The plastic surgeon pushed his glasses up his nose and said to Mark, emotionlessly, "Mr. Mark, I
believe Miss Tina is still suffering from mental illness. While I am not the right person to help with her
mental treatment, I'm sure that you can find other experts who can help her."
Mark's parents also tried to remind him, but the surgeon beat them to the punch. Everyone noticed that
Tina wasn't mentally stable. She experienced episodes of uncontrollable tearfulness, euphoria and
temper tantrums all in one day. Her mood swings had become erratic, and her emotions uncontrollable,
which in essence was a mental disability.
Mark was aware of the truth too, but he didn't want anybody else to judge his sister. "Shut up. That's
none of your business. Just do what I've paid you to do," he said.
The surgeon shrugged his shoulders, and rubbed his hand against the back of his neck.
Indeed, it was not his business at all. All he needed to do was to follow their orders.
By the time, Bess and Abbott tried to contribute to the conversation, Mark had already left the room for
Tina.
Soon the surgeon followed Mark's lead. Before he stood up to leave, he looked at Bess and Abbott and
said, "Miss Tina is not feeling well today. I will come again some other time."
There was a beautiful garden behind their house. Even in the coldest winters, the flowers would bloom
as if it were spring.
However, the garden was now used to raise rabbits, a great number of white rabbits.
When Tina was in the mood, she would kill two rabbits at time. But when was angry, she would kill at
least five rabbits. Satisfying her need for instant gratification, had led her to get addicted to the
mindless killing.
The rabbits raised in the garden did not live long enough, but the Tao clan would always buy more new
rabbits to replace the dead ones. Tina was very particular about the kind of rabbits she wanted. They
all had to be white and they had to be cheap. If they brought her an expensive breed of rabbit, Tina
would throw wild temper tantrums.
In Tina's perspective, Emily was like a cheap rabbit. Buying well-bred rabbits at higher prices would
raise Emily's status, which she could never allow.
Tina hated Emily so much that her hatred had become an essential part of her life. It became the part
that kept her going.
Today, Tina was obviously very upset. She needed to satiate her bloodlust, so as usual she went to the
garden to kill a few rabbits.
"Emily", she used to call them. Tina picked up a fat rabbit, which closely resembled a snowball, by the
scruff. Displeased by its appearance, she complained, "How come this one's so fat? Never feed the
rabbit with so much fodder!"
The maid who was in charge of feeding the rabbit was terrified by Tina's expression. Trembling in fear,
she lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry, Miss Tina."
When Tina squatted down, the maid immediately pulled out a low, cushioned seat and placed it under
her. She stepped aside to face Tina, and found her petting the rabbit gently in her arms.
Turning the injured part of her face to the other side, Tina sat next to the maid gracefully. From the
maid's point of view, Tina's face was as beautiful and radiant as a painting.
Although Tina had a calm disposition, everyone around her was freaking out inwardly. One moment
she was petting the rabbit and in the next, she stabbed it in the gut and drove the blade upwards,
disemboweling it.
With a murderous smile on her face, she licked the blood spattered on her lips like a satisfied predator.
There was nothing more creepy than a person with emotions that didn't match the situation. Tina was
the perfect example of such a person.
Although, the maid had witnessed Tina's gruesome exploits many times, she still could not get used to
it. Needless to say, Tina's mental instability was a growing concern for the people around her.
Tina wiped the blood off her face with a silk handkerchief, and suddenly turned to face the maid. "Why
are you staring at me?" she asked.
Startled, the maid quickly withdrew her gaze and stammered, "Nothing. It's nothing..."
However, since Tina was feeling extra murderous today, she persisted on hounding the maid. Although
blood was still dripping from her hands, she put the carcass on the ground and got up. Tina's bloodshot
eyes twitched erratically, and with a perpetual grin on her face, she approached the maid, one small
step at a time.
Tina's presence drained her spirit, seemingly absorbing it for her own selfish self. The maid staggered
backwards, and she begged for mercy, "Miss Tina...no..."
Tina carefully looked at her face, and said, "You have a very pretty face." However, it took only a few
long strides for Tina to draw close to the maid. With piercing, black eyes, Tina glared at her like a wolf
would observe its prey.
Ever since Tina's face was disfigured, all the young and pretty faced maids were prohibited from
working for the Tao family. The ones that remained, were either old or unattractive. However, the maid
in charge of breeding the rabbits must have missed the memo.
This unfortunate maid, somehow managed to steer clear of Tina's path for a long time. As a result, Tina
had never noticed her before, until today.
A cold shiver ran down the maid's spine, and she could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest.
She watched the blood-soaked knife in Tina's hand glimmering ominously in the pale moonlight,
moving closer and closer to her face. "What... are you doing? Miss... Ahh!" she screamed in agony.
The echoes of her painful cries reverberated through the garden, sending rabbits scurrying for cover.
The maid fell to the floor, clutching her bleeding face, and writhing agonizingly in a pool of her own
blood. Thick and sluggish blood dripped through her fingers, from the lacerations across her face.
"Ah! Why would you do that to me? Why?" the maid cried out. The burning sensation on her face
almost drove the maid mad! What did she do to deserve such treatment?
Tina looked at her, condescendingly, with pure ecstasy on both corners of her lips. "What a pity! We will
not see such your beautiful face ever again," Tina taunted.
"You crazy, ugly bitch! I am going to kill you!" the maid snapped and threatened Tina. Unexpectedly, the
maid hobbled to her feet and pounced on Tina, reaching for her throat!
Before the maid could lay her hands on Tina, a strong force seized and hurled her away from behind.
A spasm of pain contorted Tina's face. But more than the shock or the pain, it was the maid's words
that had caused her face to distort with grief!
'Damn that woman, ' Tina mused in shock.
"Tina, are you all right? Did you get hurt anywhere?" asked Mark. In a state of agitation, Mark looked at
Tina with concern, nervously checking if she had incurred any injuries.
Lacking the propensity to show gratitude, Tina retorted, "What's it to you?"
Mark was still fretting about her injuries, as he checked all over her body over and over again. When he
finally realized that Tina was unharmed, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. "I'm glad you are safe," he
said.
Mark narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze towards the bleeding maid. His eyes were so cold, as if
the sky that purloined over him would be smothered with darkening clouds, hiding away any signs of
hope. "Take her away!" he commanded.
The maid shrieked like a wounded animal, wailing her heart out, as Mark's assistant dragged her away
by her hair.
Having lost her patience and temper, Tina shook Mark's hand off and said, "You too! Get the hell away
from me! Why do you care about a ugly monster like me?" Anger flared up inside Tina and she seethed
at the Mark's affection for her.
"Who said you were an ugly monster? I will rip her tongue out with my own hands," he said. Mark
pulled her to his arms, and coaxed her gently in a tender voice, "Don't be angry. Those lowly servants
are not worthy of your anger."
"Don't be angry? Is that all you can say?" she complained. Tina's temper had simmered down, and she
did not try to struggled out of Mark's arms. However, Mark had picked up a faint taste of coquetry from
Tina's demeanor.
Mark knew more about her than he knew about himself. He could tell what she wanted to do just by
looking into her eyes. How could he not know what she was up to?
"Behave yourself," he said to her. Mark sighed, feeling helpless. He didn't know what to do with the
woman in his arms. "That thing that you crave so much, is not good for your body," he said.
"Not good for my body?" Tina sneered. "I don't care whether it's good for my body or not. At least it can
give me happiness. The kind of happiness, even you can't give me. What is the point of living if you
can't enjoy yourself every once in a while?
Brother, just live life and enjoy," she said. Tina winked at Mark, like a depraved, yet blossoming flower;
gorgeous and deadly, stimulating Mark's senses.
Mark could never resist her temptation. Once again, his heart had failed him.
"Not good for my body?" Tina sneered. "I don't care whether it's good for my body or not. At least it can
give me happiness. The kind of happiness, even you can't give me. What is the point of living if you
can't enjoy yourself every once in a while?
Brother, just live life and enjoy," she said. Tina winked at Mark, like a depraved, yet blossoming flower;
gorgeous and deadly, stimulating Mark's senses.
Mark could never resist her temptation. Once again, his heart had failed him.
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