Crestfallen, Lucille decided to visit Rebecca—she needed to know if Rebecca and her child were alright. She packed her things and left home early. Patrick was already dead, and now she didn’t have the strength to tell his parents what had happened to their children. She needed time to think, and Rebecca’s house in the forest might offer the comfort she sought.
"Lucille? Why are you here?" Kwan asked as he opened the door, surprised to see Lucille standing before him, her face shadowed with sorrow, as if she carried the weight of the world. "Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Kwan, but may I stay here for a while? Something bad happened to my children, and I have nowhere to go," Lucille said.
"Yeah, of course, you're always welcome here," Kwan replied, allowing Lucille to enter the mansion. They walked through the dark hallway. "So, can you tell me what happened?"
"I’ll tell you and Rebecca together. Where is she?" Lucille asked, puzzled that she hadn’t seen her.
"The truth is… Rebecca’s been isolating herself in her room for a while. She won’t even speak to me. Maybe you can convince her to come out," Kwan said.
"Why? Did something happen between you two?" Lucille asked.
"I don't know how to tell you about this... but she gave birth to a monster, and I killed it," Kwan said.
"A monster? But how?" Lucille asked, confused. "But aren't you the father?"
"I thought I was, but it wasn’t human. It was hairy, with red eyes—terrifying, like a child of the devil. I had no choice but to kill it, even though Rebecca was against it. I just couldn’t raise something like that."
"I understand," Lucille said softly. "Rebecca must be devastated. I know how that feels... I'm going through something similar."
"What do you mean?" Kwan asked.
"Our son, Charlie, he turned into a powerful vampire, and he killed his siblings, my children. If I hadn't controlled myself, I could have killed him too," Lucille replied.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Kwan empathized.
"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. I was just an irresponsible kind of mother. I left them alone, and when I came back, it had already happened. It feels like a part of me is gone," Lucille said.
"Thank you for coming to visit us, especially with everything you’re going through. You can go see Rebecca if you’d like," Kwan said.
"I’ll go," Lucille replied, then walked to Rebecca’s room and was stunned to find her sitting on the bed, gently patting a teddy bear as if it were her child.
"Rebecca," Lucille whispered, approaching her.
"Lucille?" Rebecca asked. "Look, it's my beautiful daughter."
"Yeah, she's beautiful," Lucille said. "But that's not your daughter, Rebecca. That's just a teddy bear."
"No, it's not just a teddy, it's my daughter, and no one can take her away from me," Rebecca argued.
Lucille realized it would be hard to convince Rebecca otherwise—and she didn’t intend to. She had her own grief to carry, and perhaps Rebecca just needed time to find her way back to reality.
"How’s Rebecca?" Kwan asked when Lucille returned.
"I’m sorry, Kwan. Your wife is going through something very painful. You need to be there for her—offer her gentle company. Be patient with her," Lucille replied.
Kwan’s face fell. He thanked Lucille for trying to talk to Rebecca. Though he believed he had done the right thing by killing the creature, guilt gnawed at him—his actions had driven Rebecca into madness.
"Don't worry, Lucille, I won't leave Rebecca alone, no matter what happens. She's the only one I have left in my life, and I don't know what to do if she'll be gone from me too, so I promise to take care of her," Kwan said.
"Don't promise me, Kwan; you have to do it," Lucille said. "And also, don't think that you're alone because I'm still here, even if I'm facing my own problem."
"Thanks. Anyway, I need to head outside—I’ve got some work to finish. Make yourself at home."
Kwan went outside the mansion and continued what he was doing, cutting the tall weeds; the scent of freshly trimmed grasses soothed him. He decided to make a plot and then planted some vegetables so that they wouldn't have to go to the market anymore.
A few moments later, Kwan heard Lucille screaming from the mansion, so he left what he was doing and rushed inside to know what happened.
"Lucille, what's going on here?" Kwan asked. "Why are you screaming?" His eyes turned wide, seeing Rebecca covered in blood, and there was a knife beside her.
"Rebecca?" Kwan asked, falling to his knees. "Rebecca!"
"Kwan! Kwan!" Lucille shouted. "Wake up!"
Kwan’s eyes shot open. He was in the small hut he had built, the sun setting outside. He had fallen asleep after a long day of work.
"Are you alright?" Lucille asked.
"Yeah," Kwan replied, standing up. "I just had a very bad dream."
"A bad dream?" Lucille asked. "About what?"
"Just forget about it. Maybe I'm just exhausted," Kwan said. "How about you? Did you get some rest?"
"Yup, I did," Lucille replied with a smile, then for a moment, she looked at Kwan's eyes. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but she jumped and bit him.
"W—what are you doing?" Kwan asked, confused as he fell to the hay when Lucille jumped to him.
"Please allow me to make you happy, Kwan. I know you're going through a tough time right now," Lucille whispered.
"I'm sorry, Rebecca," Kwan whispered, finding himself helpless under Lucille's seduction.
Standing by the window inside his room, Rebecca was confused about where Kwan went, so she went downstairs to look for him. She continued to the garden, and there, she found the small hut. She stopped by the door and heard some sounds coming from inside. She opened the door and was shocked by what she saw.
Kwan and Lucille were enjoying themselves when the door suddenly opened. They immediately stood up, but it was too late. Rebecca caught them doing something friends weren't supposed to do.
"So, you're the snake?" Rebecca asked, approaching Lucille. Then, without any warning, she grabbed her hair and slapped her face. "How could you do this to me? I thought you were my friend! How could you stab me in the back?"
"I'm so sorry, Rebecca, I didn't—" Lucille was about to say something, but Rebecca didn't let her.
"You didn't mean to do it?" Rebecca finished her sentence. "But you had a choice, didn't you? But you still did it!"
"I—I've trusted you my whole life, Lucille. I've been patiently waiting for the both of you to tell me something all this time. I know you had sex, but what did you do? You kept hiding it from me!" Rebecca exclaimed.
Kwan realized that Rebecca was just playing dumb all this time. She set up everything to catch them, and she succeeded. He didn't know how he could treat his wife like this.
"Now, go away, and don't ever come back here!" Rebecca shouted.
Lucille didn't have the chance to explain. She was so embarrassed that she ran away.
Rebecca walked toward Kwan and said, "You too. Forget that you're my husband and do whatever you want to do with your life!"
"I'm so sorry, Rebecca," Kwan apologized, falling down to his knees. "Please forgive me! I didn't intend to do any of this. Please hear my explanation."
"Okay, I'll give you one minute to say everything you wanted to say, but after this, don't ever show your face to me again," Rebecca said. "Your time starts now."
"I'm really sorry, Rebecca. I didn't tell you about anything because I didn't want to hurt you. But I knew I was at fault for all of this, so I'm willing to face any punishment you're going to give me. I'm willing to do anything for you; just don't drive me away. Please, I'm begging you!" Kwan implored.
Rebecca's face softened; although she didn't want to be fooled again, there was a part of her that still loved Kwan more than anything else. There was a part in her heart that belonged to him.
"Did you mean it? Are you willing to do anything for me?" Rebecca asked.