Two days passed. After school, Dylan walked with Maya out of the building to the restaurant where Dylan worked, because Maya wanted to apply for a job there. Lena, Ellie, and Amy had already gone home, and if they had time, they would pick up Fiona and Iris. As they walked out of the school gate,
"Maya?"
Maya and Dylan turned to see a muscular man with a blonde buzz cut and an earring, dressed like a college student who had just finished classes and was on a motorcycle. The man looked at Dylan and thought, then he instantly remembered him.
"You're the guy from that final match, right? If I'm not wrong, your name is Dylan," the man said, smiling.
"Oh... you're... Michael? My opponent in the final?" Dylan asked, pointing at Michael.
"Yep, that's right. Just call me Mike. How are you?" Mike asked.
"Good. How about you? Judging by your body, you're still training, huh?" Dylan asked.
"I'm in the martial arts club at college, even though I'm studying law. What are you planning to do after graduation?" Mike asked.
"Hmm... maybe work. I don't plan on going to college," Dylan answered.
Dylan turned to look at Maya next to him, who was completely silent and shocked. Maya looked pale, and her hand gripping Dylan's arm was shaking.
"What's wrong, Maya?" Dylan asked.
"Oh... are you guys... dating?" Mike asked, pointing at both of them with a confused look.
"Um... you could say that," Dylan replied.
"What do you want, big brother?" Maya suddenly yelled at Mike.
The atmosphere immediately fell silent. Dylan and Mike turned to look at Maya, who looked annoyed and furious. Dylan could see Mike suddenly looking a little awkward. Then Dylan looked back at Maya.
"Um... what's actually going on, Maya?" Dylan asked.
"Nothing (she looked at Mike). The person we call 'Dad' sent you here, didn't he? Tell him I'm not coming home!" Maya yelled.
"Maya... I didn't come here for him, I came for Mom and for us," Mike said.
"It's the same thing! Mom didn't do anything when the guy who calls himself our father almost raped me! I'm not going back home. They're gamblers... drunks, and they don't care about us! You don't know because you left two years ago!" Maya screamed.
"Mom is in the hospital now, in a coma... I just came from the hospital visiting her... He beat her up... that's why I came here, to tell you, because I'm the only one who knows where you are," Mike said.
Maya instantly went silent. She tightly grasped Dylan's hand next to her and stared sharply at Mike, who looked troubled.
"Did... did you just say Mom is in the hospital because he beat her?" Maya asked.
"That's right. Now that Mom is in a coma... that person is living in our dojo... You remember Carla, my fiancée? She's our neighbor, right? She told me because when she went home, her family told her about Mom, and she accidentally overheard him on the phone revealing his plan. That's why I came here to tell you, because I couldn't talk about this over the phone. That guy intends to take over Dad's inheritance to support his business after we're gone. So I need you to be careful. That person is definitely after us," Mike answered.
"I can take care of myself... besides, he doesn't know where I am," Maya said.
"But you still have to be careful... I've told Carla not to go home for a while and to stay with me for safety, and so he can't use her to threaten me. Please be careful, and if anything happens, call me," Mike urged.
"I get it," Maya replied, lowering her face.
"I know you're still mad at me because I defended that guy once to keep the family together, but this time, I need you to trust me," Mike said.
"Fine... this time I believe you, and please don't show your face to me again," Maya said.
"Okay, I understand. Well, that's all (he looked at Dylan). Please take care of my little sister, Dylan," Mike said.
"Alright, I got it (he put his arm around Maya). I'll take care of her," Dylan said.
After that, Mike turned, got on his motorcycle, and put on his helmet. He left immediately without saying another word. Dylan turned to look at Maya.
"So, you hate your brother?" Dylan asked.
"I don't know... actually, I don't hate my brother because I still told him where I was, but I'm upset and angry with him because he told Mom, and Mom suddenly showed up at my boarding house... and at a crucial moment, he actually defended that guy because Mom was defending him, saying it was for the sake of family and to keep it quiet. I hate my family," Maya said furiously, clenching her fists.
"Hmm... I see. Well, let's not talk about it anymore. You have a new family now, right? Let's go," Dylan suggested.
Maya turned to look at Dylan with tears in her eyes. She held Dylan's hand tightly.
"Thank you, babe," Maya said, smiling.
"If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen," Dylan replied.
They walked toward the restaurant where Dylan worked. Along the way, Maya told Dylan about her family situation. Her father was a martial arts dojo owner who died suddenly from a heart attack. After that, her mother, feeling lost, completely changed. She became distant and constantly sad. She started going out at night, buying unnecessary and expensive things, blowing her father's inheritance money. When the championship was over and she was about to start high school, her mother suddenly brought home a man who worked as a financial consultant.
From the start, the man looked at Maya strangely and kept trying to act like a father figure to replace her dead father. At first, Maya didn't mind, but when Maya came home with the news that she got a scholarship to high school in this city, the man's behavior suddenly changed; he aggressively approached Maya. Of course, Maya became scared and immediately told her mother and brother, but they both said there was no way the man would do that, and they thought Maya was overreacting or being dramatic.
Finally, when she graduated from junior high and was about to leave the city for school, her stepfather tried to rape her, but didn't succeed because Maya hit him with a flower vase. But her mother blamed her for hurting her husband. When she called Mike, who was already out of town for a year for school, she was disappointed because Mike told her to apologize to the man because it was bad for a family to fight.
Maya immediately packed her bags because she felt her family was defending the man who almost harmed her without listening to her side of the story. She took what little money she had and left for the city she was in now to go to school without anyone knowing, except for Mike, who happened to be in the same city and found her.
"Then on the first day of high school, I saw you... and because of that, I got stronger, hehe," Maya said.
"Oh, I see... well, that's good then," Dylan replied. "Wow... seriously? I had no idea," Dylan thought to himself.
"But you were hard to talk to back then. You looked sad, like you had an invisible weight on your shoulders, and you kept to yourself... I hesitated to get closer and approach you," Maya said.
"Sorry, I was in survival mode back then, haha," Dylan said casually.
"Yeah, I know. The important thing is that we're together now. I'm happy," Maya replied, holding onto Dylan's arm.
"Y-yeah, but there are a lot of people here, and besides, we're almost at the restaurant," Dylan said, trying to pull away.
"Hehe... sorry, but let me be like this, because right now, I'm not sharing you with anyone," Maya replied.
"O-okay," Dylan said. He looked left and right, seeing everyone turn to look at them, then he glanced at the beautiful Maya. "Ugh... attracting attention even on the street... how am I supposed to handle this?" Dylan thought in his head.
[Of course, sir. Your wife... no, all four of your wives are attention magnets.]
"Shut up," Dylan shot back.