There isn't enough lobster in the world to make this dinner bearable.

As I predicted, my parents are being less than civil toward Taehyung. To the untrained eye, we are a happy family having a nice dinner together. To those familiar with gaslighting and lies, one can hear the knife-sharp comments woven into their wide, toothy smiles.

We sit at a round table near a large window that overlooks the glowing metropolis. The warm lighting of the restaurant reflects off the frosted glass creating a glare across the night sky.

The restaurant, Votelli's, is an elegant place with dark velvet seat lining and candle-lit tables. Each table is covered with a thick, white tablecloth with a complimentary bottle of wine on the side. The waiters and waitresses are dressed in fine suits and ties with their hair gelled so much they glisten. Behind the soft undertones of polite conversation, piano music fills the silence of taking a breath.

Claire De Lune, I think to myself as I stare down at my unfinished lobster. It is one of the only classical songs I can recall by name.

Taehyung sits tall at my side and doesn't bother with exaggerated smiles and false laughter. His deep brown eyes are dark—unamused—and his lips have not formed a smile since we arrived. I felt terrible about the entire night, but my parents were so adamant about coming I couldn't say no.

Occasionally, I feel the soft brush of Taehyung's fingertips against my thigh. His touch is comforting and reminds me that I am not alone. We are in this together.

Despite the awkward circumstances, he looks absolutely dashing in his black suit. Jimin used some of my hair creams to style Taehyung's long, black hair into shiny waves. His smooth, tanned skin is glowing with youth. His full lips are soft from the chapstick. There is no denying that Taehyung is incredibly handsome.

Yet I can't stop thinking about how Jimin would look in a suit.

Taehyung mentioned that Jimin is allergic to seafood, which wouldn't pair well with the restaurant's main dishes, and explained that it would be difficult to hide his hybrid parts. I told them again that I didn't care if their hybrid parts showed, but Jimin acted strangely about it and refused to come.

I force myself to look ahead at my parents, knowing the silence in this conversation has dragged on for too long.

My father is a small man, physically, but there is power in his eyes. His golden-brown hair is styled back neatly and he wears a dark gray suit. He rarely smiles, it's a personality trait. I don't think he has been happy for a day in his life. At his work, everybody gushes on how outgoing and confident he is but the moment he comes into the house, all of that disappears.

My dad is an angry man and tends to be very particular about things. He often reminds me of a bomb. Not the grenade type, but the bomb with a broken timer that can destroy everything in a five-mile radius. I never know when he's going to explode but I know I should run when he does. I only pray that I run fast enough to escape his wrath.

He finishes his crystal glass of gin and takes a moment to stare at the bottom of it. He tilts the glass side to side to watch the droplets slide to the rounded corner. "Are you focusing on your studies, Eden?" he asks finally.

I sit back in my chair. "Of course."

His eyes lift slowly with skepticism. "Of course," he repeats. "I was only checking. I tried to call the university to see how you were doing. They told me our permission for your information was... revoked."

I take a deep breath and nod at him. "Yes," is all I can come up with.

His expression shifts into calm irritation. "Yes..." he drawls, taking his time with each word as if to emphasize his displeasure, "I thought it was an error in their system. But of course, this was not a mistake, I take it?"

"I didn't want you to worry about my studies," I answered firmly. "I had the permission removed."

"I see," he comments, dragging his words again.

He's absolutely furious with me. He speaks slower than he's angry. It's unnerving.

Taehyung lightly pats my leg, his hand out of sight from my parents across the table, and glances at me through the corner of his eye.

Secretly, I rest my hand on top of his and interlock my fingers with his. I keep a straight face but I hope Taehyung understands how much his presence means to me.

Mom has been oddly quiet this evening. Usually, she dominates the conversation with scraps of half-baked advice and "helpful suggestions" about how to live my life. Tonight, all she asked about was how I was recovering from the attacks.

She and I look alike if you focus on facial features. We have the same button-shaped nose, eye shape, and jawline. Everybody in our family has brown eyes but my hair ended up as a golden blonde rather than light brown.

Mom casts me a look of concern before giving me another worried smile. "We are just worried about you... You tend to be distracted from your studies," she adds in a light voice.

"I am doing well in school, Mom. I turned everything in on time, I am keeping up with classes even in recovering," I explain but my exhaustion is seeping into my voice. "I'm not distracted."

"And this young man..." she continued as if she hadn't heard me, "Taehyung, you said? How exactly did you meet?"

Taehyung remains straight-faced while he answers her. "We met recently, at a greenhouse."

I quirk an eyebrow and watch him curiously through the corner of my eye.

Taehyung picks up his water glass and swirls the ice sitting at the bottom of it. The clinking of the ice distracts me from the building tension in the air. "We met in the garden. My friends and I were looking at the apple tree and... we started talking with Eden."

"Ah, I see," Mom replies with a growing smile. She giggles lightly and studies him closely, "You are quite handsome. Have you come as her date? Eden hasn't mentioned you before."

Taehyung chuckles at her assumption and takes it in stride. "It happened very quickly, but we have become close friends since then."

Dad stares at Taehyung as if he were trying to intimidate him, but Taehyung simply ignores it. "And you have come here tonight for..?"

Taehyung gives me an easy smile and squeezes my hand reassuringly. "I wanted to meet you. Eden is a lovely girl, and I wanted to meet her parents as well."

Mom's eyes widened in brief surprise. "To meet us?"

He chuckles and smiles charmingly. "Of course. And I am glad too. This has been a wonderful night. These two hours have gone by so quickly."

The man deserves five Oscars for that sentence alone. Remind me to never doubt Taehyung's ability to lie. Cheese and rice, it's almost terrifying.

Dad huffs quietly and takes a moment to check his watch. "Has it been two hours?" he wonders to himself.

Mom laughs in a strange pitch and waves him off. "Oh, you are too kind. Say... Taehyung... are you in college as well? What are you majoring in?"

Taehyung blinks at her before managing an awkward smile. "I am not in college."

The second Mom's eyes began to darken, I jumped in to rescue him from a barrage of questions about why he wasn't in college. "He just moved to the city," I explained as casually as I could manage, "he is still settling in."

"Oh..." Mom's eyes soften once more and she relaxes, "I see, I understand that. What are you thinking about majoring in?"

Taehyung smiles shyly. "I am still thinking about it. These things take time to figure out..."

"Ah, of course, of course..." Mom's gaze slides back to me. She places her hand underneath her chin and studies me closely. "Eden was supposed to become a lawyer, did she mention that?"

Taehyung blinks in surprise. "A lawyer?"

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. I clear my throat as I take up my fork again. "Yes... but it wasn't a good fit for me." I flash Mom a pointed look, "as of right now, I'm a business major."

I know Taehyung already knows this, but I couldn't help myself. I felt the need to strongly clarify this in front of Mom and Dad. Maybe this fact will finally get through their heads and they can stop mentioning it every chance they get.

"And what are you planning to do with that?" Mom asks tightly, making sharp eye contact with me. Her red-stained lips twist back into an awkward smile. "What do you hope to do with a business major?"

I have no idea.

"I will look for a job that is suited for me," I reply as my shoulders tense. "There are plenty of jobs for business majors. It isn't a bad major."

"No... but it is a common one. I hope you have a better plan than just 'winging' it." She makes dramatic air quotes, still smiling at me.

"We'll see."

Dad secretly checks his phone before frowning. "Oh. A police alert."

My heart stops.

Mom tenses with panic, "What? A police alert?"

Dad nods slowly and looks closely at his phone. "Yes... There is a warning of caution to people in this area. Five fugitives are in the area and the police are currently in pursuit."

I swallow hard and force myself to breathe but all I can think about is Jimin and Jungkook. They are home alone right now. I have to make sure they are safe. We're in danger if those men are in our area.

Taehyung takes my hand again and flashes me a look of concern. He whispers, "It's going to be alright."

"Fugitives?" Mom repeats with wide eyes. "Oh God, I had no idea this city was so dangerous..." Her gaze falls on me once again. "How can you stand to live here? After all that has happened... that should be enough to convince you to return home."

I look away from her and focus on the glare against the window instead. "I like this place. I just need to be more careful. They'll catch them, I'm sure of it."

However, I can't help but doubt the police's abilities. The five fugitives escaped police custody and managed to hide from them for an entire day. Not only that, there are horrible things happening throughout the city every day. Corruption hides in every corner and the police are helpless against the sheer size of it all.

"Are you sure you can return to your apartment?" Mom inquires with a tilt of her head. "It is dangerous right now... why don't you come back to the hotel with us?"

"Taehyung and I drove together," I answered immediately. "The apartment is perfectly safe, don't worry about it. We will be fine there."

My paranoia returns with full force and reminds me of how vulnerable the apartment can be. They aren't safe. I have to go home. I have to make sure they are okay.

Amidst my internal panic, I hardly noticed the shock on Mom's face.

"Do you mean to say that he is living with you?" she asks suddenly.

I freeze as a natural reflex. Despite my efforts to break free of their opinions and attempts to control me, I still can't get rid of my underlying fear when I "disobey" them. After all of those years walking on eggshells around them, years of hiding my true thoughts, I am trapped in that same mindset as if it were some kind of trauma.

Dad scowls in immediate disapproval. "What?" he questions flatly.

Taehyung's body stiffens under their intense gazes.

Immediately, I feel guilty for ever agreeing to this. I feel trapped in this moment but in hindsight, I realize I could have said no to all of this. I was too afraid to speak out against them. I still am. I am still the same insecure girl I was when I was living with them.

I am still trapped in the cage in that dark place.

What will it take to unlock the door? What will it take to escape this awful place?

"I am very disappointed in you," Mom begins, her voice deepening with anger, "why are you doing this to us? Do you have any idea how improper that is? It's unacceptable! I can't believe you would do this! If you had just listened to us, this never would have happened! You keep making terrible decisions and ignoring us out of spite! Why can't you understand that we do these things because we love you, Eden?"

I stare at her, stunned by the audacity of her words. I don't even know how to respond anymore. I'm so tired of this. I'm tired of being manipulated into thinking it's all my fault. I'm sick of her opinions and how she tells me how much she "loves" me.

Dad is outright glaring at Taehyung as if he wants to lunge for him. "And you," he starts in a threatening tone, "who the hell are you? What have you done with my daughter?"

Taehyung is caught off guard by Dad's aggressive tone. He stares at Dad in shock, unsure how to handle this. "I... I haven't done anything," he answers shakily. "We haven't done anything. I promise."

Dad slams his hand down on the table and verges blind rage. "Liar!"

Taehyung winces and a deep-seated fear flashes in his eyes.

My breath hitches with panic and my heart races with sudden adrenaline. I stare at Dad in horror before managing to find my words. "Don't talk to him like that." My voice comes out breathy out of terror.

Dad zeroes on me with a glare that could rival the Devil's. "What?" he snaps.

I flinch but force myself to stand my ground against them. I swallow hard and lift my head to face him again. "Don't talk to him like that," I enunciated, forcing my voice to strengthen. "He did nothing wrong and you have no right to speak to him like that."

"Don't talk back to your father," Mom scolds harshly.

"No," I argue, forcing my voice to remain stable. I lock eyes with her and muster up my courage to face them.

In the back of my mind, I see Sam's muddy green eyes staring me down from beyond the bars of the cage.

I won't let them hurt anybody else. I won't let them hurt the people I love. And I won't let them hurt me anymore.

In my moment of defiance, the fog clouding my mind begins to lift. The helpless feeling I had towards my parents is beginning to fade as my confidence surges from the adrenaline.

I will protect my family from my parents. No matter what. I won't let them hurt them.

I won't let their actions haunt me. I won't let their control remain over my life.

They may be my biological parents, but they are not my family. I have a real family now, and they love me as I am. I don't need to continue suffering.

I see the light beyond the cage. I see the key to open the door.

I stand from the table with a sharp movement and stare down at my parents. I shake my head at them, "I'm done. I'm not going to put up with this anymore. You can't control or criticize me anymore. I won't let you insult me or any of my family anymore."

My parents gape at me, momentarily stunned.

I take Taehyung's hand and urge him to stand from his chair. I look down at my parents once again and continue. "I let you treat me terribly for years thinking obeying could convince you to love me. When that never worked, I started trying to avoid this issue but that didn't work either. I'm done with trying to please you!"

"The way you have talked to me, to Taehyung, is aggressive and abusive and I won't continue this conversation anymore. It is extremely rude and I won't let it continue any longer. I am going to leave now. Don't try to tell me otherwise because I'm done listening to you."

The second the final word left my lips, I felt a sudden freedom blossom in my chest. A euphoric feeling of being lifted into the air.

I don't wait to see if they will argue with me. Instead, I hold tight to Taehyung's hand and walk out of the restaurant, not bothering to look back at them.

Not enough lobster in the world will ever make me return to them.

I escaped the cage, and I am never going back.

A/N: Gaslighting is a serious topic and I know many friends who have this type of relationship with their parents. I don't take this lightly and have researched this thoroughly to help friends who have asked about how to deal with their situation. I pray nobody else has to go through this. If you find yourself caught in this, don't hesitate to seek help and advice. You don't deserve to suffer. You deserve happiness and real love, don't settle for anything less. Don't change a single thing about yourself and remember to love yourself. You are beautiful and worth all the stars in the universe <3