The next morning I pulled on the long-sleeved jacket from my school's winter uniform with a flourish, barely noticing the throbbing pain of my bruised shoulder. Today is the last day I will ever have to wear this, I thought giddily.

Father had actually agreed.

Last night Auntie called me back within twenty minutes and had excitedly told me that I was going to come live with her until I graduated high school. The shock made me start crying again, but I couldn't explain to Auntie that they were tears of relief instead of tears of sadness for my parents' divorce. We had spent hours on the phone talking about what I should pack and when I was going to be leaving.

"I'm really leaving," I whispered to my reflection in the mirror and tried to keep myself from smiling.

Grabbing the blue school-issued backpack of my private girl's academy, I slung it over my uninjured shoulder and walked down the stairs. My long hair shifted back and forth against my back as I descended the steps.

As I walked into the spacious kitchen (which was one of the only rooms in the house I was allowed to be in at any time of the day) I grabbed a piece of the granola bar that I had baked over the weekend. I had been in charge of cooking since I could hold a knife and guilt flooded through me as I thought of leaving my father to fend for himself.

Am I doing the right thing? I don't deserve happiness like this... An uncomfortable pit was forming in my stomach the more I thought of it. Last night I acted on pure survival instinct when I begged Auntie to take me away... but now that I was calmer I couldn't help but feel like I may have been too hasty. Quickly I shook my head and clung to the memory of Auntie excitedly planning my trip last night.

With a sigh, I left the kitchen and made my way to the front door. My school was a good thirty minute walk and if I didn't leave soon I would be late. Slipping on the black loafers worn by all of the girls in my school, I opened the door and gasped in shock, instinctively shrinking back into the open doorway. My father was on the doorstep, leaning against the small grate that enclosed the topmost part of the walkway into our two-story home. He was wearing the same clothes as last night and his tanned skin looked pale and sallow.

Fear gripped me as I stood frozen in the doorway, looking at the man who refused to let me call him 'Father' to his face. As quietly as I could, I tried to back out of the doorway to flee back inside, but suddenly his left leg resting against the grate slipped. Father toppled over and groaned piteously, reaching up to hold his head in one of his large, muscular hands.

Torn between wanting to help him and pretending I hadn't seen anything, I gripped the door handle as hard as I could. Before I could make my decision though Father opened one of his bloodshot eyes to glare at me through a slit in his fingers. I gulped, trying to not show my fear, and took a timid step forward.

"C-can I help you?" I asked softly.

Father's one black eye narrowed at me as he grabbed the railing and hoisted himself up into a standing position. Menacingly, he advanced on me and I backed into the living room, doing my best to remain calm. Without a word, Father kicked the door behind him closed and continued his silent approach, forcing me back with his disgust-filled glare until I was in the middle of the living room. He stopped moving but continued glaring, and I could feel a bead of sweat drip from the base of my neck and down my spine.

"So, you're going to live with Yuki now, is that right?"

My breath caught in my throat and I couldn't think of anything but to nod in affirmation. Without warning, Father's left leg whipped out and slammed into my stomach so hard my feet left the ground. I landed on my back, wheezing and gasping desperately for breath.

Father didn't give me a chance to get my wind back before kneeling next to me and grabbing my bad shoulder in his large hand that felt for all the world like a bear's paw. I let out a moan as he pressed against the fresh bruise and jets of pain streaked through me in response.

"Listen up, Mistake, and listen well," Father growled, squeezing my shoulder even harder as he glared down at me. "Not only have you ruined my life, you even made Crystal leave me. You deserve to be punished, but I am letting you run away to my sister because I can't stand the sight of you anymore. "

Unbidden, tears streamed down my cheeks as Father pulled back a fist and whammed it into my upper thigh. I choked on my tears as I gasped at the shocking pain. To my dismay and relief, Father pulled away, leaving me heaving on the ground. He watched me struggle for breath for a few minutes before placing a careless, booted foot on my stomach.

"Look at me," he demanded in his rough growl.

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my swimming vision so I could comply with his command. He put a little more pressure on my stomach, causing me to cough and I raised a shaking arm to wipe my eyes and meet my father's hate-filled expression.

"Y-yes, Sensei," I choked out, as I knew he was expecting. His eyes narrowed and he scowled heavily at me. It took all my willpower to meet his gaze and not look at the whitening scar on his lip.

"Don't you dare tell Yuki or anyone else about me hitting you," he said firmly. My eyes widen in surprise at this command but Father was not finished speaking. "If you say anything I will make you regret it. You and whoever you tell. You are a mistake; you ruin everything you touch. Don't ever forget it."

Father's lip curled back slightly as he growled at me and lifted his foot from my stomach. "Disgusting. How could my own blood be this weak?" he spat at me.

I tried to stop the tears streaking down my cheeks without success. "I'm sorry, Sensei," I gasped.

He merely scoffed without unfiltered loathing in his expression. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a wad of crumpled paper and dropped it on my face. Not daring to move, I let the bills and paper slide off my wet face as he continued to glare at me.

"My sister is going to try and fill your head with nonsense about you being beautiful and special, but don't you ever forget what you have done to me and Crystal. And don't you dare embarrass me when you are living with Yuki," he growled threateningly. I nodded mutely and his eyes narrowed.

"With this," he growled angrily as he turned away from me, "I'll never have to see your face again."

He finally moved away, making his way up to the second floor where he slammed his door behind him. A pain-filled sob spluttered up my throat and I turned on my side, curling into a ball and placing my left hand on my throbbing shoulder and my right hand on the thigh that Father hit.

Something crinkled under my cheek and I blinked, slowly sitting up and looking at what Father had dropped on me. My mouth fell open in shock as I saw two hundred dollar bills on the ground and a crumpled plane ticket.

Did he drive to the airport and buy the ticket last night? I wondered still reeling at the amount of money he had given me.

Glancing up the stairs to make sure he wasn't coming back down, I reached out with a shaking hand to pick up the airplane ticket and gently smoothed it out. I'd never seen a plane ticket before, but I found where it listed the departure time and was shocked when I saw that it left in just a few hours. Looking down at the money on the ground, I wondered if Father really meant for me to take it all. When Aunty had mentioned that Father would send me with enough money to take a taxi from the airport to her apartment I had been imagining 30 or 40 dollars at the most, not this huge amount.

With trepidation, I picked up the money and glanced at the stairs again. I couldn't hear anything so, as quietly as I could while trying to keep myself from limping, I crawled on all fours up the stairs and into my room. Auntie had talked with me the whole time I was packing last night so I was ready to go. Looking down at the ticket once more, I realized there was no point in going to school, so I shucked off my school uniform and folded it up neatly before placing it on my made bed. I quickly changed into my only pair of jeans and my favorite close-knit long sleeve shirt. It was a burgundy color and was the softest thing I had ever worn. My mother bought it for me because her dad asked to see me and she didn't want me to embarrass her by wearing my normal clothes, almost all of which had at least one stain from cooking.

Gently stroking the soft fabric, I thought about my beautiful mother and glanced at the cellphone I had placed on my desk. She hadn't contacted me since she left last night and it wouldn't surprise me if I never heard from her again. Even though I was to blame for her losing her modeling career, she had always taken me to the hospital after a particularly rough fight with Father. She was also the one to convince my Father to train me in karate so I could defend myself... Yet I couldn't deny what Father had said last night. I knew I was a burden to Mother and that she would be much happier without me in her life.

I turned away from my phone, blinking back tears as I closed my closet doors and packed away my teddy bear and the picture on my desk of me and Auntie we had taken when she visited last summer. After a final turn around the room to satisfy myself that I hadn't forgotten anything, I zipped up my dark purple carry-on sized suitcase. Auntie had bought it for me last year saying she was planning on taking me on a trip after I graduated. The suitcase felt feather-light as I picked it up and I looked around the bare room one last time with mixed feelings of both guilt and hope.

Placing the plane ticket, money, and my phone into the special edition black purse with a small gold bow motif that Auntie had sent me after her company's most recent fashion show had introduced the item, I walked out of my room and found myself glancing down the hallway at the closed door of my parents' room. I still couldn't hear anything coming from it and assumed that Father had already fallen asleep. Gulping past a lump in my throat, I slowly walked over to the closed door and stood in front of it for what felt like hours. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as guilt rushed over me once again and I slowly knelt down, bringing my hands in front of my body and leaning down until my forehead touched the back of my hands in a full dogeza bow.

"I'm so sorry, Sensei," I whispered, "I promise I will do as you say." I stayed in my bow for several more minutes, sending a prayer to whoever was listening to ask that Father could find happiness now that I wasn't here to constantly remind him of the mistake I was and how I ruined his life.

Stifling a groan as I stood back up, I walked down the stairs for the last time and out of the unlocked front door. I lifted my suitcase up as I walked down the stairs from the entrance of the house. When I set it back on the ground after the last step, I couldn't help but look back at the gorgeous home that Grandpa had bought my parents as a wedding gift. Memories, mainly painful but some good, washed through me as I inwardly said goodbye to the mother who had finally abandoned me. Taking a deep breath of the morning air, I turned towards the street and began the short walk to the bus stop that would take me to the airport.

Just as I sat down on the bench to wait for the public bus, I heard a familiar ringtone emanating from my phone. Not able to keep my smile from my face, I pulled out my phone and flipped it open, bringing it up to my ear.

"Hi, Auntie," I said into the telephone.

"Sweetheart! I just checked my phone and your dad sent me a picture of the plane ticket; you should be touching down here right as I am getting out of work. I don't want to make you wait at the airport for me, so do you want to get a taxi and meet me at my apartment? I will send you the address," Auntie said with bubbling excitement and I couldn't help but laugh. Auntie was one of the most energetic people I had ever met and she could always make me smile.

"That sounds great, Auntie. I can't wait to see you."

"Me too, my darling! I wish it was under better circumstances, but I don't want you worrying for a minute about your parents when you come here. You are going to come here to forget about all of that and just enjoy the rest of your high school life, alright?" Auntie urged gently.

I blinked mutely, uncertain if that would even be possible, but I couldn't help but smile softly at her enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Auntie. Are you really sure about me not bringing my clothes?" I asked while glancing down at my nearly empty suitcase.

"Of course! I've already placed orders for a bunch of different clothes I've wanted to see you in and tomorrow after I get home from work we'll go shopping together!"

I chuckled and bent my legs up, wrapping one arm around my knees as I pictured Auntie on her work computer surfing through clothing websites and picking out everything that caught her eye. "I feel bad that you are spending so much money on me though, Auntie," I admitted honestly and I could hear Auntie making a "tch" sound.

"Don't look down on your Auntie, Opal. I can afford to buy you way more than I am and it's my job to spoil you. Especially right now."

I closed my eyes for a moment and felt a small pang go through my chest. You wouldn't feel that way if you knew the truth, Auntie, I thought silently but I couldn't bring myself to form the words. Not only had Father forbidden me to tell anyone, but I feared that if Auntie knew how I had ruined her older brother's life she wouldn't love me anymore. It was selfish, but I did not want to lose my Auntie's love no matter what.

"Sweetheart, are you still there?" Auntie's gentle voice floated through the speaker of my phone and I couldn't help but smile as I tried to shove my secrets deep inside my heart.

"Yes, I am still here. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Opal. Is there anything you would like for dinner tonight?" Auntie asked kindly.

"I can cook something," I offered and Auntie scoffed.

"After spending all day on an airplane and going through multiple time zones I doubt you'll have the energy to cook. Besides, I was thinking of ordering something in since it's a special occasion," Auntie responded. I leaned my forehead against my bent knees and allowed myself to bask in the love that I could feel emanating from Auntie's voice.

"I'm fine with anything, Auntie," I said after a moment and I heard an unfamiliar voice in the background calling Auntie's name.

"Oh, I'd better go, sweetheart. Text me later if you think of anything you would like, okay? I'll see you later tonight."

We said our goodbyes and I heard the click signaling the call had been disconnected. I closed the flip phone, tucked it back into my purse, and pulled out my airplane ticket. Gently smoothing the crumpled paper in my hand, my eyes wandered to the destination listed on the ticket: Sweet Amoris.A/N Hello! So, for those of you who have not played the game My Candy Love it's basically an online otome game. However, even if you have not played it you won't be at all confused as the story progresses since I explain everything in a fair amount of background detail. Although those who have played the game will probably connect to the characters quicker :P Thanks for reading!!