The next day, early in the morning, Keith picked up Ayesha in a low-key BMW, and left for Delvon City.
He did not bring anyone with him, but Yingying was following him from a distance in her car. The reason why he did not want to catch attention was that the atmosphere in Delvon City was a little chaotic for him to make a public appearance there.
Inside the car, both of them stayed quiet. He had noticed the redness in her eyes, and he was sure that after he left her alone yesterday, she had cried a lot. She must have felt ashamed of herself for reacting the way she did to his touch, and the pleasure he made her bask in was something she was scared of now.
Right now, the best approach for him was to give her a little space. It was only a matter of time before she would wholeheartedly succumb to their arrangement.
Humans were fickle and selfish creatures, no matter how firm their hearts would be. And at the end of the day, if they could cope with their guilt and fear, they would give in to the temptation that would keep them distracted. And in Ayesha's case, it was going to be her lust for his touch.
After a two-hour long drive, they entered the City of Delvon from the eastern end, where the slums were situated.
The Kurdish girl inadvertently glanced at him when they entered the part of the City which was a little too overcrowded and noisy. She did not know exactly what she was looking for, but there was no indication on his face that he was bothered about coming here. And only then did she realise that she wanted him to behave differently.
She wanted him to be disgusted and frustrated at coming to this place. She wanted him to speak something ill about the place that she hailed from. In short, she wanted him to behave like a self-centred Vieux Riche, who was used to playing with the lives of ordinary people like her. But his silence and his calmness were frustrating her.
"Do you know who my mother was, Mr Demiliore?" She suddenly spoke, looking away from him.
"No." He answered her. But did not ask about her mother.
"I don't remember her, but people around my Orphanage knew her. Whilst growing up, I heard lots of stories about her. And by the graciousness of my mother, I have been bestowed some monikers too." She lightly said. "They usually called me a 'bastard', but sometimes, they called me a 'whore' too."
Keith stayed silent at her words, not showing any expressions. Whatever she planned on telling him, he already knew these things about her. And if she wanted to get a reaction out of him, she was gravely mistaken. None of it mattered to him enough to bother him.
"They called me a 'whore' because my mother was a whore, Mr Demiliore." She glanced at him and told him, but frowned when she found no change in his expressions.
Ayesha felt more dissatisfied in her heart and turned her eyes away to scan their soundings. She stayed silent for a few minutes before she told him the story of her mother.
"She was a beautiful woman. Everyone who knew my mother always said it, and a lot of people knew her." She ruefully smiled. "My parents were refugees, who escaped Turkey during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, 33 years ago. Like many others, they chose to come to Netheria when the Federation decided to help people escape the war-torn Kurdistan. My father got a basic job as an Arabic Teacher at a secondary school in this city, and things seemed to be going well for them. Until one day, years later, my father caught my mother with another man in their marital bed." She stopped and then turned her eyes again to Keith. "She was four weeks pregnant with me at that time." She told him and frowned at his calm expression.
He did not say anything and kept driving towards the Bluestone Orphanage.
"He was heartbroken, having already lost all of his family to the war, and he lost control over his emotions and killed himself." She informed, and not in the least did she seem bothered by what happened to her father. "The man my mother was fucking around with was a small-time director, and she had caught his attention because she was quite good-looking. He seduced her with dreams of a life she could have, and she was a woman who was willing to do anything for it. And in those months that she carried me in her womb, she sold herself dozens of times if not hundreds by the arrangements of that director." She stopped and gauged his expressions. "He eventually threw her away after she gave birth to me." She smirked. "And my mother, who started going mad at being discarded, began to prostitute herself in the neighbourhood. You know, Mr Demiliore, no one believes that I was born of their wedlock. They all think that I am a product of my mother's infidelity. And it is likely true."
"I see." He simply said.
"Do you pity me?" She suddenly asked, having had enough of his indifferent behaviour.
"No." He shook his head.
"Why?"
"Because you do not seem negatively affected by any of it." He glanced at her and smiled before looking ahead.
She averted her eyes and then frowned at his words, staying silent for a few minutes. It was not an answer she was expecting.
"I was nearly two years old when she left me at the doorsteps of the orphanage." She continued her story. "And a few days later, her body was found at the bank of the canal. No one knows why she committed suicide, but people say that her guilt eventually caught her. And some say that she did it out of shame when she found out that her sex tapes started circulating on the Internet."
She stopped and then her eyes turned misty and her voice wavered.
"I was 12 years old, when a group of men, local ruffians, who used to be customers of my mother, grabbed me and took me to an alley. There, they showed me the sex tape of my mother whilst she was heavily pregnant and was being taken by two men. Even though I had never before seen her, or remembered her, I recognised her right away because the resemblance was uncanny. And whilst I was crying, those men decided to act on the real reason why they brought me to that secluded place..." She choked on her words and wiped her tears. "A daughter of a whore is destined to be whore. I remember one of them speaking those words. But I got lucky that night because Grandpa Dean and the other children of the Orphanage arrived at the scene. And brother Ye Tian..." She felt like a lump had blocked her throat and the gulped down the saliva and calmed her breaths. "He beat them all up..." She could not help her tears as she recalled that night.
He was her Knight in the Shining Armor, and it was the very night she had promised herself to him.
"Well, if I see him someday, I will make sure that I thank him for teaching those men a lesson." He smiled and said, but his words made the girl flare up in rage.
"He does not need your thanks!" She kept the other words she wanted to yell out in her heart and immediately wiped off her tears and sobered up.
Keith admired how quickly she managed to control her emotions. And by the time they arrived at the gate of the Orphanage, she did not have a trace of pain on her face. However, her eyes were still a little red.
He helped her out with all the treats she had bought yesterday night for the children. And then they entered the Orphanage.
It was Tuesday morning, and all the children had their lessons, which was why the courtyard was vacant and quite peaceful with flakes of snow falling from the sky.
A few people, who managed the Orphanage, approached them and greeted Ayesha. Keith, who was wearing a cap and a muffler, as well as shades, hid well so that no one recognised him.
After she was done handing over the treats she had brought for the children. She led him towards the quarter of the old Dean.
Everyone in the Orphanage recognised her, and even when she entered the room of the old Dean, the woman who was responsible for taking care of him, did not stop her.
"Ayesha!" The frail old man, who was sitting at the table, reading something, raised his head and smiled when he watched her enter the room.
"Grandpa!" She immediately rushed up to him and stopped him from standing up, lightly hugging him.
"I missed you!"
"You visited me last week, my child." The old man laughed and reminded her before answering all her questions that followed about his health. "Alright. Now, let me greet this young man." He stopped her from asking more questions and turned to look at Keith. "My apologies..."
"It's alright, Dean Maximus." Keith stepped forward and drew his hand to him. "My name is Keith, and I am a doctor whom miss Ayesha hired to check up on you."
The Dean surprisedly shook his hand. Even though Keith was covering himself well, it was not hard to guess that he was a young man. But he still felt warm in his heart, and a little upset too that this silly girl did such a thing.
"Please allow us to help you to the bed," Keith said and after the Dean nodded his head, Ayesha stepped forward and helped him to the bed.
After she made sure that the old man was lying comfortably, she arrived by his side and looked him in the eyes.
In her heart, she still doubted that he could save her Grandpa Max. But she had also experienced first-hand how he had helped her with the pain yesterday.
"If you save my Grandpa, I will forgive you for what you did to me." She lightly whispered so that only he could hear her.
"Silly girl. I don't need your forgiveness." He chuckled and said before leaning close to her ear. "And I always keep my promises." He whispered before approaching the old man.
The old man lightly smiled when he watched their interaction. He was quite surprised that Ayesha was with some boy since she always seemed to hold some feelings for Ye Tian, but he was actually glad for her. After all, that reckless boy had been gone for so many years now. And he had always been worried about the future of this silly girl.
"I am going to put you to sleep, Dean Maximus," Keith informed the old man after he arrived by the side of the bed. "Hopefully, after you wake up, you will feel better." He mysteriously smiled, and before the old man could ask him something, he swiftly poked the two acupoints on his neck, putting him to a sound sleep.
And then, under the curious and anxious eyes of the Kurdish girl, Keith unbuttoned the shirt of the old man before starting to use a healing palm technique.
He had already informed her that it might take hours, but Ayesha could not help but get more anxious with every passing minute.
However, she did not disturb him and kept her eyes on the old man, whose chest was slowly rising and falling from time to time, assuring her that he was fine.
