Malcolm turned around again and looked at Poppi with a frown.
"I..." Poppi stammered, as she didn't expect that he would look back at her. But upon seeing the confused look on his face, Poppi put on a radiant smile. "There's a newly released set of limited-edition jewelry, bags, and shoes. I want them all."
"You can buy them with the money I'm giving you," Malcolm scoffed as he squinted his eyes at Poppi. Then, he turned back quickly to walk out the door.
"Malcolm!" she shouted after him hurriedly. "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you!"
"Yeah right," Malcolm sneered and kept walking.
By now, Poppi was briskly walking after him, her face twisted with anxiety. "Malcolm! When can I see Celine? Or let me call her doctor at the very least!"
This stopped Malcolm dead in his tracks. "Celine..." he uttered with a short chuckle. "If it were possible, I would make sure that you will never see her again for the rest of your life." The words that came out of Malcolm's mouth were as thick as poison.
"But she's my sister! She's the only family I have left in this world! You can't do this to me!" Poppi protested as she grabbed hard on Malcolm's sleeve. "Please... Let me see her..."
"Your father's still lying in bed, isn't he? Although I doubt that he would ever wake up again, at least he’s not dead. Technically speaking, Celine isn't the only family you have left. Don't exaggerate things, Poppi." Malcolm then brushed Poppi's hand off him as if she was made out of filth, feeling satisfied at the embarrassed and defeated look on her face. "Besides, she's doing well on her own without having you around," he added with a sneer.
Poppi stumbled back a few steps. Her heart felt so heavy in her chest that she could do nothing but watch him make his leave. Without another glance back, Malcolm shut the door with a loud bang. Every single time Poppi mentioned her sister, it would always turn out like this.
It was eerily silent in the apartment.
Only Poppi's breath and the sound of the clock could be heard. Tick... tock...
A while later, Poppi sighed quietly and walked back to the living room, her shoulders slumped forward in defeat. She bent down, picked up the document, and headed upstairs.
Time flew by so quickly as it had already been three years since she and Malcolm had been married. Even though she was the real "Mrs. Quan", being legitimately married to Malcolm and all, they could only meet in secret. When Malcolm did come to see her, he would leave just as quickly as he went. Every day, Poppi would see in the headlines the different women who were associated with Malcolm.
There was nothing Poppi could do but idly stand by. The marriage between her and Malcolm was much too complicated. There was no way Malcolm wanted their relationship to be publicized and neither did Poppi.
Upon reaching the bedroom, Poppi sprawled up on the bed and closed her eyes. Soon, she fell asleep, dreaming about the not-so-distant past...
Boom! "Poppi, Celine, come with me! We need to hurry!" her father yelled.
"Where are we going? What's wrong?" "There's no time to explain! We need to leave Ye City.
Go anywhere but here! The further, the better! Just go!"
Poppi tossed and turned in bed, her lashes fluttering slightly. It had begun to rain outside her apartment, and the thunder that came with it seemed to intertwine with the scene from the nightmare she was having.
"Run! Faster! They're coming!" In her dream, Poppi could see the image of her father getting clearer and clearer. She could see a brilliant light coming from the end of the street. It was a car driving towards them with immense speed. Poppi raised her hand to cover her eyes from the blinding headlights. Hand in hand, the three of them ran as quickly as they could. They ran along that road as if it had no end. At some point, Poppi was so tired and out of breath that she felt that she was about to pass out. However, the car kept chasing after them, and was soon right on their tracks. In such a critical moment, her father suddenly loosened his grip on Poppi and pushed her hard to the side.
"Poppi!"
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