“I’d rather be mature instead of a bully.”
“You know…” she trails off, meeting my gaze. “Aiden wasn’t always like this.”
“Nope. Not hearing it. I don’t care what he was like.”
That rule about not attempting to understand bullies? I take it to heart.
“Maybe you should care, Ellie. Don’t you ever wonder why he picked you? Why does he never bother anyone but you?”
“So what do you suggest? I dig around his life? Find his traumatic past and fix him because he’s such a good person on the inside with a heart of gold?” I sigh. “That only happens in your romance novels and Korean soap operas, Kim.”
“Rude!” She hits my arm. “Don’t go insulting my romance novels and for the thousandth time, they’re called K-dramas.”
“Yeah, sure. K-dramas.”
“Exactly.” She feigns a curtsy. “So tell me, did something happen with King?”
“Why would you say that?”
“You seem more aggressive about him than usual. I mean, you just said an entire paragraph about him when you used to refuse to even say his name.”
Something in my chest shrinks. I want to tell Kim all about yesterday, but I’m such a coward.
I don’t want Kim to judge me for being weak. She always calls me strong and hardened, but I crumbled with a single push yesterday. I’m ashamed to even look her in the eyes, let alone tell her what happened.
“I’m just angry that he hugged you.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? He’s being his manipulative self.”
“How do you know that when
you refuse to get to know him?”
I purse my lips.
“Come on, Ellie, don’t they tell you in your Chinese war books to keep your enemies closer than your friends? You can’t defeat him if you know nothing about him.”
I want to protest, but she’s right. I know nothing about Aiden and that puts me at a disadvantage.
Whenever Kim offered to tell me what she knows about him from the years they grew up together, I always shot her attempts down.
Aiden is that itch that makes me all uncomfortable and aware. The mere mention of his name smashes my mood and pulls at my sanity strings.
I did everything to erase him, but the king can’t be erased, can he? Even if he’s not there, his name floats all over RES. Hell, even at home, Aunt and Uncle always talk about King Enterprises.
He’s like a ghost haunting me wherever I go.
Maybe I’ve been looking at things wrong. Maybe erasing him isn’t the solution.
If I choose to get to know him, it’s not to understand him. It’s only a tactic so I’d know how to counter him.
“You know Xander,” I tell Kim. “It did you nothing, though.”
“Knew Xander. Past tense. He’s been a stranger for years.” She releases a pained sigh. “Besides, I don’t intend to fight him. You, on the other hand, seem bent on challenging King.”
“I’m only defending myself and…” I clutch her hand, my throat suddenly dry. “Our friendship. I hate that he’s getting between us, Kim.”