5 The Contrac (2/2)
However, Xiu Ling was the only one who was lucky enough and viewed her dignity with such little importance that she managed to persevere so far into the contract, other women were either unlucky with the baby's gender, hid the pregnancy from Lin family to begin with, renege on the terms of the contract or… demanded far more than what was decided in the contract. These women were all ”taken care” of by Lin family already, silencing a few women and their family members could not have been easier for a party as powerful and as influential as Lin family.
Xiu Ling knew she was threading a thin line here, one careless misstep and she would end up in the same state as the women that came before her, unknown and unheard of ever again.
The mention of the contract hit Xiu Ling like a physical blow but she did not let it show on her face. She opted into this contract out of her own volition and she knew better than to complain about it.
She forced a smile and said, ”No, it has nothing to do with the major clauses of the contract. It is about my mother. Do you mind if we fetch her here from my hometown? She wishes to keep me company until my due date and that won't be that far away now.
”As you know, I am my mother's only daughter and this is going to be her first grandchild. She wishes to join in the celebration. It is only fair…”
”Xiu Ling, I only have one question to ask you,” Lin Kang turned his face towards Xiu Ling and cut her off mid-sentence, ”Are you trying to tell me my mother and Auntie Sun have not been taking good care of you that you need your mother to do that?”
”No, no, no. Of course, I do not mean it that way,” Xiu Ling backpedaled immediately, ”Both mother and Auntie Su have been nothing but kind and attentive to my needs, I cannot be more appreciative of their concern.”
”In that case, this discussion is over. We do not need an extra stranger wandering around the house. I am going to take a bath and I do not want to hear about this topic again,” Lin Kang said as he stood up to walk into the bathroom.
”But…” Before Xiu Ling could say anything, the door to the bathroom closed. Her lips hung open but no words came out. She eventually turned her head away and sighed despondently, wondering how she was going to break this news to her mother. She understood once Lin Kang's mind had been made, there was no way she was going to change it, so she better focused her energy on figuring out a way to console her poor mother.
Outside their bedroom door stood Auntie Sun who had not left. She stayed listening to Xiu Ling and Lin Kang's every words until she heard the sound of water from the bathroom. Then, she left with a hard-to-read expression on her face.