CW for domestic violence.

Chapter 45

Despite Katara's growing concern about Yue's absence from the tournament, her elevated anxiety did not seem to affect her level of play. Her new medication was keeping her more grounded, though she still experienced the occasional strange vision or hallucination from the years of irresponsible Librium use. She didn't lose her nerve even following a phone conversation with Azula that seemed to suggest that not everything was good back in Ba Sing Se. Azula was, as always, tightlipped about these things, but Katara got the feeling that the reunion between Azula, Zuko and their mother hadn't gone well. However, there was nothing that Katara could do about it remotely and solving that mess would have to wait until she got back to Ba Sing Se.

Even though Katara was staying at Sokka's tiny single room apartment, Katara sleeping on an air mattress in the kitchen, she and Sokka didn't actually get to interact much. Sokka was so preoccupied with his job and his studies that they only got to hang out on weekends. Katara was disappointed, as she had hoped to spend more time together with her brother. At least Sokka had arranged for a pleasant surprise when their father came over to spend a day with them both. Hakoda had clearly been missing his children a great deal after having only heard their voices on the phone for months. It had been a wonderful day away from the tournament, and it had reminded Katara how much she missed her family.

As far as the tournament itself was concerned, Katara was having an easy time strolling towards a qualifying spot. Before the final round, she had only victories from the previous eight games. Hahn was lagging a full point behind before their final round game. Even though Katara had already qualified and it didn't matter whether she beat Hahn or not, she was determined to humiliate him publicly in front of the admittedly sparse crowd of spectators. Katara felt angrier than ever before at Hahn, because thus far he had refused to answer any of her questions about Yue. Hahn's mocking grin and the wedding ring on his finger seemingly told Katara everything she needed to know, however.

Katara had tried to interrogate the other contestants and even some of the tournament officials whether they knew the reasons for Yue's absence. Nobody seemed to know much, but one of the tournament judges had taken pity on Katara and had told her that Yue's withdrawal had come very late and it had taken them all by surprise. This told Katara very little, so she saw her game with Hahn as the last chance to learn more about what was really going on.

They both began their game cautiously, developing their tiles in a conservative manner. Katara had last played Hahn two and a half years ago, when she had defeated him in her first appearance at the U18 finals. Katara knew that Hahn was a lazy and overconfident asshole who had enraged Grandmaster Pakku and had caused the old master to publicly criticize Hahn's attitude and lack of determination to improve before quitting as Hahn's mentor. Katara very much doubted that Hahn had bothered to study any of her recent games, or that he knew anything about how her style of play had evolved under the influence of her friends, but in particular, because of Azula.

In the past, she had scored victories over Hahn by going on unexpected, sometimes ill-prepared offense, relying largely on the element of surprise. Hahn now seemed more wary of her offense and worked hard to lay down several traps for her, but Katara saw them a mile away. Once enough of her tiles were in play, Katara changed her tactics and went on the offensive, but she was definitely not relying on surprise this time around. No, on this occasion, Katara's every move was carefully deliberated. Her attack wasn't targeting just a single weak spot in Hahn's defenses. Instead, she was hitting him on both flanks before striking in the center for good measure, utilizing the entire board to completely overwhelm Hahn's disjointed tiles. A couple of dozen moves later, Katara's fuming opponent looked ready to flip the table in absolute outrage and disgust. There was nothing left for Hahn to do than to stop the timing clock and accept defeat. Now he had to hope and pray that some of his closest pursuers would not overtake him in the standings following this final round.

When Hahn looked ready to walk away without even bothering to shake her hand, Katara quickly raced after the young man, determined to stop him. "I think I know why Yue isn't taking part this year," Katara told him, despite Hahn pointedly trying to ignore her. "You have either convinced or forced her to withdraw, because you knew that if we both were playing, you would have come in a distant third. Your rich daddy would have had to buy you the wild card yet again."

That got Hahn's attention and he swirled around to glare at Katara. "You should watch your mouth, Enuaraq," Hahn warned. "You think you're some kind of a hot shot who can talk crap and get away with it? You're going to stop bringing up Yue if you know what's good for you… and for her. Here's some friendly advice for you. Forget about her, alright? Forget about Yue, just like she has forgotten about you."

Katara flinched a little at that comment, even if she didn't necessarily believe that Hahn was speaking the truth. If Yue had wanted to get back in touch, she simply wouldn't have known how to reach Katara. "You can try to stop her from competing as much as you want, Hahn, but it won't change the fact that she'll always be ten times the player than you'll ever be," Katara wasn't going to let Hahn have the final word, though. "It's pathetic that you can only qualify this way by keeping Yue out of the competition."

"Pfft, I would have beaten her easily," Hahn shot back. "And I'll destroy you in the finals, where it really matters. This was just a warm-up."

"Oh, really," Katara smirked, having noticed with the corner of her eye the tournament officials adding the final scores to the board. With intense glee, she realized that the results of the final round hadn't gone Hahn's way. Young Siku Ikuma had won her final game, finishing with the same amount of points as Hahn, but since she had shockingly won her game with Hahn, Siku was now placed second, behind Katara, but crucially ahead of Hahn. "Looks like your family's fortune is going to take another hit from having to buy that wild card, huh? Maybe you should have allowed Yue to play after all…"

"You fucking bitch! I'll remember this," Hahn glared at her. "I'm warning you, this isn't over!" he added before angrily stomping away. Katara merely rolled her eyes. As far as she was concerned, Hahn Adjuk was all talk and very little substance, and his threats could be safely ignored.

However, their conversation had revealed something important to Katara. Despite Yue's rosy plans of being able to play Hahn like a fiddle in their marriage, it seemed that her once best friend was firmly under the thumb of her husband, having to bow to his will and forsake her own Pai Sho career just so not to embarrass Hahn by outshining him. Not that the plan had worked, because Hahn had managed to embarrass himself. Losing out to Katara was not a surprise, but coming behind an underdog like Siku… Katara imagined that Hahn was absolutely boiling with anger deep inside. Suddenly, Katara became worried, wishing she hadn't antagonized the young man as much as she had. She really hoped that Hahn wouldn't dare to take his frustration and anger out on his young wife.

Azula had not reacted well at all to the combined strain of the family reunion and her father's not so veiled threats. In fact, she had suffered a near complete breakdown, forcing Iroh to call her therapist. The Water Tribe woman had even come over to the estate, but Azula hadn't been in a state to talk, so she had been proscribed some additional tranquilizers. Azula had decided against taking them, unwilling to become a living zombie even if the feeling of being alive right now hurt way too fucking much.

The very thought that Ozai might do something to her precious horses had sent Azula spiraling into a near constant state of panic, despite Iroh's reassurances that her father was merely bluffing. Was he, really? Why should Azula believe that? Her father had proved time and time again that there was nothing sacred that he wasn't willing to defile in order to get his way. Why would he stop at hurting her horses?

For a few days, Azula could think of nothing else other than the need to do whatever she could to stop her father from harming Goldflake and Innocence. She was seriously willing to go back to the Fire Nation, if that was what it took. Azula had even made it to the Ba Sing Se airport on one occasion, but she was foiled on the account of still not having her passport reissued by the stalling Fire Nation embassy. Someone at the airport had gotten in touch with Iroh and he had come to retrieve her, looking sick with worry and trying to explain to her why she couldn't go back to Ozai, not even for the sake of her horses. On a purely intellectual level, Azula understood that if she ended back in her father's care, it would likely destroy her. Still, sacrificing herself for the sake of her horses seemed like a worthwhile tradeoff. It was only Iroh's mention of Katara's name that filled Azula with the selfish desire to stay instead of going back to her father.

Calling Katara and pretending that everything was alright had been pure torture. Azula wasn't sure if Katara had even believed her. It seemed that her best friend suspected that not everything was fine back in Ba Sing Se. But Azula just couldn't tell Katara the whole awful truth right now, fearing that it would distract the other girl from her important goal to qualify for the U21 finals. Azula promised herself to tell Katara everything once she came back, even if she was not looking forward to doing that either.

It took Azula three painfully difficult days to get over the worst of this crisis and become somewhat functional again. She tried to convince herself with Iroh's argument that Ozai wouldn't dare to hurt the horses, because they were the only thing that Azula truly missed from her old life with her father. Goldflake and Innocence were too important as leverage for Ozai to harm them. This argument actually made sense to Azula and worked reasonably well to reassure her. Eventually, she was able to return to work and resume her daily routine, and it helped to put the worst of this mental health crisis behind her.

So, Azula managed to somehow plod forward with her life. Fortunately, any new plans of reunion with Ursa and Zuko had been tabled for now. She really didn't need the additional stress of it right now, and at least Iroh seemed to understand that. The threat from Ozai was still so very potent, and he had found a very effective way to remind her of his influence. Azula supposed that she had been a fool to expect that her father would just give up on her, but that was not in Ozai's nature. He had scored a direct hit with this one letter which had really hurt her. Azula was actually quite ashamed and embarrassed at how quickly she had folded, collapsing under the pressure like a house of cards. It really was quite pathetic how weak she had become, when Ozai could get to her like that. It hadn't helped that Katara hadn't been close by to offer emotional support, and while that would have made it easier for Azula, she also knew that even if she enjoyed the feeling of being able to rely on Katara, it was dangerous to become so dependent on her Water Tribe friend. She needed to get better soon if she had any hopes of standing up to Ozai. She really needed to hurry this therapy right along the fast track, but unfortunately, her therapist insisted that it just wasn't how therapy worked.

So, while Azula was still dealing with all of this, she was unpleasantly surprised when one day as she and Iroh sat down for dinner at the estate kitchen, her uncle had suddenly announced that they were about to receive a visit from some surprise guests. Surprises weren't something that Azula wanted to deal with right now, and she had thought that her supposedly wise uncle would have realized it. "I think it would be best if you just told me who these guests are," she grumbled, swiftly working through her bowl of miso soup. "I am not in the mood for my mother, even if she were to come here alone, without Zuko."

"Don't worry, Azula," Iroh smiled at her. "You'll like these guests, I'm sure of it. I know for a fact that you consider them your friends." Azula narrowed her eyes at Iroh, demanding an explanation. "Earlier, I stopped by the Bosco Plaza Hotel to watch the U18 qualifiers. Aang and Toph are doing very well. We had a little chat and I invited them over. I hope that's alright, niece. They seemed eager to visit and hang out with you."

Azula hesitated for a moment, feeling wracked with uncertainty. She liked Toph and Aang well enough, especially the plucky girl from Gaoling. But Toph and Aang had really been her friends only through proxy, so she hadn't expected that the two younger kids would still want to hang out with her even if Katara wasn't present. Still, she wasn't fundamentally opposed to the idea of having Aang and Toph over. It might even be… fun? Well, that was not likely, but at least they could provide a palatable distraction.

It was about half an hour later while Azula was busy drying the dishes that Iroh passed over to her, when there was a knock on the front door. Iroh quickly put down the pan he had been scrubbing, wiping his hands and ruining a previously clean towel before hurrying over to the front doors to welcome their guests. Azula tagged along, remaining a little behind as Iroh welcomed Aang and Toph into the estate. She was a little curious to see Aang carrying a wicker basket with him, Iroh also appearing surprised.

"What do you have in that basket, Aang?" Iroh asked.

"Umm, it was left out by the gate," Aang replied, setting the basket on the floor. "I thought you forgot to bring some of your groceries inside, or something."

"Those aren't our groceries," Iroh shook his head. He bent down next to the basket, which was covered by a moth eaten blanket. "But I have a feeling what we are going to find inside this basket," he added with a sigh before removing the blanket. Toph and Aang both gasped as they were suddenly assaulted by the distraught meowing of a pair of adorable looking kittens. Azula just stood like frozen, unsure of how to react. She had no previous experience with cats since Ozai had shot down any suggestions of a house pet very early on. Imprisoned in her pristine ivory tower, Azula had never touched, or petted an actual cat. She had always been fascinated by everything feline, though perhaps not to the level of affection she felt towards her horses. Still, merely looking at these helpless balls of fur, Azula found herself seething angrily at the thought of some asshole just abandoning these charming little creatures.

Aang and Toph immediately began to fuss over the kittens, while Azula kneeled next to the basket, watching, but not quite daring to reach out and touch the purring balls of fur. They looked so tiny and fragile, and Azula was worried about accidentally hurting them. After all, she was a broken thing, and all she did was hurt others.

"Don't be afraid of touching them, niece," Iroh spoke to encourage her, having noticed her hesitancy. "They're not as fragile as you think."

Azula swallowed nervously and reached out to try and pet one of the kittens. It rolled over on its back and seized Azula's index finger, starting to playfully bite on it. Azula gasped at the touch of the kitten tongue. It felt so weirdly coarse and ticklish, and it made her giggle despite herself. She quickly withdrew her hand and seized her laughter, then noticing Iroh staring at her thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry if I made a mistake by bringing them into the house, Uncle Iroh," Aang apologized as they were still busy playing with the kittens. "We should have checked the basket first. We didn't mean to saddle you with having to deal with this."

"What's this 'we', Twinkletoes," Toph elbowed her best friend. "I'm so nearsighted I didn't even notice a basket. This one's all on you." Aang sighed and rolled his eyes at that.

"Don't worry about it, Aang, I'm sure we'll think of something," her uncle replied. Azula noticed how Iroh kept looking at her, appearing deep in thought about something. Azula wasn't sure what was up with that. And anyway, she had no time to think about her uncle being weird. Now that she had discovered that the furry little creatures weren't as fragile as she had feared, she now had kittens to pet and play with.

After about half an hour of excited playing with the kittens, Iroh declared that the little balls of fur had received enough attention for now. "I'm going to take these two rascals into the kitchen and feed them," her uncle decided, picking up the mewling basket. "Azula, entertain your guests in the meantime."

"Right, my guests," Azula muttered, her anxiety picking up a little. She just wasn't very good at this, and she did not feel particularly comfortable playing a hostess. She liked Aang and Toph well enough, but she struggled to think of what to talk to them about. "Uh, maybe you'd like to take a tour of the house?" she eventually suggested.

"Sure, sounds great!" Aang looked excited, Toph less so, but she came along anyway. This wasn't one of the Nakamura estates in the Fire Nation, where Azula could take her guests around the mansion on tours that could last for up to an hour, there was so much to show off and boast about. Still, at the end of their little tour, Aang appeared very impressed. "This is a beautiful estate, Azula. I can't even imagine having so much space all to myself," he said.

"It's alright, I suppose," Azula shrugged. It wasn't at all impressive compared to what she was used to, but it was no surprise that Aang felt awed. Her old self would have probably made a mean comment why someone living in a yurt would be impressed by this, but she definitely wasn't going to make any such disparaging comments now.

Toph didn't seem particularly impressed, which made sense. The Beifong estate in Gaoling was far more splendorous than this. At least Toph didn't seem interested in putting Azula down. Instead, she seemed to be focusing on something else. "So, Katara's moved in here with you, then?" she asked, a teasing grin on her lips that made Azula wary. "It's just you two and Uncle Iroh in this big estate?"

"Well, actually, Iroh spends most of his time at the Serpent's Lake estate," Azula shrugged. "So, it's mostly just me and Katara running things here."

"Is that so?" Toph's grin widened. "It's just the two of you all alone here? I'm getting some seriously romantic vibes right about now."

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Azula replied stiffly. She wasn't sure if she had managed to avoid blushing. Her face felt like it was burning, so that indicated a failure on the not blushing part.

"Haha, wow… I might be nearsighted as heck, but that's some seriously incriminating blushing," Toph laughed. "You know you've got it really bad when a blind mole like me can see you becoming red in the face like that."

"You are out of your tiny little mind, Toph," Azula growled, starting to become annoyed. "Grow up, already."

"You probably shouldn't tease Azula, Toph," Aang nodded in agreement. He then turned towards Azula with a broad grin on his face. "That said, Azula, you really are quite noticeably red in the face."

"Oh, shut up, you two! It's not like we're such close friends that I could discuss how much I like Katara with you," Azula snapped. She then realized just what she had said, and froze in horror. Suddenly, Azula wanted nothing else than to spin around on her heel and flee.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Azula. I mean, we all like Katara, right? She's just that sort of easy to like person," Aang spoke up quickly, having given Toph a meaningful stare. At least he was observant enough to notice how much Toph's teasing was starting to bother Azula, jumping in to put a stop to it. "Anyway, I noticed that you had some Pai Sho boards in the gaming room. Want to go through some games with Toph and me?" he said, offering Azula a much sought after reprieve. Toph appeared to be sulking a little about having to let Azula off the hook, but she eventually shrugged and let the matter drop.

"We can do that," Azula nodded gratefully. "I'm guessing you two qualified without any problems, right?"

"Of course," Aang replied. "We're playing each other in the final round tomorrow, but it's a formality." Aang and Toph still had two years of competing at the U18 bracket left. Azula may have been done with that bracket, but she was still envious of anyone who got to play Pai Sho at a competitive level.

"Eh, U18 finals just won't be the same without you, Katara and Yue," Toph scoffed. "Ugh, maybe I should once again graduate to U21's early. Although it is kind of less prestigious, so I don't know…"

"Well, you don't have to decide on that now, Toph," Aang said. "Let's just look at some of our games, alright?" he asked, retrieving his book of notations as they sat around a table in the gaming room, starting to go through Aang's recent destruction of one of his considerably less talented opponents. While they were busy analyzing the game, Iroh brought up the basket with kittens, having fed them, leaving them with Azula and her two younger friends. The little felines proved to be a powerful distraction that made it very hard for them to focus on going through the post-game analysis.

Azula was quickly becoming more and more attached to the tiny balls of fur. The trust issues that impacted her ability to forge close bonds with other people just weren't present when dealing with animals. It was why she had grown so attached to her horses. Animals weren't deceptive and weren't plotting to stab her in the back. Instead, they relied on her to provide for them, and they repaid for it with their loyalty. These kittens were about the most harmless and innocent looking creatures Azula had seen in her entire life. With every stroke of her palm petting the purring kittens, Azula felt something blossoming in her chest, a warm feeling similar to the one she recalled experiencing while brushing down her beloved horses. These kittens were here only until they found proper place of stay for them, but she was already starting to develop these protective instincts to care and provide for them.

"So," Azula jumped at the sound of her uncle's voice. She had thought that he had gone back downstairs, but it seemed as if he had been standing there in the doorway, observing them fussing over the kittens. "I called one of the local shelters. They weren't very keen on taking in more cats, but I managed to talk them into accepting two more."

"Ugh, if those animal shelters are as horrible as the ones we have in Gaoling, then I'm feeling really sorry for these kitties," Toph looked angry. "And given that this is Ba Sing Se, I imagine the shelters here would be so much worse."

"You have a big enough house to have pets here," Aang suggested innocently. "I mean… I'm just saying."

"Is… is that an option?" Azula moved her eyes away from the basket, looking up and giving Iroh an uncertain stare.

"You tell me, niece," Iroh smiled at her. "I would be happy to let you keep them, but you'd have to promise to take good care of them. It's a big responsibility, but I'm thinking that this could actually be good for you, Azula. You need something to care about, niece. It's painfully obvious that these two have already carved out a little spot in your heart."

Azula blushed lightly, but found it hard to argue with Iroh. And it was even harder not to find these kittens absolutely adorable. "I don't know much about cats," she admitted honestly. "I'll need someone to teach me how to take care of them. But… if you would let me keep them, I promise I would never let them come to harm."

"I believe you," Iroh nodded with a smile. "Alright, it's a deal. This estate finally has the pets it has always sorely needed. Of course," he winked at his niece. "You'll have to name them."

"Oh, that's easy," Azula grinned. She had already picked the names a while ago, even before knowing that she would be allowed to keep the kittens. "I'll name them Ran and Shaw." Iroh's smile broadened as he instantly recognized the reference.

"How are you going to tell them apart?" Aang asked. He was making a good point. Both kittens were nearly identical, grey with dark stripes, white paws and chest.

"We'll get them little collars," Azula decided. "Blue for Ran and red for Shaw. They will grow up to be as fierce as dragons."

"It is good to know that the legends of old are still honored around here," Iroh chuckled, winking at his niece. "Do you remember where you first heard that story, Azula?"

"I do," Azula nodded. "I heard it from you, uncle."

Yue stood at a Pai Sho board in the living room of the vast luxury apartment in Agna Qel'a that her father had bought for the newlyweds, Hahn's family also pitching in. Hahn had returned home absolutely livid following the final round of the Water Tribes qualifying tournament. He had then disappeared inside the bedroom, probably to sulk. Her curiosity piqued, Yue had picked up his notation book and started to replicate the moves of his final round game.

Hahn hadn't bothered to write down the name of his opponent, but he hadn't needed to bother. Yue recognized Katara's style of play from the first few moves. Simply going through Katara's game with Hahn brought back so many conflicting emotions for Yue. She had tried so desperately to forget about Katara's very existence because remembering the girl from Cape Kuruk made her new life with Hahn so much harder to accept and endure. Still, try as she might to forget Katara, there was always one thing or another that made the memories of the girl who still held a special place in her heart resurface.

The reason for Hahn's foul mood quickly became apparent as Yue went through his notations, repeating every move made. Hahn had been so naïve and unprepared for what awaited him, clearly oblivious to Katara's level of play, not having faced her for a few years. Katara had allowed him to believe that it would be a battle of defensive strategies, but she had then executed a classic overwhelming assault, stretching Hahn's position until it broke. It was all over in less than thirty moves, an embarrassing loss for a player of Hahn's caliper. It made Yue break into an amused laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" she jumped at the sound of Hahn's voice. He was standing in the bedroom doors, glaring at her.

"I just find it funny how Katara humiliated you," Yue replied, not feeling impressed with her husband's temper tantrum. "I tried to warn you that she's much better than you think, but you wouldn't listen. You kind of deserved it, Hahn."

"Shut up," Hahn growled as he came up to her. "You're my wife, Yue, accept it. You're supposed to be supportive of me. Try to remember that."

"Maybe I would be more supportive of you, if you hadn't pushed me into withdrawing from the tournament," Yue snapped. In truth, she hadn't been that hard to convince, because she simply hadn't felt ready to face Katara. But still, it had pissed her off that Hahn would even demand that she withdraw just so that he could qualify without needing the humiliating wild card. "You know that you would have never made it straight to the finals if I had played, right?" she asked.

Hahn flinched, for some reason looking even angrier. "Wait a moment," Yue suddenly realized. "You didn't make it through? You didn't even come second? Spirits, you really are pathetic, Hahn. Next time, just withdraw yourself and let me play instead. I'm clearly bet-"

"Shut up!" Hahn roared. Before Yue could realize what was happening, she felt something heavy impacting with the left side of her face, followed by a sharp stab of pain.

Yue looked up at her husband in disbelief, tears of shock and pain welling in her eyes. Hahn actually looked shocked himself, staring at his right hand, as if it had moved on its own accord to swipe Yue across the face in a glancing glow. The wedding ring was dripping with blood, having split Yue's lip. A sob escaped Yue's lips as she dashed for the bathroom, locking herself in before Hahn had reacted. Like dazed, she stared in the mirror, watching blood pouring from the cut in her lip, flowing down her chin and starting to drip into the sink. Hahn had recovered and was now banging on the bathroom doors, begging her to let him in, muttering some pathetic apologies. Yue ignored him. Her lip was in a bad way and she managed to pull herself together just enough to do something to stop the bleeding.

She was still working to fix the cut, when she heard the front doors to the apartment being slammed shut, Hahn storming off in a huff. Yue was still in a state of shock, even as she went through the motions of trying to do her best to stop the bleeding. She and Hahn had not gotten along from the very first day of this arranged marriage, and she was willing to admit that she was often provoking him, but Hahn could be quite nasty himself. Still, there hadn't been any signs of him becoming violent, not up until now.

Yue really hoped that her lip wouldn't need stitches, but she was having a really hard time stopping the bleeding completely. The balls of cotton became soaked with blood and needed constant replacement, and Yue was starting to accept the inevitable need to call the ambulance. Still, before she did so, Yue knew that her father needed to know about what had happened. Holding a fresh cotton ball against her lip, Yue sat down by the phone and quickly dialed up the number going directly to her father's office phone.

"Arnook Taqqiq here, what can I do for you?" she felt relieved to hear her father's voice.

"Dad? It's me," she managed, starting to tear up again.

"Yue, darling, how lovely to hear from you!" her father exclaimed. "How are you doing? And how is that son in law of mine?"

"Dad…" Yue whispered. "Something happened. Hahn hit me."

There was a lengthy silence on the phone before her father spoke up again. "What exactly happened?" Arnook asked. Yue thought that he didn't sound outraged, more nervous.

"We got into a fight," Yue replied. Why did she even need to explain? Hahn had fucking hit her!

"Did you say something to anger him?" her father asked. "What did you say to him, Yue?"

"What does it matter? He hit me!" Yue shouted, finally losing her last vestiges of calm. "My lip is bleeding! I should go to the police!"

"What, the police? Oh, no… no, no, no," Arnook sounded panicked now. "Just think of the scandal, my dear girl, we can't afford it! No, I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding. Hahn is a good boy, I know he is… these things can happen. Both of you need to calm down and talk things out. It will work out, Yue, you'll see."

"Do you even listen to yourself as you speak, father?" Yue exclaimed. "He cut my lip really badly! I'm covered in blood here! If I'm not going to the police, I need to at least go to the hospital!"

"And risk it all leaking to the press?" her father still sounded anxious. "No, that's a terrible idea. Just… just stay where you are, Yue. I'll go get our family doctor and we'll be right over to sort everything out, alright? It's going to be fine, darling. Sit tight and try to calm down, we'll be there in half an hour."

Yue held the handset to her ear, shaking with disbelief. It was clear that her father cared more about preserving this arranged marriage than he cared about her wellbeing. After all, the alliance with the Adjuks was already bringing in much fortune into the coffers of the Taqqiq family. Yue had never truly believed that Arnook was on her side. But still, she could have never imagined that her father would be so dismissive of Hahn actually being violent towards her. Yue suddenly realized that never before in her life had she felt so frighteningly alone.

Next chapter: Winter holidays, but will it be a jolly time of fun for our heroines? I'm seeing a lot of skeptical stares in the audience…