Yul had initially planned to take them for shopping and then dinner before returning home. But seeing how flustered Liya was, Yul cancelled the programmes and drove straight back home.
After dinner Yul waited for Liya so that he can ask about what happened today in detail. He was sure Liya wouldn't be talking much but still he wanted to try. He wished to close the distances between them as soon as possible.
"Liya…can we talk?" Yul asked while inviting her to sit in the sofa in that old room, opening up to the backyard. He had placed two glasses of wine and a bottle on the table and prompted her to sit next to him. The antique touch in that room really made a soothing ambience to relax and converse. Liya sat in the sofa but at the extreme end to leave space between them.
"Hope you drink…" said Yul and gave one of the glasses to her. She took it and thanked him. Yul was annoyed by the overly formal manners she was keeping up. She was too guarded against him.
Yul sipped from his glass and said, "It must have been hard to raise a kid alone, wasn't it?"
"Hmm…" Liya just hummed as yes.
"I can relate…" Yul said while staring at the darkness in the outside.
Liya looked at Yul on hearing that he could relate. She didn't understand how he could relate to raising a child alone. It's not that he had done it, nor had to go through something similar in childhood. He was born and brought up as the young heir of the most powerful family here. Even if he wasn't adored by everyone, there wouldn't have been any issues with his parents or finances. Liya didn't get what he was trying to convey by these words.
"You must be wondering how a person grown up as an heir could relate to it, isn't?" Yul asked on sensing Liya's stare on him.
'What? Did he just read my mind?' Liya suddenly looked at the outside on hearing that.
Yul smiled on seeing that and said, "Actually, I grew up here, in this house, with my mom and not at the palace."
Liya turned to face Yul who was now sitting comfortably with his left arm on sofa's backrest and facing her.
Yul continued, "You must have already guessed that the one I call mother is my step mother, haven't you? She is. And my siblings are her children. It's not that I don't see them as my family, they are and they always will be. But there is still something incomplete…"
Liya placed the wine glass back to the table without drinking. But Yul had already poured another drink for him. He continued after drinking from it, "My mother… she…. wasn't on good terms with my father. For a proud and unrestricted woman like her, to live under the strict customs of palace was like a prison. So she brought this house and moved here with me. She didn't file for divorce for my sake and family's name. But they were practically divorced from the moment she moved out."
"Then your father let you live here?" Liya asked. She was finally responding to Yul.
"At first, of course he didn't. Not only him, everyone, was against it. How can the only heir in the family live outside like an abandoned child? But you know…my mother fought them back. She stood against everyone and kept me with her, because I didn't want to leave without her. She was really a remarkable woman."
"You seem to miss her a lot…"
Yul watched Liya on hearing that. "Hmm…I do…but it's better now… with you and Inu here, it's actually very nice to be home…"
Liya saw how Yul's eyes were trying to say something more, through those words of him. She wanted to retract her gaze from him, but couldn't. There was something in his eyes which was pulling her towards him.
Yul continued, "So what I was saying is that, this…is my mother's house…my home. Not the Amarok family's property. No one can do anything to you as long as you are here, and as long as you are my wife. And I will protect you and Inu for a lifetime, till my death, no…, even if I am no longer there, I will ensure that you both can live safely. This is my promise to you. So don't worry about anything. No matter what it is, you can tell me. I will definitely solve it for you…"
Liya was astonished to hear that from him. 'What's gotten into him? Is he drunk? Why is he saying something like protecting me and Inu even through his death? It's understandable if it was about Inu, but why does it feel like he is more concerned about me?' Liya couldn't sort out her doubts and all the questions made a mess in her head.
Yul saw how lost Liya was and moved an inch closer to her. He gently placed his hand over hers and said, "Liya, you can tell me anything… I promise that no matter what it is, I won't blame you, nor will I question you… But don't keep it in yourself. If I can't find out what your problem is, then how can I help you? I don't want to see you live in fear… I just want to see you live happily and freely, like you used to do… so tell me whatever it is…"
Liya pulled her hand back from Yul's but didn't reply to him. She was hiding a lot from him but didn't want to tell anything either. She was in a predicament. She wasn't sure, who to trust and who to guard from. Although Yul was kind, his family wasn't. As for Inu, she didn't want to talk about his birth, as the questions about her relationship with Yaniv will bring more problems.
Liya decided to keep silent and stood up to retire to her room. Yul suddenly grabbed her hand and stopping her from leaving. He said, "Take your time, Liya. I can wait… and can you... never mind… just... sleep well…"
Liya nodded her head and rushed back to Inu. Yul sat there itself and poured another drink. Remembering the old things had stirred up his mind too. After all who didn't have a story to tell?
Liya sat next to sleeping Inu and thought about what Yul had said. She was stuck on the line said by Yul, 'see you live happily and freely, like you used to do'. Liya thought about how she was before, much before Inu was born and that memories made her sad. But there is no going back to it anymore. Now that she has chosen this path, she had to push through, whatever may come to her in the future.
But there was also something else that bothered her in Yul's words. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but from the way Yul talked, it seemed he knew her from before, and he knew way too deep about her, as if he used to like her.
Both Yul and Liya went to sleep with a lot in their mind, unable to put down. Meanwhile Inu was sleeping soundly without a hint about how strange the outside world and people were.