Chapter 325 - Is it because I'sm dirty?

The next day, after dinner, DX sent the twins to their friends' house for a sleepover. On the way there, the twins were curious by the sudden change in their schedules.

"What are you planning, Dad?" asked Jack as he checked his bag to make sure that he had all the toys he wanted to show his friends.

"Is it about the fight yesterday?" asked Lyle while he shook his head at Jack's behavior. Their Uncle William sent them a new batch of toys recently and Jack could not wait until he showed it to their friends.

"Partly," replied DX before he pulled to a stop by the side of the road. He turned around to face his kids before asking, "Have you guys been snooping around the net?"

The twins nodded guiltily.

"What do you think?" asked DX.

"It's bad…" murmured Jack. He had seen those videos and the photos. Lyle tried to stop him from watching the whole thing but he was stubborn and he watched them on his phone when he went to the toilet.

"Mummy won't do stuff like that!" said Lyle as he looked at his father for confirmation.

DX nodded and reached out to pat them both on the head before saying, "Your mum didn't do it. Lyle, Jack...It's hard to tell you this since you are still young, but she was worried that you might be affected badly if we continued to keep you in the dark...and with the way things are going, it would be easier to prepare you boys than to keep everything down."

"What?" asked the twins.

DX sighed. He leaned back against his own seat before saying, "A long time ago...when she was just a little older than you...She was assaulted…"

"What…"

"The hands in the videos...They belonged to the boys who attacked her…"

The twins glanced at each other. They were not kids who knew nothing about the world and so, they knew exactly what their father was saying.

Lyle shook his head in disbelief before snapping, "You are lying, Dad... You are lying!"

"I wish I am…" murmured DX sadly. He then glanced at Jack who had remained quiet and asked, "Jack, what are you thinking about?"

Jack felt bad for her. He felt ashamed that he thought she did it with the boys voluntarily and that she allowed herself to be photographed and filmed. With a small voice, he asked, "Why did they hurt her?"

"Because they thought that they could get away with it…" said DX as he unconsciously clenched his fists. When his sons looked at him, he added, "They won't get away with it for long…"

….

Once DX returned, Kai Xin gathered the rest of the family and told them to meet her in the dining room. In order to give her the moral support, DX rescheduled all the meetings that he was supposed to have until the Board of Directors' Meeting so that he could be there for her. It would not be easy for her to tell her family and he wanted to be there for her.

"So, what do you want to tell us?" asked Kai An nonchalantly as he popped open a pack of Pringles and shared it with Callum who was seated next to him.

Kai Xin could feel the sweat forming on her palms as she tried to figure out how to begin the topic of conversation.

When An Qi Yan saw the uncertainty on her daughter's face, she called out softly, "Kai Xin?"

Kai Xin looked at her mother who was seated next to her brother. All three of them were sitting opposite her. She was afraid of her mother's reaction.

"No matter what you tell me, I'd still be here," said An Qi Yan as she smiled gently at her daughter. She had a suspicion that her daughter was about to tell her something serious.

DX reached under the table and held her hand. When she looked at him, he gave it a light squeeze before saying softly, "I'd still be here as well…"

Looking around, she nodded.

"Mum, do you remember that before I changed school, there was a day where I came back full of bruises?"

An Qi Yan nodded. It was hard to forget especially when her daughter changed drastically after that.

"I didn't fall down that day."

Kai An frowned. He had always assumed that Kai Xin fell down stairs. She was always walking around with her nose buried in a book or magazines. As he passed the bag of chips to Callum, he asked, "Then what happened to you?"

In a voice that threatened to crack, she eventually blurted out, "I...I was r*ped."

Both Kai An and An Qi Yan gasped. Even Callum stopped eating when he heard the news. He knew that there was something suspicious with Kai Xin's background but he had not expected it to be a r*pe.

"B-by w-who?" asked Kai An with a stammer.

She held onto DX's hand tightly as she answered his question, "Luo Yin…"

Before her brother could ask a follow-up question, she added, "...Ye Tian...Shangguan Xing…"

By the time she heard all three names coming out of her daughter's mouth, An Qi Yan had a horrified expression on her face and she had to cover her mouth with her hands to stop herself from crying out loud.

"Gang r*ped...My daughter...was gang r*ped…" thought An Qi Yan as she shook her head slowly. Tears started to form in her eyes as she thought how stupid she was to not have realized it.

As she pinched herself on her thighs, she cursed herself for her incompetence. The moment she thought that something was wrong, she should have forced it out of her daughter's mouth back then.

"W-Why didn't you tell us?" asked Kai An with a shaky voice. He slammed his fist down on the table before shouting at Kai Xin, "Why didn't you tell us before?! Do you not take us as your family?!"

Startled by his reaction, Kai Xin's hands started to tremble and she had to hide them beneath the table.

"Zhen Kai An. Watch your tone," warned DX with a low growl. He was not about to let anyone stopped her from talking. They came so far and he was not about to let her return back into the state of secrecy she was in.

When Kai An saw the fear and uncertainty in his sister's eyes, he sat down and apologized, "I'm sorry...I...I just…"

"I didn't know how to start…" admitted Kai Xin.

"You should have said something…" murmured Kai An as he kept his tightly clenched fists on his thighs.

"Mum…" Kai Xin called out to her mother who had remained silent since the beginning. When she reached out to touch her mother's hand, An Qi Yan quickly pulled her hand back.

"I...I'm sorry," muttered An Qi Yan before she ran into the kitchen.

Kai Xin glanced at her hand and thought, "Is it because I'm dirty?"

Somehow, seeing her mother's reaction brought her back to that day again. It was as if she was a 14-year-old child instead of a grown woman. She started to have second thoughts and wondered if she should just pretend that everything was a joke.

"Go...Let's go talk to her…I'd be with you all the way," said DX. She was a little reluctant but he would not allow her to pull back at this point. Taking her hand in his, he walked her into the kitchen where An Qi Yan was sitting by the kitchen countertop. She had her forehead pressed against her hands that were placed on the countertop, while her body trembled as she sobbed quietly.

When Kai Xin saw that, she was afraid to move forward but with DX standing firmly behind her, she had no choice but to deal with it.

"Mum?"

An Qi Yan quickly wiped off her tears before she turned her body away from her daughter.

"W-What?" murmured An Qi Yan as she tried to stop herself from crying again.

"I-I'm sorry...Please don't be mad at me…"

An Qi Yan dug her fingers into her pants as she murmured, "I'm not mad at you…"

"Why won't you look at me?" asked Kai Xin sadly. When An Qi Yan did not answer, she asked again, "Is it because I'm dirty?"

Her voice was so soft that one could easily miss it. However, her mother heard it clearly and she immediately turned around. With anger reflected in her bloodshot eyes, she snapped, "Don't say that! Never say that!"

"Then why?" asked Kai Xin as she looked at her mother in the eyes.

"I…" An Qi Yan shook her head. She was unable to answer her daughter. She felt that she owed her daughter too much.

It startled both Kai Xin and DX when An Qi Yan walked towards them with unsteady steps and dropped on her knees.