Forgive?

Chapter 19 - Forgive?

Alisha frowned at the sudden question, clearly caught off guard by the change in Torin's tone. A moment later, however, her expression settled. She lowered her gaze toward the floor, and the corners of her lips curled into a faint, bitter smile.

“Torin… back then, and even now, I am…” She paused for a few seconds, as if the words were difficult to say. “I am helpless.”

She continued quietly, keeping her eyes down. “In front of those people, I was helpless. I knew what they were doing was wrong, and I knew that as a homeroom teacher, I should never have allowed my students to suffer like that. I should have protected you. At first, I actually went to the principal and told him everything. I thought he would do something about it, but instead, he told me to let them be. He warned me that if I kept interfering, things would become difficult for me as well.”

Alisha's arms slowly crossed over her chest, and her fingers tightened around her upper arms. The memory seemed to come back to her with every word she spoke. “I wanted to stop them, Torin. I really did. But I was afraid. Those students came from families with money and influence, while I was just a teacher. Every time I thought about standing up to them, I knew exactly what I could lose. My job, my home, my future… everything. But I still couldn't completely stay out of it, and because of that, they eventually turned their attention toward me. I tried to resist, but I wasn't strong enough. In the end, I paid for it with my body.”

Her nails dug into her triceps as she lowered her head further. She didn't say anything for a while, and Torin could see how much effort she was putting into keeping herself composed.

He stepped forward and gently gripped both of her shoulders. “Yeah. I know. You don't have to worry about that anymore, Miss.”

Alisha slowly raised her eyes toward him.

“I had resentment toward you even when I first saw you at the cram school,” Torin admitted. “I remember seeing you there and immediately feeling angry. I didn't even want to talk to you. All I could think about was what happened back then, and I thought you had simply stood there and let it happen.”

He paused, his expression becoming more thoughtful. “But after some time, I started remembering things differently. I remembered how you looked back then. You were scared too. You tried to do something, even if it wasn't enough to stop them. Eventually, I realized that you weren't one of them. You were another victim of the same people who hurt me. Once I understood that, I couldn't keep holding it against you.”

Alisha's eyes filled with tears almost instantly. She tried to blink them away, but the tears spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them. She quickly turned her face aside and wiped at them with her fingers, embarrassed by how easily she had lost control of herself. Torin didn't say anything about it. He simply reached into his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and held it toward her.

Alisha looked at it for a moment before taking it. “Thank you.”

She carefully wiped her face and took a few slow breaths until she could speak normally again. Torin waited patiently, giving her enough time to calm down before asking the question that had been bothering him for some time.

“Then why were you at the cram school? Why did you leave your job at the elite school?”

Alisha looked toward the streets below the balcony, watching the cars move through the afternoon traffic. “After your incident, they didn't stop,” she said. “They started looking for other prey. But those students were different from you. Almost everyone in that class came from powerful families, so they had people who could protect them. Eventually, when they needed someone they could control without consequences, they turned on me instead.”

She paused and took a shaky breath. “At first, I tried to stay. I thought things might eventually settle down, but they didn't. Every day became more difficult, and I realized that staying there would only make things worse. So I left the school.”

Alisha's expression softened slightly as she continued. “Fortunately, Tina's mother helped me. She knew enough about what had happened and gave me a chance to start over. Thanks to her, I was able to get an apartment and eventually open the cram school. It wasn't something I had planned for years. It was simply a way for me to build a life where I didn't have to answer to those people anymore.”

She looked back at Torin and gave him a small smile. “There is something I never told you, though. The cram school is mine, I own the place. I don't really need to teach there for the money. I only teach because I enjoy it, and honestly, working with the students is much more peaceful than working at that school ever was.”

Torin gave a small nod as he processed what she had told him. “Yeah, that part definitely took me by surprise. I always assumed you were just working there.”

Before Alisha could respond, the balcony door opened behind them, and Gia stepped outside. She looked at the two of them before speaking. “It's ready. The set, cameras, and everything else are in place.”

Alisha quickly composed herself and wiped her face one last time before turning toward Gia. She didn't want to explain what they had been talking about, so she simply gave her a polite smile and held out her hand. “Thank you, Gia. I should probably head back now.”

After shaking Gia's hand, Alisha turned toward Torin and offered her hand to him as well. “You two enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you later.”

Torin shook her hand and nodded, but as she turned toward the door, he suddenly remembered the evening plans. “Don't forget the barbecue tonight.”

Alisha stopped and looked back at him. Her expression was much lighter now, and she gave him a small smile as she nodded.

“I won't.”

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