Kiss Me Not

It was already dark when Cain arrived home. He saw his father sitting on the couch in their living area, watching the news on the television.

"Hi, Dad," he greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, you\'re finally here. YOu must be starving already. Come and let\'s eat now. By the way, Kimmy called me, informing me she won\'t be with you. It\'s nice that she and her mother are now getting along like old days." His father commented in his faint voice.

Cain sighed. Why can\'t Kimmy call him too? He could not help but feel jealous of how thoughtful Kimmy was to his father. But he was glad that Kimmy truly cared for his father.

His father\'s nurse aide was about to help him back to his wheelchair, but Cain signaled him that he would do it instead. He walked to his father and helped him back to his wheelchair.

"Did Kimmy tell you that she will sleep in their house?" Cain asked as he pushed his father\'s wheelchair towards the dining area.

"Yeah, she mentioned that she will sleep there tonight and might extend for more days," Daniel answered.

"What?!" Cain burst. For days? And Kimmy did not mention anything to him at all. He was waiting for her to text or call, but none came. He was going nuts already thinking about the possibility of Kimmy meeting Harry, and it was driving him crazy!"

"Why are you surprised? I\'m honestly surprised that she was staying here, but then I thought Kimmy needed more time since she has issues with her own family. It\'s only natural for her to stay with her family, Cain. You should be happy that they all finally reconcile," Cain\'s father said while he helped his father get settled on his place at the dining table.

"Of course, I am happy for her, dad. I\'m just a bit shocked since she did not mention it to me yet." Cain mumbled with a pout as he sat on his chair.

Daniel had a teasing look at his son as he added, "she will still work for you so you can be with her all day Cain. You still have an advantage."

Cain did not comment. His father knew him enough to know what was going on in his head, so he had no point in telling him some alibis.

"Kimmy… You probably can tell by now since you\'re a psychiatrist too, and you\'re one of the best. You\'ll need extra patience with her since she had a lot of things going on in her head. You do know her situation with her family, especially with her father…"

"I know, dad… She\'s having a debate about her feelings. She has a thing for bad men because of her father. She does not trust good men but rather goes for bad men who are changing for good." Cain commented.

Kimmy\'s father was like that. In everyone\'s eyes, he was a good man except those who knew Edward\'s actual color, who was his wife and daughter. So Kimmy was having a hard time accepting a relationship with a good person. She was in a denial state most of the time. Cain heaved a sigh. Brione mentioned that Harry was a bad man, and Kimmy knew about his story.

"What\'s with that worried look on your face?" Daniel asked.

Cain looked at his father and said, "Kimmy\'s first love arrived in the country. He is staying at the Zantium Hotel. He is the CEO of Cha group… The group that will invest in our expansion worldwide."

"I see…" his father commented. Cain hoped he could be as calm as his father instead of overthinking.

"Just be yourself, son. I\'m sure Kimmy will choose wisely. In the end, she will follow her heart. Stop worrying and do your best to win her over. If Kimmy is fated to you, then she will end up with you, son."

Fate… Fated… He stopped believing in fate since Kimmy ran away from him years ago. He also thought they were fated, bumping into each other like that, and then their families were close acquaintances… Then the marriage talk was initiated by Kimmy\'s mother… Who wouldn\'t believe in fate at that time?

Cain smiled at his father and said, "Let\'s eat instead, dad. I\'m starving already. By the way, the King said he will visit you, more often now that he is like a free bird."

"Oh right, Gavin\'s coronation is coming. Lucas is finally free from his duty as a father in this country. It\'s one hell of a tough job, but it\'s already time that young men like Gavin take over." Daniel commented, and Cain agreed.

*****

At Hansen Mansion.

"I am so happy that you decided to sleep here, dear, tonight. Oh gosh, I miss cuddling you!" Leila commented as she pulled her daughter into the dining area.

"I only agreed, mom, since you confirm that dad will not join us for dinner. I don\'t want to see him, and you know that."

"I know… Come and let\'s eat and not talk about your father."

Kimmy wrinkled her face and murmured, "it\'s time already that we talk about him since he\'s not around. Tell me now, why can\'t you divorce him instead of living with him being miserable like this!"

As usual, his father would not come home, and she would bet that he was with his mistresses but what hurt her mother was the truth that she found. Being with many women was only his father\'s facade because he only had one mistress, and it was his true love… The woman he was with before her mother entered the picture with an arranged marriage between families.

Leila grunted, "Divorce him and let him be happy with her? No. I won\'t divorce your father, Kimmy, and let that woman die as a forever mistress!!! So could you stop asking me to divorce your father? We are a family, and this will stay as it is as long as I live, Kimmy."

Kimmy heaved a long sigh and murmured, "If that\'s your reason, then so be it… Let him be like that. We can also sue them, mom, if you want. Don\'t you want to see them behind bars?"

"He is still your father, Kimmy, and a part of the royal family. Your father\'s dirt will still reflect in the whole royal family. Let it be. I am satisfied enough that she remained as a mistress, and I remain as the legal wife."

"But you\'re hurting…" Kimmy whispered. She knew her mother well. Her mother was hurting a lot because of her father\'s ill-treatment emotionally though her mother was trying her best to act cool as if it was nothing to her. She could fool everyone but not her.

"I\'m okay, Kimmy. You are more than enough for me. I have no regrets at all since your father had given me such a great treasure, and that\'s you, Kimmy," Leila lovingly stated, staring at her daughter.

"Stop that, mom. And don\'t make us cry again. Let\'s eat dinner and change the topic, okay?"

Leila laughed and said, "Okay, how about you tell me now what you think of Cain. I mean, you never met him before, and now you do… Don\'t you have regrets for running away on the wedding day? Let\'s face the fact that Cain is a good catch, and I\'m sure many women are swooning over the hot doctor!"

"I don\'t know, mom. Cain seems too good to be true. I mean, I don\'t see any negative side of him yet except that he loves bullying me a lot. I don\'t have a thing for nice men… Well, Cain is attractive, but I still have doubts…"

She was scared of falling in love and then getting disappointed for expecting too much from a nice person like Cain.

"You have things for bad guys instead? Are you kidding me, Kimmy? Why would you trust a bad guy instead of a nice one like Cain in relationships?

Kimmy laughed as she justified, "Bad guys turning good mom. You see, men like that are attractive since they already realized what a bad person turned you into and their consequences… For sure, they will try their best to be better all the days of their lives!"

Leila\'s eyes widened in disbelief as she burst," OMG! What kind of twisted thinking is that Kimmy! You will become an old maid if you think like that!"

Kimmy only laughed though she wanted to voice out, \'it was the thinking of a woman who was afraid to experience the same failure like you\'re experiencing now, mom!\'

Of course, she would carry that reasoning on her grave since she did not want her mother to feel burdened about it.. She did not want her mother to feel responsible for her rationality in relationships because it was all in her father. He was responsible for why she was like that!