threehundredandninetytwo.

"Don't you dare question where I was. I've told you time and time again, I'm working! Why won't you ever believe me?"

The door slammed and she heard her Mum crying. She didn't dare go out, afraid of what she would see. She had heard this fight every time her Dad came back late. It always ended with Dad walking out on them, coming back only when both parties had cooled down. And that usually lasts for a few weeks tops.

She was a single child living in a single-income family. Dad worked as an assistant director of one of the largest company in the region. His job required him to work late hours and have many overseas trips. Mum is a stay-home mum, but have a lot of charity events to organise and was always dressed to the nines no matter what time it was. Her family was one of those model families which looks perfect on the outside. With a designer house and a large front yard, it was the envy of many people who passed by.

Little did they know, how much blood was shed in the house.

She came home one day to find Dad sitting in the living room. He looked up as she came in and invited her to sit down. She walked over tentatively, smelling something suspicious. Her Dad looked into his hands, as if there was something interesting about it. He stayed like this for awhile, then he looked up.

"Your Mum is pregnant."

"Really?" Her face lit up.

"Yes," he paused for a moment. "But we have decided to get a divorce."

She looked at him with a half-smile. She expected him to laugh and say that it was all a joke. He looked serious, apologetic even. She felt like hurting him but she got up and walked to her bedroom. She slammed her door and pretended she did not hear anything. She got out her mp3 and plugged in her earpiece. She lay on her bed with her eyes closed but all she could see was Dad repeating those lines to her. She turned up the volume till her ears hurt but it doesn't seem to drown out his voice. She felt hurt, betrayed, and felt a sudden protective feeling for her new sibling. No way she was going to allow her parents hurt him or her like they had hurt her. She ripped out her earpiece and sprang out of the bed with a sudden rush of adrenaline. She stormed to the living room and starting screaming.

"Why? One might think that with a new child coming you both will just kiss and make up. Is it so hard to stay together? Is it so hard for both of you to trust each other? Mum loves you, Dad. Don't you get it? She cares enough for you and that's why she's been doing what she's doing. You didn't give me a proper life. Are you going to make that same mistake with your second child?!"

Her Dad looked shocked. She felt a really warm feeling of triumph, then she heard a sob from behind her. She whirled around and saw her Mum standing there. She started to walk forward but her Mum backed away and went into her room. She turned back to her Dad and to her surprise, tears were running unchecked down his face. She didn't know what to feel anymore. She just stood there rooted.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and went to hug her Dad.

"I'm sorry, Honey. We just can't stay together anymore."

She broke away and ran out of the house.

When she came back in the middle of the night, she found her Mum sitting at the dining table with her hands around a steaming cup of tea.

"Come here, Honey."

She walked over and sat down.

"Honey, listen to me. Your father and I, we really can't stay together anymore. And there's something else I have to tell you. This baby, it's not your father's."

She stared at her Mum in disbelief. She felt angry all of a sudden.

"All those times you accused Dad of cheating on you, you were the one doing the cheating all this while?!"

"I'm sorry Honey," her eyes started glistening with fresh tears and she looked pleadingly at her daughter.

"Stop it Mum. I'm sick of seeing your fake tears. Now that I think about it, yea, it's better this way. Live your perfect life with your new man and child."

The next minute, the main door slammed shut.

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hmm, not very well done but yea, just suddenly thought of this family and started writing without much plan. oh well.