New Life : A Second Chance

The months then seemed to breeze by.

Kay got a much better handle on her growing feelings for Joseph, thanks to her talk with Nitocris and having a heart-to-heart girl talk with Sayuri. The guilt she had been washed away and the longing she had for him became a bearable pain.

If Big Bro Nic could wait for Xing Han, she could wait for Joseph.

The only thing she didn't know was whether she had the strength to let him go should he end up with someone else before she could even 'make her move'. 

That was something she pushed to the back of her mind so that she could handle each day as it came.

As for Joseph, he went down another route. 

Having felt like he was not good enough for Kay, or that he would ever be able to reach her heights and provide for her the way she is used to … he started to write.

The blog that he had started became his starting point and he used the pen name 'Rose' to start writing. He opened up an entirely new account with that pen name at the online reading platform he had been using for the past year.

There was this 'writing prompt' contest that would reward the winner with some cash, the online currency that is used to 'unlock' chapters, and an online banner advertising the novel for a month. 

In order to win, the readers would have to vote on it. After a month of voting, the top 3 novels would go through a judging process by a publishing company. All three would be offered publishing deals, but only the best would win the competition.

There was no 'second' or 'third' place - though perhaps, the fact that they would get offered a publishing contract was a prize in itself.

It wasn't that Joseph though he would win - although it would be a lie to say that he didn't have some hope. It was more of the fact that the writing contest seemed to call out to him, for its theme was 'forbidden romance'. 

Forbidden in the sense like 'Romeo and Juliet' whereby the two lovers were from families that were at 'war' with each other. Not forbidden in the sense like in Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the son had an Oedipus Complex - that is, the sone was in love with the mother (though some argued and disagreed of such an interpretation).

Joseph felt that the best way to deal with his feelings and to settle it, was to write about it. However, he would be in control of what happened and what the ending would be like. He had the entire structure in his head, which included all the fantasies and hopes he had, mixed with the reality of the situation.

He was going to use the novel to release the pent-up frustrations and, perhaps come to terms with the turmoil that invaded his soul.

He used the pen name 'Rose' because he didn't want people to know that he, a guy, would be writing a romance story. Worse, it would really be a pure romance story that had no action scenes or anything of the sort.

Just thinking that people he knew would read his jottings sent him in a panic so he kept the secret close to his heart. He didn't even tell his sister, who would most likely make fun of him anyway.

He didn't have much hope in it gaining any readers for he was writing just to get the stuffiness out of his chest. 

So he began writing, entering the competition. His angle? 

A young boy falling in love with his older 'sister' - not blood related, but a sister he gained when their parents got married. He adjusted a bit so that it wasn't too close to his own life, but close enough that he could be more realistic with what happened.

To his surprise, his novel not only gained readers, but it also became extremely popular. So popular that a month later, he was informed that he had won the competition. 

He was so shocked, yet happy.

Despite the fact that he was a minor, it didn't mean that he couldn't form the publishing contract as a minor is allowed to work in Country Tz (and most countries around the world, in fact).

Thus, he was spared the hassle of informing his father to sign the contract.

With the contract, he was assured with a steady supply of income for a year, as that would be the time he was given to continue the novel on the online platform. Once it was completed, the novel would be printed in book form for anyone who wished to obtain a physical copy.

Little did Joseph know, that his little act of penning down his feelings then would become his career in the future. For now, though it was just a hobby still. 

A hobby that paid.

Thus, at that point, Kay and Joseph had accepted their fate and continued their lives in a new routine.

However, that routine was rudely shattered one day for Kay. 

It had started as a normal day, when she was hit by this huge wave of fear and worry from her twin.

She clutched her chest, feeling agitated, and she had trouble breathing. She didn't call out to Kyle, knowing that he would not be in any state of mind to talk. 

She was deathly worried, however, as to what had happened.

While her mind was fuzzy with all of this, her phone rang. She saw that it was Beatrice and her heart thumped within her as she picked it up. 

"Sayuri's injured and is at Trinity Hospital," Beatrice told her succinctly.

"Got it," Kay replied hoarsely, her heart in her throat, "Please call my parents and inform them as well."

"They are the next on the list for me to call," Beatrice replied, "As well as the other Elite Five."

"Thank you," Kay said as she was already on her way down. Putting in her earpiece, she contacted Zero, knowing that he was the one that was on duty today to pick up Sayuri.

Her apartment was close by and although she reached the hospital quickly, she had taken time to park her car. When she rushed to the emergency room, she saw Kyle standing outside the operating room theater doors, looking lost.

He turned towards her, his face pale.

She went over and hugged him, holding him tight as he held her tightly back. No words were said, be it openly or mentally. 

He was too broken.

Kay pulled him down, making him sit and they held hands while they waited. Not long after, Delilah and Patrick arrived.

"Oh, Kyle, my baby," she said, tears in her eyes. She rushed over and hugged him, while Patrick sat down beside Kay.

"How is she?" he asked.

"We don't know. She's in the operating room," Kay said.

"What happened?" Delilah asked softly.

Kyle clenched his hands so tightly together that it was pale, he said, "She was attacked."

"WHAT?!" gasped Delilah and Patrick.

Kyle didn't intend to hide the truth from them although he wasn't going to give them the whole picture either. The fact that Sayuri had been attacked couldn't be hidden anyway, as the injuries she sustained were too severe for it to be just an accident. 

Also, Kyle wanted the whole world to know.

Right now, he was too worried about Sayuri to bother or care about Sarah. It was enough that she was caught. He knew the Team would not kill her, and that was enough.

He didn't care what they did to her in the meantime as well.

Kay watched her brother suffering and she said with a few changes to the story, "When Zero went to pick up Sayuri, he saw her being pushed down the stairs."

Delilah gasped, putting her hand in her mouth, "But what was she doing at the stairs?! She's so heavily pregnant …"

"Delilah," Patrick said softly, "I don't think blaming anyone at this point will do anyone any good."

She looked at him aggrieved, for that was not what she was doing. However, upon seeing how her son was so 'out of it', she didn't say anything. It wasn't the time nor the place for an argument.

Instead, she calmed down and said, "I am not blaming her. I was just surprised because Sayuri is normally very sensible."

Patrick nodded, realising he had been too hasty. Then again, if he had felt Delilah was blaming Sayuri, he was sure Kyle had felt the same as well.

"Let's just let the police handle it," Kay said. Their parents agreed, thinking that it's best to just keep quiet and not agitate Kyle even more. He was worried enough as it is.

The Elite Five arrived and they sat there quietly, offering support while waiting for Sayuri's operation to end.

Several hours later, Dr. He came out.