Having just sold her flat, Jennifer Mui was in a taxi on the way to the airport. As she sat with a prideful and content grin on her lips, she thought about the many places she wanted to go and what she would be able to do now that she had retired at the ripe old age of 33. She then thought back to her resignation from her job earlier this month.

"Well, I can't say that any of us are are surprised about your decision, but we're certainly not thrilled about losing one of our best assets." Fiona Taylor told her friend and colleague Jennifer after receiving the news that she'd be resigning from her role at Executive Operations and parting ways.

"Oh, don't think I'm not flattered... but I'm finished. And I'm getting... well, I'm not getting any younger these days, and since I have quite a comfortable retirement, this definitely seems like the perfect time to call it quits." Jennifer told Fiona in a serious tone with a reassuring smile.

The other ExOps staff looked at each other. "Well, we'll be sorry to see you go, Jennifer. You've served ExOps well in the seven years that you've been here."

"We've gotta arrange a farewell get-together!" Fiona suggested.

Jen raised a hand. "That won't be necessary. I intend to depart immediately."

Fiona raised her eyebrows momentarily.

"Do you think you'll ever return, Jennifer?" Another staff member asked.

Jennifer thought for a few seconds. "I don't know. We'll see."

"Here we are, miss." The taxi driver jolted Jen from her thoughts as he notified her of their arrival at the airport.

"Ah, thank you. Here, keep the change." Jen said as she handed him a decent amount of money and exited the vehicle.

"Oh, thank you." He replied with a cheery grin as Jen unloaded her bags from the back.

She didn't have much baggage, since she'd mostly packed exotic summer dresses; she had recently spent a good portion of her money on fine wines, formal dresses, expensive make-up, things of that nature, as well as her bills, which is why she'd been so willing and ready to go to North Korea and earn far more money than she'd ever dreamt of. She'd be set for life, she'd never go hungry again, and she'd never have anymore worries. Things were looking up.

Well, there was nothing to worry about, right? She was finally free to do whatever she wanted for the rest of her life. She no longer had to ration the food she had, and could indulge in the finest cuisine across the world. She could finally find out what it means to get absolutely bladdered. She could finally travel to more glamorous countries, and finally be able to relax in the hot sun with a cocktail and some caviar.

She had finally found peace.

She wheeled her large suitcase and held her rucksack over one shoulder as she walked through the terminal. Just like in her job, she opted to travel rather light, so she didn't struggle; after all, she was significantly stronger than she looked. Her time in the SAS saw to that.

After boarding the plane and securing her bags, Jen put her travel pillow around her neck and let out a contented sigh.

A couple hours later, she had arrived at Brussels-National Airport, before taking a coach to Brussels centre.

Jen sighed with relief as she walked the streets with her map, before eventually finding the hotel she had booked. She walked through the entrance and found a receptionist at the front counter.

"Ah, bonjour." She greeted her warmly. "Français? Anglaise? English?"

"Bonjour, Anglaise." Jen let out a sigh as she smiled at herself for knowing so little of the language - knowing two languages was difficult enough, especially since English and Chinese are as different from each other as night and day. "I booked a room here."

After a minute, the receptionist had given Jen her key. "The, uh, elevator - right over there, madam."

As the woman pointed, Jen looked behind her shoulder.

"Thanks very much." Jen said with a small smile as she walked to the elevator.

A short time later, Jen opened her room door and collapsed on her bed, only removing her shoes and brown leather jacket, not even bothering to remove her white t-shirt and grey jeans. As she lay on the bed, she opened her eyes and realised that she needed the toilet.

"Oh, bugger." Jen cursed to herself as she got up and jogged to the bathroom.

After flushing the toilet, Jen decided to take a hot shower to wash away the day's grime and sweat. As she removed her shirt, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She slowly walked closer and examined the several bullet marks and other scratches on her torso and arms. Despite being a soldier and warrior at heart, it had always been her dream to live a lavish and luxurious lifestyle, going to formal parties and wearing beautiful dresses that complemented her slim yet curvy figure.

But, she soon realised early into her adulthood that her years of military service had given her quite the number of scars - not so much any mental scars, but mostly physical ones. The only "scars" that could ever hope to plague her mind was her parents' neglect of her when she was growing up. Always too busy with work, never enough time to ask about her hobbies or to see how she was doing outside of her education.

Well, not anymore. She is a trained and ruthless warrior. Her mind has been conditioned to be stronger and more resilient than that of the average solider, let alone the average civilian. She hasn't the time nor the patience for such trivial affairs. Her psyche was absolutely rock-solid; nothing could break her. She brushed off the sight of her topless frame in the mirror, letting out a huff with a prideful smirk. She removed her pants and got into the shower.

As she washed her mid-length black hair with shampoo, she began to ruminate on her life up to this point. She had spent her whole life focusing on her studies, and later her military career, never really caring for having friends or much of a social life - only working to expand her mind and better her physique. Sure, she'd become very intimate with her squadmates during her time in the SAS - having to shit in a hole in the ground as they watch your back was something that she considered "intimate" - but she only did that and put her life in their hands because she knew she could trust such professionals like herself, not like she had much choice in the matter anyway. But, in spite of that, she never much liked them personally. Not that she disliked them, but just that they were very different to her. Not really her crowd. Then again, she didn't really know what her "crowd" was, considering she'd never casually hung around with anyone.

She also never really cared to see her family - not that she really had one anyway.

"Jennifer darling?"

Twelve-year-old Jennifer heard her father call her from downstairs.

"YES?" Jen called back without looking up from her textbook.

"Come downstairs, please, we need to chat about something."

Jen rolled her eyes as she left her room and went to the living room, where she saw both her parents sitting on the couch, with various papers on the coffee table. "What is it?"

"Sit down, sweetheart." Jen's mum said with a soft smile.

"Am I in trouble?" Jen asked as she cautiously sat on a big chair.

"No. You've done nothing wrong, Jen." Jen's dad answered. "Your mother and I... are splitting up, and getting divorced."

Jen's heart sank to her gut as her mother gradually continued. "I'll be moving to England, but your father will be staying here in Hong Kong."

"We just need to know if you'd prefer to stay here with me or move to England with your mother."

Jen just stared at her parents. "...What?" She whimpered.

Jen's dad reached over and gently stroked her arm. "Now, none of this is your fault - don't think that for a second - but your mother and I... We just can't be together from now on."

Jen felt like she'd been punched in the chest. "WHAT?"

Her parents' eyes widened at the panicked demand.

"Look, it's okay, sweetheart." Jen's mum said as she took her daughter's hand in her own. "We understand that it's a big decision, and of course you'll need time to think, but there's no wrong answer here - we'll both love you no less."

Jen sat there dumbfounded, then a tear rolled down her cheek, then another, and she swiftly snatched her hands away from her parents and ran back up to her room, slamming her bedroom door shut.

Jen wiped the tears from her eyes as she turned off the shower. "Ugh, get ahold of yourself, girl. You're better than that."

She dried herself with a towel as she scolded herself for allowing herself to become emotional. After discarding her towel, she sat on the edge of her bed and just stared down at her naked body. She let out a small chuckle.

"If not for these damn scars, I bet I could be a hell of a glamour model."

Still feeling rather sickly from the journey, Jen got under the covers and closed her eyes.