thunder roared in the sky.
[I am home, alone.] Ema texted Ranon. [I hate rain. This is scary. I wish you were here.]
Ranon didn’t reply to her text immediately, and she assumed he was in one of the trainings or he had a competition.
She didn’t want to know about it.
There was one time when Ema came to his fight; she cried the whole day when she watched Ranon beat someone up or when he got punched.
This became a contention in their relationship. Ema wanted him to quit, but fighting in the ring was Ranon’s livelihood.
A torrent of rain made the glass foggy, and Ema stared at the street from the kitchen window as she cooked something for herself.
It was close to midnight.
And what she saw out there almost made her drop her noodle. Because across the street, under the abandoned shelter, she saw a familiar figure.
Rushing back to her bedroom, Ema found her phone and saw a text message.
[I am here.]
That was the only thing Ranon texted her, letting her know she was not alone. Ema was speechless. This was one of many things she loved about Ranon. He was full of surprises.
[I saw you! What are you doing out there?!] Ema ran to the front door and opened it; now they stared at each other.
[You said you were afraid.] Ranon texted her again. [Get inside.]
Ema bit her lip. She contemplated an idea in her mind. It was dangerous. She shouldn’t have done this, but...
[Come here.]
Even under the rain, Ema could see Ranon rise when he saw her message.
Their parents were very strict; they were not allowed to have a boyfriend. Therefore, what happened with Lena was a huge blow to their mother and father.
Because of that, Ema didn’t tell them anything about Ranon; Lena was the only one who knew about him.
[I will stay here.]
Came Ranon’s reply after a while. Ema would get into huge trouble if her parents knew that she invited a man to their house.
However, Ema was determined. How could she stay inside the house when Ranon was out there in the middle of the heavy rain?
Knowing Ranon, he wouldn’t budge; thus, Ema decided to get an umbrella to drag him with her. She giggled when she saw the look on Ranon’s face.
"You shouldn’t come out." Ranon sighed and frowned.
"I cook an instant noodle. Come; I will cook you one bowl too." Ema tiptoed and kissed his lips, and Ranon leaned over to accommodate her height.