Page 26 of Strictly Against Policy

CHAPTER 13

Lina

Jonathan was right.

Neng came by my apartment at three in the morning and made such a disturbance that a neighbor threatened to call the cops. It was only then that he stopped and ran with his tail between his legs. While other people’s threats were more alarming to him, mine did nothing anymore.

I tapped my kitchen counter to cope with the urge to chew on my nails. Exhausted and drained from all that had happened the last two nights, I knew I had to call my oldest sister, Mai. She was the only one from my immediate family to whom I disclosed my new apartment and job. Not even my parents knew because I was certain they would tell Neng my exact location. He moved back in with them, and they had done nothing but let him be.

I used to trust Mai.

Although we weren’t close growing up because of our eight-year age gap, I desperately believed she cared enough for me to not let Neng know where I lived and worked. When she kindly and sweetly asked where I’d been these last few months, I thought she’d want to protect both her siblings by making sure there was a boundary between their lives.

With the recent issues Neng had been causing me, it was clear Mai didn’t care about me or my safety. Our brother had been stalking and harassing me for more than half a year, and she had been enabling him this whole time by telling him wherever I moved to. Now, it was my new place of work.

“Hello?” answered Mai on the other end of the call. One of her four children was wailing in the background. I parted my lips to ask her the question lingering on my mind when she started screaming at my niece. “Will you stop crying? I’m trying to talk to your aunt!”

After a minute of bickering back and forth about whether my preteen niece should go to school today or not, I was finally able to talk to her.

“Did you tell Neng where I live and work now?” I asked. My voice was as biting as the frost caked on my windows outside.

I never had the courage to ask her, but the pointed snort she let out was telling.

“I’m being serious, Mai. He came to Sierra Pharmacy and threatened me there, demanding money. He’s been harassing me again for the last two months, and I never said a single thing until now. You are the only person in the family who even knows anything about my life. Tell me the truth. Did you tell Neng about me?”

My older sister grunted dismissively. “See? That’s the problem with you. I don’t like how you’re trying to keep your life a secret from Mom, Dad, and Neng just because you think you’re better than all of us. Fuck yeah, I told them exactly where you are. If you had just given Neng the money he needs, none of this would be happening.”

My hand shook as I gripped my phone tightly, in disbelief about the audacity my sister had. I immediately countered⁠—

“Give him money? What money does he need? He lives at home with Mom and Dad, and he doesn’t even pay for the bills,” I stated. “I pay for their bills. I’m the one who pays for their utilities. I’m the one who pays for their rent. I was the one who paid for the expensive divorce attorney who got him shared custody of his kids, and what did he do?”

Mai refused to answer my question. If not for the open-mouthed, heavy breathing she was doing, I would have believed she hung up on me. If she wasn’t going to acknowledge the truth, I would.

“He decided to drink and drive with his kids in the car and lost all custody of them. That was what he did. Now he’s harassing and stalking me for the ten thousand dollars I don’t have because I still have to pay for my own rent, my own bills, and my student debt—on top of taking care of Mom, Dad, and him!” I exhaled a tired sigh. “Don’t you dare fucking tell me that everything will be fine if I just give him money. I understand he wants a new lawyer to get custody of his kids again, but nothing will be solved even with that money.”

“You’re such a bitch, Lina,” muttered Mai. “A selfish, cold-hearted, and spoiled bitch who thinks you’re better than Neng and me because you’re so damn smart and successful and⁠—”

“If I’m so selfish, why don’t you help pay for everything for our parents and Neng?” I breathed.

Mai’s silence was more resounding than her own voice. I let out another shaky sigh. “That’s what I thought. Before you start saying that I’m selfish, I think you should take a good look in the mirror first.”

I ended the call before she could berate me. I tossed my phone aside. I let my voice shudder out, burying my face in my hands and crying.

I looked horrible when I showed up to work, far too early despite being the closing pharmacist. I walked into the break room, and there was Jonathan looking equally terrible, with deep-set dark circles beneath his eyes.

He glanced up from the top of his mug. I anticipated him glowering at me, spewing some witty and scathing words to keep the tension of our work relationship brewing. However, his expression softened at the sight of me instead.

“It’s good to see you here today, Dr. Lee. I expected you to call out. You don’t look too good over there.” He was almost whispering.

“I half expected you to say, ‘Glad to see you’re in one piece, Dr. Lee.’ It’d be more fitting for the likes of you, sir,” I countered.

Jonathan tipped his head back to look at me with a half-lidded gaze, leaning against the break room countertop. He placed his mug down and crossed his large arms over his chest. I now realized it was a gesture he liked to do to project power, to demand attention in whatever room he occupied. With a tilt of his head, his black fringe covered his dark-coffee eyes, making him unreadable.

“Please don’t joke about your own life like that. No one’s laughing,” he said firmly.

Neither of us muttered a single sound nor did we break the intense look we shared—until the sharp ring of the phone from the pharmacy interrupted us. We weren’t even open yet, but calls were already coming in for another busy day.

Jonathan took his mug, stood up straight, and walked directly toward me with long, powerful strides. I readied myself to get out of his way in case he decided to mow me down, but he stopped in front of me. He loomed over me as he pushed his inky-black hair back to showcase his dark circles up close.