The Truths Behind the Life of Maeve Sun Lively

75

KLARISE WAS SO EXCITED FOR her first album in a long time. But this...I should have known. I should have known this would happen. I ignored my instinct and what happened is this...I shouldn't have let her sit for that cover photo.

No one was talking about her new music. They were just talking about, well, her.

When I ask her if she's fine, the answer is always yes. It'll always be yes. But when she thinks me and Jackson aren't nearby, I hear her. I hear her sobs, her cries. And it hurts. It hurts so much, and standing outside of our room, not being able to go in because I know if I do she'll just pretend it isn't happening. And so I would stand there, waiting, feeling the tears coming from me as well. I wanted to punch the door, punch these people who were doing what they were to her.

They didn't understand crap. They didn't know anything. And then there it goes, they talk and talk, however they wanted, hiding behind screens or talking broadly and proudly. What was wrong with them? I wanted to scream in their faces. I wanted to yell at them to all fuck off and that my life and Klarise's isn't any of their business.

Klarise sobs. I remain away, feeling angry at myself and the world. I muffle screams under my breaths. I...in a long time, after this normal life we were living, I feel...suddenly lost again. And I don't know how to guide me, guide her and I, out. Where to go? What to do?

A door between us. She cries, and all I could do was stay outside it, wanting to help but knowing well enough if I do interfere with this, it will likely make everything worse and more complicated.

Jackson was getting more and more busy with school, preparing for college and everything. But I think even that, he would notice something was wrong with his sister. Not just that, there was also the internet. People talk.

Jackson remains calm in almost all kinds of situations, he's by all means a kid you don't have to worry much about. Me and Klarise wanted a normal life for him, without all the press and always being related and defined by his family. And luckily the name Jackson Kong and 孔建珉 (Kong Jian Min) wasn't exactly a unique name, in school he was able to remain just like any other boy. But even without the press and people bothering him, he can still hear what's going on. As Klarise's lover, I endure the pain. But I wonder how he does so as her brother.

It's like all of our talk, everything we had planned out dreamingly and obliviously, all of those things felt like they were slowly sinking into quicksand. The more we moved and struggled, the faster it sank.

Despite knowing better, despite knowing this was really something that I should not get myself into—both for the benefits of her and me—I took actions into my own hands.

Talk about following instincts. I think it really depends on what type of instinct you're describing. There's ones that lead you to the right path of what your heart desires. And then there are the ones that are still what you desire, but not with very happy results. Which one I followed? I think it's pretty obvious.

The media is a scary place, but I don't think I really need to remind you of that since nowadays, we are constantly reminded of that fact. But anyways, this was what I did, what I thought would fix this mess up and me and Klarise could get back to the groove we had before her album sold. In a way, it did work. But it also did not.

The internet was firing with that cover photo of Klarise, even if she looked perfectly beautiful, there was all the backlash and harsh criticism. No, it wasn't even criticism at that point. Plain and simple: it was hate.

It was not a good day for me when I did this. But also, not really any of the days were good since I had to see Klarise force up smiles and act like she was okay with all of this when she clearly was not. I just wanted them to stop, to stop talking for once, to stop posting all that stuff about her. Because none of it was true, and I knew that was how it always worked, how people talked about what they wanted to see and believe even if it was all false. But when it was projected onto the person I loved so dearly, how could I keep that fact straight in my head? I just wanted all of them to shut up, it was almost like I was pleading for them each day, and to even put all of their hate to me instead of her. They never did.