Til Death... [Chan]

14

Chan returned to his car to park it properly. Upon seeing his father driving down the street, he had apparently stopped right in front of the house to get to me as quickly as possible. He hadn't even closed his door.

The food he'd grabbed was okay, but definitely not as good as if we had eaten there. I'd have to make him take me back sometime soon so that I could meet the staff and officially be introduced as his wife. He had mentioned they were important to him...a pseudo-family...and I wanted to be a part of it.

...I wondered if they'd met all his wives or if I'd be the first. I didn't ask yet. The topic of his losses had broken him down so much earlier. I didn't want to reopen that wound again so soon.

We ate in silence, and when we finished, I cleaned our dishes to keep my hands busy and to distract myself.

This wasn't what I had expected from marriage at all. I figured the hardest part would have been learning to love Chan, but turns out it's actually way more difficult dealing with his family and the fear of what they'll do if Chan and I don't produce a kid ...or worse...what they'll do if we have one.

Until I knew Chan's plan, the only future ahead of me was dying too young. I wanted to trust him, though. I hoped whatever he came up with worked.

So far, he had actually been a decent partner to me. I was sure I'd fall for him eventually. Maybe if we'd met organically, I already would have. But there was nothing natural about a forced marriage and forced childbearing.

I looked over at Chan who was anxiously staring outside as though he expected Blade to show up any minute now.

"Chan?" I started after we'd been silent for a while.

"Yes?" he answered absentmindedly, eyes still fixated on outside.

"Do we have to fuck now like your father said or can we wait?"

"We can do whatever you want," Chan answered sincerely, as he turned around with a pitiful expression.

"That's not true," I told him. I'd had no control over anything since arriving here.

His face dropped as he realized how correct I was.

"My dad won't be back for a few days..." he muttered, but stopped mid-sentence upon realizing that was wrong too. "Unless he shows up unannounced again."

I sighed and went to sit beside Chan by the door. "How's your plan coming?" I whispered in case they could hear us through the cameras.

He put his arm around me protectively, "It's not ready yet."

"You have one though, right? You're not just telling me that you do, so I don't lose hope?"

Chan looked heartbroken at my lack of faith in him. "I have a plan, Phi. I promise."

I settled into his shoulder, hoping that was true.

"Should we fake it under the covers so your dad doesn't come back?" I asked.

"We can," he said as he rested his cheek against the top of my head.

"Did you do that a lot? With the others?" I asked.

Chan took a deep breath before speaking. "They were all different."

"Tell me about them," I pleaded. I wanted to know what his life had been like. I wanted to know how this time would be different.

Chan coughed before speaking to prepare himself and his thumb stroked my shoulder. "The first was named Anna."

I turned to watch him as he speak, so he'd know he was being heard.