Page 11 of Ellie 3

I understood better when I arrived to find Mrs. Clark at his condo looking like she was about to beat Aurora.

“It’s more complicated than you know and it’s not for me to tell you,” I said, not hiding how exhausted I was.

“Are you okay?” Aurora worried, no longer in passive mode blending in with the wall. “I thought your interview was supposed to be easy?”

“It’s not my normal and I had to handle more after,” I told her. “But it went better than I’d hoped. There’s just been too much and I’m pushing for a lot of change. I’m also hungry.”

“Oh, then of course you need to eat,” she said as she started to fret over me… At the same time Mrs. Clark went to.

Oh boy.

Which explained why Ha-joon had sent the message he had. I ended up having her white kimchi with radish with my burger and fries to appease her. Not a combination I would have sought out, but it didn’tnotwork. Aurora seemed to be amused, so she understood Mrs. Clark was being a bit childish and left it alone.

“The Alpha of Atlanta sent a formal apology to our family for jumping the gun and announcing there was an actual match and engagement instead of a suggested idea,” Mrs. Clark informed us. “That’s why I came besides with more food. Your father was worried you wouldn’t be open to hearing that from him after his transgressions.”

“And he’s still angry at me for what I did and challenging him,” Ha-joon muttered, reaching for soy eggs.

She opened her mouth but then closed it. “I don’t know that’s true. I don’t know what is going on with your father or our family right now. We’re a mess. Someone is always fighting and—” She cleared her throat and stole a few of my fries.

She was hiding here. That was what she didn’t want to say. She needed a bit of peace from the problems going on at home.

“Stop feeding the gits if they’re going to be babies,” I suggested. “It’s not difficult to not fight in the house. They don’t even all live there. Right now, it’s a damn neutral zone for your sanity and everything else is outside. That’s more than valid to declare at least for the time being.”

“Agreed, Mum,” Ha-joon said after a moment. “They run to you for every little damn thing. They always have and then yelled at me for taking up too much of your and Da’s time. It’s—we all need a reset and reminder we’re adults.”

She snorted, probably because Ha-joon was the only one who acted like a damn adult. No, his eldest sister did too.

“You make valid points and I will listen,” Mrs. Clark accepted after a moment and stealing a few more fries. “Thank you. I needed to take a step back.” She glanced at Aurora. “If you need any help so you do not upset your stepdaughter, I can give you my number to—”

“I don’t have a cell phone, but your son has been helping me,” she told her.

“My son is too busy to—”

“Mum, it’s fine,” Ha-joon said quietly, seeming uncomfortable.

Shit, I hadn’t meant to put him in the middle of this.

Why was life always so fucking complicated?

4

Ha-joon

Shopping with Ellie’s stepmother had been easier than I’d thought. She wasn’t picky and just wanted basics to get through the week. She clearly also didn’t want to cost Ellie money. She realized it was awkward and was overwhelmed by the mall.

Of course. Right, no chance she’d been to somewhere like that after all she’d been through.

It was really,reallyhard to hate someone who had suffered so much. I should. I knew I still should, but when she almost had a panic attack from a pushy salesclerk smelling a fat commission, I had to jump in and rescue her.

So yeah, I now understood why Ellie was helping her, but also didn’t want the woman staying in her condo.

But we managed. It got way more complicated when Mum was waiting at my condo, and when I told her who Aurora was… Yeahhhhhh. Rage filled my nose and Mum’s eyes shifted she was so ready to gut the woman.

And Aurora just stood there ready to take it. She had absolutely no instincts to protect herself or likerun and hide. That was what gave my mum pause more than my jumping in.

What a fucking fucked clusterfuck.

I was never so glad on timing and Ellie being done. She arrived shortly after, and it was better when Mum saw how Elliewas handling things. But Mum was also overloaded, and even with everything Ellie had going on, she flawlessly handled Mum to help me.

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