CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69

~Fan Xiao ~

"Fiancée," I repeated, because my brain needed to hear it again to make sure it wasn’t a stroke. "You said fiancée."

The woman, my maybe-mom, smiled that plastic smile again. "Yes, Xiao’er. You were promised when you were little. It was all very sweet. You two held hands under the table and everything."

"I was like eight!?," I yelled. "I also thought Pokémon were real!"

Lee Know finally let go of my wrist, but only so he could pinch the bridge of his nose so hard I was scared he’d break it.

The woman cleared her throat like we were kids fighting over the TV remote. "Her name is Lin Anning. She just flew in from Los Angeles. She’s very excited to see you."

"Oh good," I said, voice flat. "I love surprises. Last time someone surprised me I got kidnapped and stuffed in a trunk, so this is already better."

Lee Know turned to her, and I swear the temperature dropped ten degrees. "Lady, I don’t know if you’re his mom or a very dedicated scammer, but you have thirty seconds to leave before I call the police and tell them you broke in and started talking about child marriages."

She didn’t even blink. "I have a key."

She held up a key. Our key. The spare one I kept under the fake rock that literally says "KEY" on it because Lee know is low-key an idiot.

I groaned so loud it hurt my throat. "Of course you do. Of course you have a key. Why wouldn’t my long-lost mother who abandoned me have a key to my house? That’s normal. Totally normal."

Lee Know snatched the key from her hand so fast she flinched. "Not anymore you don’t."

Then, because the universe hates me personally, the doorbell rang.

We all froze.

Lee Know looked at me.

I looked at him.

The woman smiled like she’d won something.

"Don’t," I warned.

Too late. She was already walking to the door, heels clicking like gunshots.

Lee Know grabbed my sleeve and yanked me backward. "We are leaving. Right now. We’re going to my mom’s house. Or a hotel. Or Antarctica. I don’t care."

I wanted to agree. God, I wanted to run. But my feet wouldn’t move.

The door opened.

And there she was.

Lin Anning, I guess.

She was... fine though like fine. Long hair, big eyes, designer coat, blah blah blah whatever. She smiled the second she saw me, bright and sweet and way too excited.

"Xiao-Xiao!" she squealed, and then she was hugging me.

She was hugging me.

A stranger was hugging me and calling me Xiao-Xiao

I stood there with my arms stiff at my sides while Lee Know stared like he was watching someone murder me in slow motion.

She pulled back but kept her hands on my shoulders. "Oh my God, you got so tall! And handsome! Do you remember me? Of course you don’t, you were tiny. I brought pictures!"

She started digging in her bag.

Lee Know made a noise. A low, dangerous noise I’d never heard before.

I stepped away from her so fast I almost tripped. "why are you here?!" I said with a straight face.She blinked. "To see you, silly! Our parents said we’re finally old enough to, you know... make it official." She did a little wiggle like this was cute.

I looked at Lee Know.

He looked back at me like he was mentally writing my obituary.

The woman, my maybe-mom, clapped her hands. "Perfect! Everyone’s here. I made dinner reservations for tomorrow. Family reunion!"

"No," Lee Know and I said at the same time.

Lin Anning tilted her head. "Oh, are you coming too?" she asked Lee Know, like he was the Uber driver.

He smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. "Yeah. I live here."

She frowned, confused. "Oh. I thought Xiao-Xiao lived alone."

"He doesn’t," Lee Know said.

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "This is Lee Know. He’s my..." I stopped.

Lee Know raised an eyebrow, waiting.

Lin Anning looked between us, still smiling but slower now. "Oh. Okay. Cool! The more the merrier!"

I wanted to die.

Lee Know leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "So what, you’re moving in now? Picking out china patterns? Planning the wedding?"

She laughed like he was joking. "Not yet! I’m staying at the Hyatt for now. But soon, maybe!" She winked at me.

I made a choking sound.

The woman touched Lin Anning’s arm. "Why don’t we give the boys some space? They look... overwhelmed."

Understatement of the century.

They left. Finally. After twenty more minutes of Lin Anning hugging me again and telling me she "couldn’t wait to catch up" and the woman kissing my cheek like that wasn’t the creepiest thing that’s happened to me all month.

The door closed.

Silence.

Then Lee Know spoke, voice scarily calm. "You have a fiancée."

"I don’t..."

"You have a fiancée and you never told me."

"I didn’t know!"

"You didn’t know you were engaged."

"No!"

He stared at me for a long second. Then he walked past me, straight to the kitchen.

I followed like a lost puppy. "Where are you going?"

"To drink."

"It’s four p.m."

"Exactly."

He pulled out the soju from the freezer and drank straight from the bottle.

I tried to take it from him. "You just got out of the hospital!"

He held it out of reach. "My blood pressure is already fucked, might as well commit."

I gave up and slumped against the counter. "I swear I didn’t know. I was young, if it’s real at all. I thought it was a joke. My dad was still around back then, and he and her dad were drunk and laughing and said something about merging families and I thought they meant like... business. Not actual marriage."

Lee Know wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You thought child engagement was a business metaphor."

"Yes!"

"That’s worse."

"I know!"

He took another swig. "So what now? You gonna marry her?"

"No!"

"You sure? She’s pretty."

I glared. "You’re pretty."

He paused, bottle halfway to his lips. Then he smirked, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Thanks. Still not answering the question."

"I’m not marrying anyone," I snapped. "Especially not some girl I don’t remember who calls me Xiao-Xiao like I’m a tamagotchi."

He snorted. Then he laughed. Like, full-on laughed, head thrown back, the kind of laugh that ends with hiccups.

I stared. "What’s so funny?"

"You," he wheezed. "Your life is a fucking K-drama. Evil stepdad, missing mom with plastic surgery, secret fiancée. Next episode you’re gonna find out you have a twin."

"Stop, I will cry."

"Please do. I need the entertainment."

I grabbed the bottle from him and drank. It burned. Good. "What do I do?"

He shrugged. "Tell her to fuck off?"

"I can’t just... she seems nice."

"She called me the help."

"She didn’t..."

"She did."

I groaned and slid down the cabinet until I was sitting on the floor. Lee Know sat across from me, legs stretched out, bottle between us like a peace offering.

We passed it back and forth in silence for a minute.

Then he said, quietly, "You could’ve told me."

"Told you what?"

"That your family’s insane. That you had... all this shit you were carrying."

I looked at him. Really looked. His eyes were red, not from crying, just tired. And something else. Hurt, maybe.

"I didn’t want you to think I was..." I shrugged. "Broken."

He kicked my foot lightly. "Idiot. I already knew that."

I laughed, but it came out wet. "Thanks."

He was quiet again. Then: "So what am I?"

"What?"

"To you. What am I?"

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

He waited.

I swallowed. "You’re... you. You’re Lee Know. My boyfriend and my husband to be!".

He raised an eyebrow. "Fan Xiao I’ve known you for a while now, it’s not in you to just do something because you’re pressured, I know you don’t want a life partner yet and that’s okay, don’t ever force yourself to be with me. More/ less I know you’re not gay and you’re not of the ABO community, so I’m okay with taking it slow, but with time you need to tell your mom about our babies, I’m sorry but both she and that wrecked face bitch are pissing me off and I feel like throwing up anytime I see them. And I don’t think you want your kids inconvenienced right?

He was silent so long I thought he’d left.

Then he crawled over, sat right next to me, shoulder to shoulder.

Then he stood up, held out his hand.

I took it.

He pulled me up. "Come on. We’re ordering chicken and pretending none of this happened until tomorrow."

I followed him to the couch, still holding his hand because I was too tired to let go.

What’s worse? My mom and that lin whatever were still in the living room.