𝘊𝘩.5┌𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳┘

{Beth's POV}

Some time passed, and I was playing with the kids and the young girl, Sheila. The kids seemed tired, so I told them to sit. They were so energetic that they declined the suggestion immediately. Their mother tried to convince them, but she couldn't either. Then, the guy appeared from nowhere once more.

"If you two little shit sit for a while, Beth and I will bring you your surprise." How come I didn't think of that?!
Also, who gave him the right to call my name? And in such a manner, Jesus, giving me the chills, mercy, brain. Hell, I don't know if he did it on purpose, but he made sure my name on his lips was a fucking sin.

"Right, Beth?" He gave me a look.
I know I fell right into his trap. But come on, who wouldn't be angry?
"Fuck you, I say," I whispered so only he could hear.

He raised his eyebrows, then tilted his head a little as if he had nothing to do with the hand it was holding up the side of my thigh. Shit! Go away! Little Olya then jumped on my leg,
"Really? You will?"
"Will what?"

Okay, I got confused a little, but yes, it occurred to me that the bastard said to bring the surprise out.
"Of course, of course! I will bring it for you; only if you promise to rest, okay?" Little Han ran around yelling happily.
"YAY!"
"I will be watching you two, so don't cheat!" I said,
"Or else, no surprise for you." The tall man added, winking.
I scoffed slightly at him. Little Han then stood in front of me, bowing mockingly,
"We won't!" Little Olya seemed to be catching my mood and asked,
"Are you okay, Aunt Beth?"
Guess my face is red after that, whatever he did to me.
"I am fine; why wouldn't I be? I am surely not mad, nope! Come on, you." I tried to act normal and pointed at the guy to follow me inside.
Then I went to the kitchen to bring the ice cream out for the kids. They had already sat down and waited for me to bring their surprise.
"The adults will enjoy the surprise too, I believe."

They seemed to be waiting for what the surprise might turn out to be. They all cheered up by then and waited for me. I went inside then, and the man followed me there and brought the ice cream from the refrigerator. I grabbed a big serving disk and the bowls to serve it in. He gave me the spoons to put aside the bowls and the tool for serving the ice cream. The ice cream seemed delicious. I was proud. We started placing the ice cream in the bowls one by one. The silence between the man and me seemed awkward; it felt right since I wanted nothing to do with him.

More time went by as we worked on serving the ice cream to everyone. At that time, we didn't speak at all, I didn't want to be angry again anyway, so the silence didn't bother me. I sighed to myself happily, for no reason. The man gave me a look as I slowly turned and looked at what he was doing.

He glanced at me like he knew what I was thinking; Honestly, it was creepy; he seemed annoyed but smiled back with an arrogant look.
"Just wait. I am not done with you yet." He said, I was surprised; I have done nothing to him, yet he treats me like this.

I tore my gaze from his and continued serving the bowls. I didn't care much because I was leaving later anyway, which made me sad and upset. Then we joined everyone in the yard. After we finished serving the ice cream to the bowls, we brought them outside, and everyone was looking at us, and may I add, their eyes widened. Mainly because he was almost hugging me from behind; how funny is that, knowing he hated me so much for no reason?

I giggled to myself as I mocked him in my mind. What an unstable old male! He sure is handsome for a moment there. I thought he was charming, and then, poof, he started talking, and all hope was gone! I also thought about what a typical problematic man he was and stopped the thoughts there. But we were bringing the ice cream outside, which they saw after and understood that he was helping me. Still, that was weird.

"What am I looking at, cousin? How come you're helping another human being?" Sheila mocked, and I gave her a look.
"Mercy, Sheila." He said, smirking slightly at me after realizing it, immediately putting on that icy look on his face again.
Everyone burst into laughter with their exclamations. I glanced back with a warning look.
"What the hell are you doing?" I said in a low voice, so none of the others could hear.

"Come on, let's serve the ice cream." I glared at him to show how furious I was. No man dared cross me like this.
But then the kids showed up, and I couldn't do anything. Little Olya ran towards us now,
"A' Han! Look, Aunt Beth made us ice cream!" Little Han was shocked by what he was seeing.
"WHAT?!"
"Well, see, this woman is good at coaxing people." The asshole added,
"Shut up!" I snapped at him, and he stopped his movements suddenly, making me stop too. Because he had the tray in hand.
"What did you say?" His voice dropped a few octaves as he spoke in my ear. The hair on the back of my neck stood to attention.

His grip on my waist tightened, and I felt a wave of electricity run down my spine. You need to stop this! Little Olya started at us, confused,
"Uh... Well, should you give us the ice cream now?" Sheila winked after saying,
"Yes, you two should get your hands away from each other."
"Enough, enough. You two little mice, I will come back after serving the adults to ask if you like it." Little Han popped his little chin up and replied,
"Well, you should know that we are harsh judges about homemade ice cream!"
"I will wait for your opinion; your's too, little princess."

After we all sat at the porch table, the man did not want to get off my nerves.
"You should all know she has no clue how to decorate ice cream. Isn't that weird, little guy?" He mocked,
Little Han looked at me, confused,
"What? And who decorated this?"
"I did."
"You are not allowed to lie, brother!"
"I am not." The man answered, and everyone seemed shocked; the old couple exchanged weird glances.
He leaned over and pushed some hair away from my face. Okay, weird! My defenses rose again, and I immediately slapped his hand away.
"What an idiot; you were the one that didn't let me do so," I replied, and he raised an eyebrow, trying to hide his smile. He seemed amused by me for some reason,

"Come on, little Beth. Don't be so upset now, will you?" He mocked while his hand gently placed my hair behind my ears. I was so surprised I just stared at him for a few seconds without blinking,
"Ridiculous! Don't look at me like you didn't cause my anger!" I angrily replied.
How did I end up the crazy one here?! Why was he making me feel this way? No one had ever achieved such a thing. Weird, weird, weird.
"Shh. It is okay. Look, the kids still like it, right?" Then Little Olya spoke up,
"Of course, this is the best ice cream I have eaten since Aunt Anna made us one some years ago."
The guy seemed to stiffen at the mention of the woman, the warmth on his face was now gone and replaced by that cold, indescribable look, and I did not want to ask anything further. Little Han chirped, smiling,
"Yes, yes, this is amazing. I never thought it could be as nice as Aunt Anna's!"
"I am glad you like it!" I patted his head, returning the smile.
I felt my heart tighten when I looked at the guy's reluctance to eat the ice cream. I don't understand why.
"Well, I don't know if your mother will let you eat more. I think you should save it for later, okay?" I added.

Truth is, the kids were happy after seeing the ice cream, it was like they saw something unique. Their mother said that they hated ice cream that wasn't homemade. She also said they would take me for granted if they like the ice cream I made. So I guess this Anna might be a significant person to both them and this annoying guy. Don't think too much.

The adults were eating it like it was one of a kind, and Lao Han thanked me for everyone. Mister Oliver then spoke up, his eyes glazing as if tears threatened to run down his cheeks,

"This is good, Beth. Thank you!" Lao Olya agreed with him nodding her head gracefully.
"Yes, yes. It is one of a kind." Miss Martha laughed then,
"I will kindly accept anything this girl bakes or cooks." Lao Olya continued the conversation,
"Yes, it reminds me of the talent Anna had." Then Little Olya asked me with puppy eyes,
"Will you, Aunt Beth?"
"What?" I didn't understand what she was asking. My center of thought was about this Anna woman again.
Sheila butt in to help me, giggling,
"She asked if you would make us ice cream again sometime." Little Han blinked adoringly at me,
"Of course, she will! Right, Aunt Beth?"
"Of course, I will."
"Well, she's lucky it turned out well." The guy was picking on me once again. He looked at me once again and then left.
It felt like he was accusing me of something I did not do.

It was almost 4:00, and the time passed fast. I talked with everyone for a long time and then played with the kids. Sheila and I shared many secrets, although I rarely trust someone I don't know. She brought a sense of trust to me so I didn't hesitate, she told me her secrets too. We understood each other we laughed and cried at the same time. In such a short period, we bonded. I never thought I could make any friends, let alone best friends, as we called each other. Sheila then said,

"I am glad you ended up here. Feels like destiny."
"I am also glad about that."
She is sweet and can be very funny but very serious at the same time. We are alike. Lao Olya came into the room where Sheila and I were.
"Come outside, Beth. Sheila's parents came." Sheila stood up immediately and added,
"Yes! I want them to meet my new best friend!"
"Let's go!"
Then we went to the living room to meet her family. The people that came were Sheila's parents and her little sister, which is only three years old. Lao Han was the first to speak,
"Little Beth is here, meet this sweet girl."

The kids rushed to me and hugged me before introducing themselves. The boy named Liam hugged me first,
"Hello, Aunt Beth! I like the ice cream you made!"
"Really? Little Han said it could have been better. But I will listen to you!" Then the girl scoffed at her brother,
"Well, A' Han is stupid. As well as my brother, who forgot to tell you his name is Liam." The little girl named Ariel said,

"Well, well. And who this little drama queen might be?" Ariel added,
''My name is Ariel. And yes, I am a drama queen. But let us not admit it to the boys, shall we?''
Sheila crossed her arms over her chest, frowning at her little sister,
"I swear this attitude of hers is something else!" Maria Qin, the mother of Sheila, Liam, and Ariel came in, and I hugged her,
"I guess my two daughters need some distraction."
"Hello, Miss Qin!"
"Hello, beautiful girl! Steve, look at this sweet girl. How come our daughter turned out so naughty!"

Steve Yang, the father, joined us,
"Well, I am afraid our daughter's influence has already had an impact on this girl. I guess we can only love them both!"
Sheila rolled her eyes and hugged her father warmly,
"Hello to you too, father."

"Hello, Mister Steve," I said, and Sheila introduced me to their other sibling,
"This stupid creature is Juliet."
Oh my god! I shrieked back, terrified that I was about to hold a baby in my arms. She brought with her a little girl, which stole my heart at first glance.
"She is... so small..." I was getting worried about having so many kids around me.

I am afraid of having a panic attack. I wouldn't know how to explain it after. The girl poked my nose and pulled my hair, but still, she was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Sheila gave her to me, and my breath caught in my throat. I did not know what to do with her. Sheila then burst out laughing,

"Oh my god! You should see your face. It turned white."
"Please don't scare me like that ever again."

Old Olya came up to Sheila after some time.
"Little troublemaker." She called out to Sheila,
"Oh, no. What is it that you want this time, grams?"
"Nothing too much to ask, beautiful girl."
"Oh, no! Shoot, I can handle it."
"Can you go find your cousin?" The old woman meant that arrogant guy I don't know his name.

"What did you just ask me to do, grandmother?"
Her response was funny. She tried to convince her grandma not to make her find him.
"Please! No! I won't go! Please! Send someone else!" She then looked at me. I mean, glared at me. It scared the shit out of me. But I understood.
I saw her trying hard. I offered to go myself, which was not a good idea if you think about it.
"I'll go find him. But you'll owe me for the rest of your life!"

I said and scoffed at Sheila's wide smile. Sheila told me the place that he could be is the beach. I didn't ask any questions. I went and talked with her parents and played a little with her sister and then went to find him. I don't want to leave this peaceful place. I was going to the beach and realized I didn't want to be close to him at all. He is a threat to me. It had been a long time since someone scared or threatened my mind. My life back then was normal I complained about it. And I know I shouldn't. Come to think of it now. I don't know if I should laugh or cry at my audacity.

My program was simple. Monday was today, and I had fighting classes from 8:00 to 9:30 PM. It is the last year I am taking classes this summer I could go whenever I wanted for a workout. I had fighting classes on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:00 to 6:30 PM. School ends at 3:30 Tuesday, I have dance classes thirty minutes after school ends, so I have no time to spend with my mum until 7:00 when the class ends. Then probably at 9:00, I would go out with the guys on Mondays I go out with them after school and after the fighting classes. On Wednesdays, I stay with my mum for two to three hours. I go out with the guys late at night because, at 5:00 PM, I have fighting classes until 6:30 PM. On Thursdays, I am free. My friends have dance classes with me so we spend that time together too. Emma only comes with me to fighting classes. We can dance and learn whatever we want there. I chose modern dances, ballet, and aerial fabric dances. I am good at every one of them.

I am just sad that I lost almost two years of my life from school. All that happened had too much of an impact on every aspect of my life. It was hard and even if I don't remember everything that had happened in that abduction, I still have nightmares every night.

When I was little, I only danced ballet and then came the aerial dance. But I will not make it my official job, not after everything; acting can be the best for me. I want to leave the pure memories of dancing and being alive in the past. I won't bring it out and make it dirty as the rest of me have become. But all that won't matter when I graduate.
After some time, I realized I had reached downtown and continued walking towards the seaside to find that man. I still didn't know his name.