Page 24 of Lust & Lies

“Our great-grandfather made sure he passed down stories about our country, our heritage, to his children, they passed it to theirs, and so on. Another thing he insisted we do was learn how to protect ourselves. My brothers and I know Taekwondo. We’ve been practicing it since we were kids.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “So have you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You. When you found out we knew it, you insisted on learning too. And my grandfather signed you up for lessons.”

I wanted to ask why my own parents hadn’t signed me up. But I feared he would stop revealing so much to me if I asked too many questions. So, I remained silent.

“I even chipped in and taught you some special moves,” he added. “We usually spar whenever we get a chance.”

“Wait! You taught me special moves?” I asked, staring him up and down.

“Why are you looking at me like that? What, I don’t look like I know special moves or something?”

Shrugging, I said, “I mean, you’re buff and all. But you look more like a pencil pusher.”

“Are you serious?”

Laughing, I added, “You’re a handsome pencil pusher.”

“I’ll have you know, I’m skilled in Taekwondo and Hapkido.”

“I think I remember what Taekwondo is. I’m not familiar with Hapkido.”

“You are. You’re familiar with them both, because you’ve been trained in both.”

My eyes widened. “You’re not joking, are you?”

“I’m not. You’re skilled in Hapkido.”

“What is that?”

“Hapkido is a mixed martial art that doesn’t focus on any one technique but many different techniques, including wrestling,” he explained.

“And I’m good at it?”

“Very,” he told me. “Almost better than me.”

“Almost?” I asked, smiling.

“Close,” he told me, a slight smile on his face now.

“It seems I need to get better, huh?”

“We’ll get back to it as soon as the doctor clears you to do so.”

I nodded and sat there, staring at my husband as my mind tried to reconcile myself with the version of me he’d described. Training could explain my reaction, but it didn’t explain my dark thoughts. Aiden seemed to read my mind because he brought that up before I could.

“During our sessions, you liked to discuss how you could apply your skills to real-life situations.”

“What do you mean?”

“For instance,” he started, hands clasping mine once again. “You once made me pretend to be a carjacker so you could see what you’d do if you were putting groceries in the trunk and a carjacker approached you from behind.”

“Really?” I asked, smiling, trying to picture the scene.

“Yes. I almost got arrested because a little old lady rode by and truly thought I was trying to steal your car. We had to go down to the police station and everything.”

“You’re lying!” I exclaimed, laughter bubbling from me.

“I’m serious,” he told me, thumb rubbing over my knuckle. “You even joked once that you’d researched how to get rid of a body if you ever had to kill someone. You were joking, of course.”

I stared at him, not sure whether to believe him or not. “That doesn’t sound like a joke I’d make.”

“It does to me. You’ve always been a fan of dark humor. You weren’t afraid to talk about the dark stuff with me. You trusted me with that.”

I didn’t know whether to feel reassured or terrified.

“One night, we were watching a movie, and the police found the husband’s body in the wife’s backyard.

You told me that the wife should’ve done a better job of hiding the body.

I asked you what you would’ve done. You gave me a lame answer, and I gave you a dozen reasons why it wouldn’t work.

For the next couple of weeks, you kept trying to figure out a better way to get rid of the body, and I kept trying to find loopholes in your answer.

Eventually, you put together the perfect kill and hide plan.

Then you felt guilty for even thinking up such a plan. ”

“I did?”

He nodded. “You did, love. You’re a fan of dark comedy.

You’re a fan of horror. You love slasher movies.

Shows that involve assassins are some of your favorite shows.

That’s just what you like. So, yeah, you know a lot about killing theoretically.

And those memories may come back to you when you least expect them, like they did this morning in the kitchen.

But that doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t make you a killer. ”

He had a point.

“The doctor said your brain is like a computer. You’ve saved a lot of data over the years.

Then you lost that data. Now it’s being restored.

We don’t know when or how that data will return.

It could return as a sense of Deja vu or in your dreams. Or, by you pinning someone to the wall as a reaction to danger.

You’ve got to be prepared for it when it comes, however it comes. ”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“I guess that makes sense.”

He smiled. “Just be patient, love. And don’t try to rush things.”

I stared into the eyes of my husband. He appeared sincere. He seemed to be telling the truth. It was likely that the dark thoughts I’d had a moment ago could’ve stemmed from the situations he’d explained.

I would choose to believe him for now, mainly because I desperately wanted it to be true. I would choose to trust my husband, mainly because I couldn’t fathom the thought of being such a terrible person.

I would trust my husband because I wanted to trust in our love. I wanted to believe that everything would be alright. That everything was as he said it was. I wanted to believe in him, in me, in us. So, I did.

“Okay,” I whispered. “I believe you.”

His smile widened. “Thank you, sweetie. How are you feeling?”

“Shaken up. But I’ll be alright.”

“You want to go back upstairs and lie down for a bit?”

I shook my head. “I’ve slept enough. Plus, I’m hungry now.”

He chuckled. “Dolores is cooking. She should be done soon. Today, I’ll introduce you to the staff. And we’ll work out a schedule of when they come and go so you’ll always know who’s in the house and on the grounds. No more surprises. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like a plan.”

“Great.” He brought my knuckles to his mouth and kissed them.

I held my smile in place because what else could I do? Cry? Pout? Complain? No. None of those would erase the unease still coursing through me. Aiden’s explanation made sense to me, and I believed him.

However, it would take a minute for me to calm down. Until then, I’d do what he and Dolores were doing. I’d pretend it hadn’t happened. At least, I’d try to. I was just glad he didn’t see me differently. Glad he wasn’t looking at me like I was dangerous.

I was glad there was a reason why I’d reacted the way I had. But now that he’d revealed more about his family to me, I couldn’t help but want to know about my own family. Where were they?

Why did his family treat me like family? And if his grandfather cared so much for me, why hadn’t he called to check on me? I continued smiling at my husband, but my mind was racing with unanswered questions.

Be patient, Noe. This is only day two. Be patient. Trust your husband.

Trust Aiden Park.