Chandra stared at the man appearing as if out of the blue before her. The man who managed to make her feel both this unbearable pain as well as this wonderful delight within her being. The man who made her see the brighter side of life, the one who gave her hope that she was much more than she perceived herself to be, that she deserved someone to love and being loved wholeheartedly and unconditionally in return. But that was all a lie, wasn’t it? It was all in her imagination. Now he was here to clarify that.
She backed away and rushed to stand behind her desk, putting some space between them.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice shaking with emotion.
Sam wouldn’t let her escape him. He followed and stood right in front of her with only the desk separating them. “I’m here to see you.”
Chan glanced away because the intensity of his eyes made her nervous. “Why?”
Sam moved around the desk, caught her arm, and pulled her against him. Chan struggled in his embrace and demanded to be released.
“What are you doing? Let me go, Sam,” she snapped. “I said let me go.”
Sam wouldn’t and scooped her up.
Chan gasped out in shocked surprise. “What are you doing? Put me down, Sam. Put me down now.”
Sam headed across the room and out the door. Chan was still struggling in his arms when he walked past the living room. Dara, Soriya, and Lilly watched the scene before them in disbelief.
“Sam, what are you doing to my sister?” Dara asked, her face pale.
“Chan, are you okay?” Soriya asked with worry.
Chan calmed down when she heard her sisters’ voice. She turned her teary eyes to Soriya, then to Dara, and finally to Lilly.
“Chan, why are you crying?” Lilly asked.
Chan felt a lump in her throat, and her body began to shake uncontrollably.
Sam said, “Can you both babysit Lilly for me this evening?”
The sisters blinked. Then Dara said, puzzled, “Sure. But what are you doing to my sister?”
“We’re going to have a private talk,” he replied. He chuckled when he saw how worried the sisters looked. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt Chandra.”
Dara nodded while Soriya sighed in relief.
Sam turned to Lilly and said, “Sweetheart, you’ll be all right, won’t you?”
Slowly, Lilly nodded.
Sam smiled. “Be a good girl and don’t cause too much trouble for Dara and Soriya, all right.”
Again, Lilly nodded.
He chuckled despite the woman in his arms being in such a panic-stricken state. “Daddy’s going to do to Chan what you suggested to me the other day.”
At that statement, Lilly brightened with delight. “Really?” she asked. When Sam nodded, she jumped with joy. “Yay! Go, Daddy!”
Sam laughed, thanked the sisters again for babysitting Lilly on such short notice, and headed to the door. Chan, teary eyed and in his arms, watched her sisters, at a loss as to what to do.
Lilly grabbed both Dara’s and Soriya’s hand and said, “Let’s have some cake.”
Dara asked, “Where’s your dad taking Chan?”
Lilly happily replied, “To show her how much he likes her.”