New Life : A Second Chance

Sari couldn't answer her.

Mainly because it was only then that she realised what Kay said had been correct.

Kay sat back on the chair and continued to drink her tea while Sari thought about what she had said.

Kay continued to observe and study Sari, and she found that Sari wasn't a bad girl, really. 

She was just too naive and innocent. Stupidly naive and easily manipulated. 

Insecure.

All of these weaknesses can be overcome, but it was already too late.

Not too late for Sari to change, but too late for her relationship with Kyle to change even if she did.

From the pain of heartache Kyle had gone through yesterday, to the detachment she felt today, Kay knew that Kyle had gone through a baptism of fire and emerged a different man.

She just hopes he didn't turn out to be a cold statue instead.

Right now, her only wish for Sari was for her to know the truth, and to grow.

"Dina knew Kyle was your boyfriend," Kay then said after a few minutes, "She coveted your boyfriend, thus did all sorts of things to sow discord between the two of you."

"You were so caught up in her lies that you didn't even listen to the advice of two classmates of yours," Kay said.

"Advice?" Sari asked bewilderedly. When did anyone advise her?

Kay sighed and shook her head.

"What do you think an advice is? Must a person come to you and say, 'hey, listen to me and my advice to you' before you realise it is an advice?" Kay asked with a frown.

"Think back," she encouraged, "Each time Dina wanted you to do something, or suggested something, wasn't there someone that said something of the opposite?"

"Yes," Sari replied quickly, "Grace and Kristi. They kept dropping these vague hints and words …"

The penny dropped.

Sari stopped talking, thinking back.

She had actually felt annoyed at their interference but now, she realised that they were only trying to help. 

"Grace and Kristi are actually professional bodyguards that Kyle got to protect you while he was away," Kay told her.

"WHAT?!" Sari gasped. "Wha-what .. but .. they're so young! And why would I need protection?!" 

"What? Didn't Dina say anything about this?" Kay said sarcastically.

Sari fidgeted and knew that Kay was referring to the fact that she always listened to Dina's stories and words about how the rich, like Kyle, lived. Yet, she had never mentioned about bodyguards.

"Our lives are not our own, really," Kay said, "We're always the target of someone. You're but a normal person and have no protection. Naturally, Kyle would make sure that there was someone who would be there to protect you yet, not disrupt your life."

"But you don't have any bodyguards with you right now!" Sari protested.

"Not in plain sight, at least," Kay said, and let that sink in.

"You .. you mean …" Sari said hesitatingly.

"Yes," Kay said, "I have people monitoring me right now, though they are in the shadows. I also know how to fight and get out of hostage situations, should the worst-case scenario happens."

"So Grace and Kristi were spying on me, reporting to Kyle while guarding me?" Sari said - not really asking. It was as if she was making a statement. All this time, Kyle said he trusted her yet he had her tailed and monitored all this time?

Kay laughed at that statement.

"If you want to look upon it like that, I can't change your mind now, can I?" Kay said, "Everything can be viewed from two angles."

"In Kyle's eyes, he was protecting you without disrupting your life. In your eyes, he was not trusting you and invading your privacy. Right?"

"To make it clear, their job was merely to ensure your physical safety, not spy on you," Kay clarified, "However, because they were close-by, naturally they would have known what was going on and what you did."

"However, since it was never Kyle's intention to monitor your activities, Kyle did not ask for a detailed report of your daily life," Kay explained, "Now, knowing how your mind thinks, you're probably feeling that Kyle was not interested in you and what you were doing, right?"

Sari looked at Kay guiltily.

"Do you even realise what you're doing?" Kay asked softly, "No matter what Kyle does, it is wrong?"

Sari held her hands together, thinking seriously about what Kay was saying.

Unlike before, Sari really was trying to understand what Kay was trying to do.

The fact that Kyle's sister was here, right now, talking to her patiently instead of screaming and scolding her, made Sari pause. She had always believed the twins would back each other up for anything, no matter how ridiculous the actions of the other may be.

She had been prepared not to listen, feeling that Kay would be argumentative and one-sided.

Yet, Kay was not doing anything of that sort.

This was completely different than what Dina had told her.

It was this thought that made her finally see ... that perhaps, some things that she believed about the way the Smiths lived their lives ... was not correct.

Still, it took a lot of effort.

After being 'brainwashed' for so long, one doesn't suddenly have that wiped away even when you know your thoughts are wrong. All the subconscious thoughts and instinctive reactions had to be looked at and dealt with, one by one, as it arose.

At least, Sari was trying.

"Kyle wanted to protect you from the dark side of our world," Kay said, "And that was his first mistake."

"Mistake?" Sari queried. Was protecting her a mistake?

"Yes, because you're going to have to know about our world anyway," Kay said, "His mistake was not in informing you about the dangers, and that Grace and Kristi were your bodyguards. He was wrong not to communicate that to you."

"But you were wrong as well, for not communicating your fears to him."