Chapter fourteen

Oliver

It wasn't surprising that the first words that fell out of her mouth were criticizing me. At least not as surprising as the fact that she showed up while I was vulnerable.

I tried not to cringe at the last word. I wasn't used to the word yet. The woman in front of me would certainly feel the same way. Which is why her presence doesn't make sense.

She couldn't possibly be here to comfort me like everyone seems inclined to do now. No. Mum wasn't like that.

“Your friends are downstairs. I told them to wait. I wanted to have a word with you.” she said, probably nothing the surprise on my face.

I immediately knew what she wanted to say. The only reason she could be here was to criticize me about the engagement, and maybe try to manipulate me to go through it again. I wouldn't put it past her to try to use my dad's death against me. But God knows I wasn't in the mood for her usual nonsense today.

“If you're here to nag me about why I called off the engagement, I'm not in the mood. I don't care how it affect the family's image or if the Jang family are humiliated.” I waved her off before she could start her criticism.

“Why are you so sure that's the reason I'm here?” She asked, her eyes darting around the room.

She had a nose scrunched up the way she does when she wants to criticize something. I half expected her to launch into her complaints about how disorganized the room was, but surprisingly, she held her tongue.

“What other reason could you come here?” I said, my tone was a bit sharper than I intended but I didn't care much about it. Let her feel the bitterness in my tone.

“You just went through something sad, I came to console you.”

If I wasn't already devastated, I would have been shocked to the bone. It took everything in me to remain upright. I never thought I would even hear my mother say those words. Console me?

“Why?” That was the only word I could think of.

Why would my mother ever do that? She hated Dallas and she never hesitate to show it everytime. I was certain she would be the most thrilled about the situation since she could now control my love life.

I wasn't sure I would ever give her that power again though. When I broke off the engagement, I was also telling my mother that I wasn't going to let her control who I'm with anymore.

Regina Hee-Joo Kang was many things, but not a fool. She must have realized the subtle message. I'm just surprised she hadn't thrown a fuss but came to console me. That's a first.

But so is me getting broken up with.

“Because that's what you do to someone who just went through what you went through.” Her fingers went to the back of her neck and she clutched tightly.

I wasn't sure she knew what to say. I didn't either. We've never been in this situation before.

“What you went through is sad, especially for someone like you…” she sucked in a breath, “...but you should really get your act together. You're a grown man, for god's sake, not a teenager. All this moping and refusing to eat or clean up is extremely childish. It's not a fit behavior for someone of your status. What would people say if they saw that the great Oliver Kang was this shaken up by a break up. A break up. Goodness gracious. Maybe if you spend less time moping and more time strategizing, you'd actually get your girlfriend back.”

There was silence between us when she was done. Silence that neither of us was willing to break. She was trying to catch her breath after speaking so many words in such a short period of time. While I was trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

Mum just gave me a friggin lecture? It was so weird had out of character for her.

I didn't know what to do or say in that situation. I did the only thing I could think of. I turned around and laughed. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. I laughed until water started coming out of my eyes.

My mother stared at me as if I've gone insane. Maybe I have truly gone crazy. That was the only reasonable explanation for this.

“I'm just gonna go.” She mumbled and walked out as if she was scared I'd jump on her.

I heard hushed voices at the door before Xavier and Ethan walked in. It was like they had been at the door the entire time. They also gave me weird looks before finding a seat each.

“Do we need to lock you up?” Ethan was the first to speak. I saw Xavier nudged him slightly from the corner of my eyes.

“Stop doing that, doesn't he look insane to you?” Ethan said.

“He does, but you didn't have to say it, moron.” Xavier replied him.

They argued back and forth, probably forgetting that I was even there.

“Don't talk about me like I'm not here.” I said, finally gaining control of myself.

They stopped talking and looked at me.

“Are you finally in your right senses or you've reached the final level of insanity?” Ethan asked.

“Completely sane. Why are you here?” I asked, even though I already know why.

Everyone feels the need to cajole me now. Except it makes me feel worse than better. My friends are complete shitty at handling a grieving man.

“Can't tell if that's normal snobbish Oliver or heartbroken one.” Ethan muttered under his breath. I shot him a glare which he returned with a wide grin.

“Let's start with why you're laughing like a maniac.” Xavier said.

I wonder if I was the only one who just saw what happened. My mother came to talk to me about my break up. The same woman who had basically overlooked me when I was going through the biggest tragedy in my life. Now she is here, for my break up. It was hilarious.

“Nothing. If you're here to try to make me feel better, get lost. If you're here to talk business, I'm all ears.”

“Yup, definitely snobbish Oliver.” Ethan chuckled. Xavier nodded as if confirming what Ethan said.

“Guys, I need your help with something important.” I said, a smile spreading on my lips.

“Uh-oh, I don't like that smile.” Ethan said and pretended to shudder.

“You do it whenever you're planning something wicked and dangerous and it usually ends with someone in the hospital. Is that what you're doing?” Xavier arched an eyebrow at me.

“Well, it depends on how you look at it. But no one is going to end up in the hospital.”

I would rather die before putting the love of my life in harm's way.

“You say that everything but someone still ends up in the hospital.” Ethan muttered.

Xavier shrugged as if saying he doesn't mind a little blood on him.
“What is it you need our help with?” he asked.

“Something really, really important. A little spying and stalking here and there.” And then I told them the plan I came up with.

“That's brilliant. Not entirely morally acceptable, but brilliant.” Xavier nodded.

“Quick question, between your moping and your mother showing up, when exactly did you come up with this plan?” Ethan asked.

I didn't say it took me the entire five minutes he was arguing with Xavier to figure everything out. Instead, I just stared at him.

I was going to take my mother's advice and do anything to get her back. But first, I needed to find out why she wanted to break up with me. It doesn't matter whether my approach was morally acceptable or not. I was going to get bed back.

Because Dallas Valencia is mine. Now and forever. It doesn't matter if she doesn't know it yet, but she's never getting rid of me.