Chapter 19

There was another reason she was buying gifts. She knew Jessica's mother-in-law all too well. If she dropped by empty-handed, the woman had her ways of making her sister's life difficult. Kathryn was approaching the mall soon, so she said, "I'm not going to buy that much. Just tell me the measurements. It'll all go to waste if I end up buying clothes that are too small.“

"Kathryn!"

"Come on," Kathryn firmly insisted.

Jessica had no choice but to let her know the child's clothing sizes before the call came to an end.

Tally shot Kathryn a glance. "Your sister is right here in Harborlean, but the two of you only meet once a month."

"She's married. I don't want to bother her," Kathryn said.

She had come to learn through Jessica's matrimony that marriage wasn't just a matter between a man and a woman. It involved many people and entailed too many problems. That was why she'd reflexively refused when Markus had declared that she was to be wed to Chris. Sure, Chris was a harsh figure, but she was only facing him as her superior. She didn't know if she'd be able to cope if she were thrust into a world completely different from what she knew.

Tally's heart ached for her friend. "That's not bothersome at all! She's your sister!"

Kathryn's father had bitten the dust at an early age. Her mother didn't love her. The only people who cared for her were her grandmother and sister. The former had already passed away, whereas the latter had a chaotic family of her own.

"I don't want to trouble her because she's my sister," Kathryn said.

Jessica had grown up loving her dearly. Kathryn would be given the best meals and offered new socks every winter. It had gotten to the point where Jessica would prepare the most extravagant feasts whenever she dropped by to visit. Her in-laws were certain to complain if she showed up too often.

When they arrived at the mall, Tally wanted to accompany her, but Kathryn refused. Tally would always, without a doubt, pay for everything whenever they hung out together. She was going to avoid it if she could. She owed her best friend far too much.

Tally tossed her a card anyway. "Suit yourself, but use this card!"

"It's okay. I have money."

"You do? Since when?" Tally teased her.

"The relief sculpture job you got me earned me three thousand dollars after I got over 107 square feet done!"

"Not bad. I'll introduce you to more of these big projects in the future."

"Sure!" Kathryn nodded. She preferred working on big sites. Any smaller, and she would only be earning 400 dollars. Tally stopped pressing after realizing that she wasn't penniless. Kathryn picked out three sets of clothing for her niece and also bought snacks that children liked. By the end of it, she'd spent a total of roughly 200 dollars.

She lugged everything with her on an hour-and-a-half-long subway ride before taking a bus to Jessica's place, which was five stops away. Jessica was already waiting by the bus stop after receiving news that Kathryn was dropping by. Her sister was clad in clothes worn from countless washes—that was the sight that greeted Kathryn when she alighted from the bus.

"Kathryn," Jessica called out to her when she noticed her.

Kathryn hid her sadness with a smile and waved at Jessica, who approached with a child. The sisters hugged each other as the little girl said aloud, "Aunt Kathryn."

Kathryn bent down to pinch Kelly Quinton's bright red cheeks. "Why aren't you at school today, Kelly?"

Jessica took the gifts in her hand. "She has the sniffles. I took her out of school for the afternoon."

Hearing that Kelly had caught a cold, Kathryn picked the child up into her arms and finally noticed how abnormally red she was. She then brushed a hand against her forehead. Kelly was indeed running a little warm. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible!" Kelly pouted.

"Why did you come out here with your mommy then?"

"I missed you," the child muttered softly. Her words made Kathryn's gaze turn tender.

The trio walked through a long alleyway before entering a yard where persimmons hung from the trees in abundance. The aroma of chicken noodle soup wafted from the house. After Jessica set everything aside, she began to busy herself, with Kathryn following close behind. "You didn't have to prepare all this. I can't eat that much."

She'd wanted to say no to dinner, but they hadn't seen each other in a while. Jessica would be livid if she left without dining with her. Kathryn felt heartbroken to see how her sister had adjusted to the household chores.

However, all Jessica said was, "It's rare to see you drop by. I want to give you more to make up for it." Kathryn felt warmth surging into her heart as tears welled up.

Jessica then sent her off to play with Kelly, only for her niece to fall asleep not much later because of her fever. Kathryn put the child to bed and started assisting her sister.

Jessica tried to stop her. "Don't touch anything. You'll dirty your clothes."

"It's okay. I don't have to go to the office today. I can just wash my clothes if they get soiled." With that, Kathryn picked up a handful of scallions and helped Jessica clean them, to which her sister responded by smiling her way.

Not much later, Jessica's husband, Matthew, and mother-in-law, Karen Quinton, returned. Matthew offered Kathryn a polite smile when he caught sight of her. "Welcome, Kathryn."

"Matthew," she greeted him cordially.

After Karen set aside her things, she took a peek at the stew in the pot and laughed. "Things sure are different when Kathryn is around. We haven't had chicken in over a month."

Jessica's mood took a turn for the worse. Meanwhile, Kathryn knew what Karen was like but was still polite with her greeting. "Mrs. Quinton."

Karen's eyes darkened with disdain. "You should eat more. Foreigners like you must have a hard time working here."

Kathryn continued to smile. The locals at Harborlean were incredibly xenophobic and saw outsiders as vagrants who were here to beg for alms. The Quintons lived in a four-bedroom bungalow, but they thought foreigners were beneath them.

She barely ate anything Jessica had prepared for her because of Matthew and Karen. At the table, Karen first gave Kelly a drumstick before handing another to Matthew. Jessica's expression stiffened as she watched the exchange, but there was nothing she could say. All she could do was pass food off to Kathryn.

"You should eat, Jess!" Kathryn felt sorry for Jessica.

Jessica shook her head. "I'm always cooking for myself, but you eat takeout. That's not good for you. It's not often you get to have a good meal. Eat more."

The meal was a frustrating experience, but Kathryn tried her best to eat for Jessica's sake.

Meanwhile, at Rexton Manor, Chris had returned to his apartment. Just as he was about to get changed and leave, something fell out of the closet with a resounding thud when he opened it. He bent down to pick it up and gave it a look-over. He had a shocked look on his face when he noticed the name on the box. "Condoms?" he thought. Besides himself, it was usually Kathryn who came by to retrieve items.

A loaded smile made its way to his face as he called her up.

Back at the Quinton residence, Karen made herself scarce after the meal. Matthew also left. Jessica said that they had gone to play cards. That was the life of the typical Harborlean—carefree and relaxing. When Kathryn noticed that Chris was calling her, she hurried to the yard to answer it. "Mr. Albert."

"Where are you?" The man's deep voice came from the other end of the line.

It stirred her up. She hastily answered, "I'm at my sister's place." For some reason, she always got nervous whenever she received a call from Chris. Perhaps it was because he was too menacing and stern.

"Send me your location."

"Huh?" Why did she need to do that?

He then hung up the phone. Kathryn tensed up at the resounding beep. She didn't understand what Chris wanted at all. Should she send him her location? She ultimately caved in after thinking it through.