"Mom."
Just one word, calm, without any edge, but with more unspoken words behind it.
A moment passed, before Grace spoke with her usual calm, but this time, with a tone slightly softer with affection:
"Alex. You received the painting?"
It was a question, but one carrying the certainty of a statement.
Alex calm, almost flat voice answered, while his eyes remained locked onto the dry reddish surface of the cracked heart still ablaze:
"I didn't ask for it."
"You didn't, but it has been gathering dust for ten years already."
"..."
"I know you don't like dredging up the past, but it is time to let it go."
"..."
Without a word, Alex hung up.
*Beep*
The same question as before. Was the painting bright or grim?
Sharon might have seen its bright side, but only the grimness it was holding was being reflected in Alex's eyes.
After one last deep look at the cracked planet-like heart, he turned away, his expression impassive, and walked straight out of the apartment. Without looking back, he took the elevator to the underground floor, unlocked a Maybach among the line of cars belonging to him, then drove it away with the deadly grace of a panther bounding through the jungle.
Even though it was a jungle of concrete with many obstacles on the road, Alex didn't slow down. He moved through the traffic like he was racing, only, this time, against danger, against death, or maybe, just maybe, simply against the past.
_ _ _
_ _ _
"The third childe hasn't like the gesture, has he, madam?"
Aunt Lee asked Grace with a plain smile as she put a dish down on the dining table.
Grace simply shook her head slightly, her focus more on the food before her than on the call that just ended.
Ga-yeong, on the other side of the table, looked at the hostess of the house, then leaned sideways toward her husband to ask in a whisper:
"Does the painting the chairman made you pack yesterday for Alex have any particular meaning?
Mark looked at his wife, then stole a glance at Grace, only to meet her green, smiling eyes. He forced a smile, and slowly helped the heavily pregnant woman sit straight while avoiding the subject:
"Eat first. You still have your medicines to take later."
Ga-yeong, being perceptive, noticed Mark's mild discomfort and turned to the other side. Seeing Grace looking at them while her mother-in-law had something like a smile of amusement on her as she looked at them, she could only purse her lips to try to prevent her face from reddening.
It was impossible not to feel embarrassed when found out by a mother when gossiping about her son. She glanced sideways at Mark, and tried to bury herself in the food.
Fortunately, Grace shifted her green eyes away from her. But as she felt relieved, Grace spoke while picking up her utensils, addressing her with a question:
"Ga-yeong, did Mark tell you what happened to Alex ten years ago?"
Ga-yeong paused. Unable to remain casual, she adopted a serious posture and replied:
"He only told me that something happened and he had a grave accident. He didn't tell me the details."
Grace nodded slightly, and cut the omelette on her plate. While Mark tried to reduced to his presence in the house full of women, Grace went on:
"Ten years ago, Alex didn't just have an accident. He died."
"!!!"
The casual calm the words were said with couldn't help but shake Ga-yeong. The jolt she felt passed through her whole body, and she looked at Grace in alarm, before looking at her mother-in-law, then at her husband for confirmation.
Finally, she returned her trembling gaze back to Grace:
"Alex, he…"
The lake green eyes glanced up at the pregnant woman, calm, just like the voice that followed:
"Alex had an accident, and his heart stopped. The doctors managed to save him, and he survived. When he got better, he poured his pain, both emotional and physical, into a painting."
At that point, Grace smiled slightly, a faint, almost proud gleam lighting up her eyes:
"Alex has always been talented, and not just in one field, but that painting of his can be said to be the best he has created to date. Though, I wish there is no new painting later that will be better than that one."
Grace shook her head with quiet pity at the last part of her words. Her pause gave Ga-yeong the time to process her words, and only at that moment was she getting an understanding of how harrowing the tragedy of ten years ago had been. Only then was she understanding Alex more, understanding his reckless behavior more, as well as the words her husband said a month ago.
She whispered, both for herself and for the others in the room, more so for Grace to hear:
"Mark said he got betrayed ten years ago…"
Grace smiled slightly. There was no coldness on her face, and her smile was as normal as could be, calm too, but Ga-yeong felt no warmth from it, none at all.
"Yes, he was betrayed, and he died, before being brought back. Just another tragedy in my son's short life. So now he must move one."
Silence descended. Only the sound of utensils moving remained, creating a quiet symphony that prevented the atmosphere from turning pressuring.
Mark glanced at Grace, who was quietly eating, then at his mother, who was standing not far to the side. The slight, calming smile she directed at him gave him all the answers he needed, so he turned his focus to the food, with a greater part of his attention focused on Ga-yeong to ensure she ate as she should.
The breakfast continued in silence until
Ga-yeong was done, and Mark stood up:
"Aunt Grace, mom, I'm taking Ga-yeong to the hospital for a check-up."
Grace raised her head, and nodded with a soft smile in her gaze:
"Go, and let us know if anything comes up."
"Yes, Aunt Grace."
"Chairman, we are going."
Grace nodded at the pregnant woman who then waved at her mother-in-law, before being led away by her husband.
Only the two older women remained. Silence descended over the dining room for a moment, then Aunt Lee smiled:
"Madam, are you pushing the childe because of the new woman who has appeared beside him? Is she different from the previous ones?"