Bully Lord

Part-74

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, then shifted to James with a scrutiny that made him even more self-conscious.  "You…" she began, then trailed off, a frown furrowing her brow.  "You seem… familiar."

Mili stepped forward, her voice barely a whisper.  "Mom, this is James.  James Khan.  Lilan Lily Khan's younger brother."

The woman's eyes widened again, this time with recognition.  She looked back and forth between James and the picture she'd painted in her mind, the resemblance finally clicking into place.  "Ah, yes," she said, nodding slowly.  "I see the family resemblance now.  Lilan used to talk about you all the time.  You have her eyes."

James felt a wave of conflicting emotions wash over him.  Surprise, at the connection between his sister and this formidable woman.  Apprehension, at the sudden mention of Lily and the memories that might come flooding back. And a flicker of anger, at himself for forgetting something that clearly meant a lot to Mili.

"Lily trained here?" he finally managed, his voice tight with unspoken questions.

The woman, who James now assumed was Mili's mother, nodded.  "Yes, she started her kickboxing journey right here.  Now, she's one of our instructors, though she's not around today."  She paused for a moment, her gaze softening.  "You used to come here quite often when you were younger, James.  Lily used to bring you all the time."

James' mind felt like a scrambled egg.  Lily, kickboxing?  Him, coming here as a child?  These were snippets of information that refused to fit into his current narrative.  He looked at Mili, who seemed to shrink under his confused gaze.

"We actually met here," Mili mumbled, her voice barely audible.  "The first time.  You don't remember?"

Shame burned hot in James' cheeks.  He didn't remember.  Not Mili, not this place, not any of it.  He had a feeling maybe the System had something to do with the blank spaces in his memory, but the how and why remained a mystery.

"Ah, did we? Honestly, my memory of everything is a bit fuzzy," James chuckled, scratching his cheek with a bemused expression.

Mili raised an eyebrow playfully. "Well, I guess it seems like you've forgotten about me too. Remember that first day when I said hi to you, and you ignored me like you didn't hear it?"

James's eyes widened in surprise. "What! You said hi to me? Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember that. Though, at the time, I thought you were greeting someone else," he admitted with a sheepish grin.

It made sense to him now. He couldn't quite believe that a beautiful girl he didn't know would greet him out of the blue.

Mili chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Typical. I wondered why you looked so bewildered that day."

James laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I guess I was just caught off guard. But I'm glad that the misunderstanding is cleared now`," he replied sincerely.

Mili's mother, her smile radiating warmth and understanding, squeezed their shoulders gently.  "Memories can be like puzzle pieces, James," she said in a soothing voice.  "Sometimes they take a while to fit back together.  But don't you worry, there's plenty of time.  In the meantime, why don't you both take a moment to introduce yourselves properly.  Consider it a chance to start fresh, to rewrite the beginning of your story."

James wondered what Mili's mother was talking about, but he shrugged toward her anyway.