Beauty and the Price

Chapter 11

Mr. Blackbourne's Crush

Mr. Blackbourne

Inside the shared bedroom of Owen and Sean, Owen sat on the bed going over the information they were able to collect about John Sorenson and his connections with Alexander Vasiliev.

Which, frustratingly enough, wasn't much.

Now that Owen was made aware of Sang's relation to John, he was more determined to complete the mission. Though, after meeting her, he would have agreed to it even if his team wasn't willing to participate.

Owen blinked. What was he thinking? He barely knew the girl.

Yet, he was ashamed to admit how little the opposing components bothered him. Her allure seemed to prevail over his moral values. From the moment he saw her he felt an attraction that he'd only ever read about. It was foolish of him to even entertain the thought of her any more than he should have. He has tried to dismiss her from his thoughts but his attempts have been in vain. Every action he took was with her in mind.

Two days. It took two days for her to unknowingly embed herself in his mind. But was it really unknowingly, could she really not know the effect she had on him?

Owen removed his glasses and placed them on the nightstand, rubbing his face as he recalled the previous night.

He had been disconcerted when he found her standing in the foyer of the dining room, there in John Sorenson's home. She dressed elegantly in that same shade of pink as the blouse she wore when he first saw her. And she looked just as beautiful. She dressed elegantly, and sophisticated in the simplest way. He didn't expect to see her so soon. It would have been a pleasant surprise if not for the fact that her father was the very man the Academy was concerned about.

But, there was something off about the family, Owen observed, and it seemed to him that Sang was at the center of it.

He witnessed the way her mother and sister were towards her. How Sang flinched at any movement her mother made even when she was several feet away. Owen didn't miss the pain that crossed her eyes when her mother grabbed her. And she spoke of Sang as though she were the troubled child she clearly didn't appear to be. Although appearances can lie, Owen had to remind himself. 

Her older sister, Marie, didn't hide her enjoyment as she witnessed the interaction between her mother and her younger sister. The difference between both girls was uncanny, Owen briefly wondered if one was adopted or if they were step-sisters.

And her father barely noticed she was there. No, he knew she was there, but he avoided looking at Sang. His eyes would dart around her, nothing but a few short seconds of side glances before turning his attention somewhere else. As if he was forcing himself not to notice her. Owen didn't understand the behavior. Guilt perhaps? To Owen, it seemed closer to nerves. But no, there was something deeper that had Owen feeling uneasy when he'd catch John gazing at Sang from the corner of his eye. He just couldn't identify what it was.

The experience was indeed an odd one, Owen had to be blind not to notice the signs of abuse and neglect.

It was all in those eyes.

He wanted to find out what was happening in her home, to get her out if he needed to. How long has she suffered?

The logical part of him didn't want to trust her. The possibility of Sang being involved with her father's schemes hung over them. After all, he didn't know her well enough to judge.

But he knew people, and he knew Sang was good. Despite the doubts that lingered in his mind, the evidence was right in front of him that night.