The warmth that once illuminated from his charming features was gone. His every glance and movement reflected only the hatred that had consumed his heart. In place of his once easy-going ways and light-heartedness was ruthlessness and malevolent.
Forgotten was the tenderness he once felt for the children that resided in the same orphanage his beloved mother had also resided in her youth.
Forgotten was the love he once fought so fiercely to regain.
What remained was no more an empty shell driven only by hatred.
With an agitated flicker of his fingers, the burning cigarette flew out of the car window and landed on the hard-cement ground below, joining the many others that had met the same fate. His strong masculine hand reached for the cell phone that had been angrily thrown onto the passenger side seat on his left side earlier, then forcefully he pressed onto the smooth keypad, taking out his aggravation on the small inanimate device.
"Hi, this is Char--"
The less than satisfying response of her voicemail erupted an angry groan from his throat along with incoherent swearing under his breath. But even then his anger had not subsided, with a violent jerk of his arm, the small silver object slammed into the interior of the car door where it then fell back onto it's original position on the expensive leather seat.
For almost a month, she has been avoiding him; refusing to open the door when he visited, refusing to speak to him when he called. Then this morning she went as far as requesting the security guards to forbid his entrance into the complex.
Blessed with good looks and a wealthy background, beautiful girls had surrounded him since the youthful age of sixteen but love was never more than a game to him. Ever since the loss of his mother at the tender age of seven, his heart has long been locked away, afraid of love, afraid of loss.
Only her.
Only Charlene was able to break through his harden barriers with her sincerity and innocence. In so many ways, she resembled his beloved mother, so fragile yet so resilient, unpretentious and loving.
It was during college that they met. He was goofing around with a group of friends during class when he noticed two girls sitting in the front of the lecture hall; the girl on the right was rather attractive with long wavy hair but his attention was quickly focused on the other girl. The girl was not exceptionally beautiful but had an air of innocence. Originally, only planning to play with her, he asked around for her name and initiated a chat with her on the school network. As it turned out, she was not only innocent she was also exceptionally cute. One event led to another, and eventually they met in person, beginning a memorable two weeks.
Inevitably, she requested exactly what he could not give.
Commitment.
And eventually, he lost her.
But fate brought them together again; first at the orphanage then at the wedding reception. It had taken much persuasion before she was back by his side again.
Yet, he could not recall these memories anymore. Nor, could he recall his love for her, because love had been eliminated from his being.
The second chance he had once so badly begged of became only a forsaken thought.
In the midst of his anger, a slender female dressed casually stepped out of the wide complex entrance, catching his attention. Most noticeable was the large pair of turquoise sunglasses that covered the upper half of her delicate round face. But her solemn expression was unmistakable.
His movements were as fast as lightening; in quicker than a blink of an eye, the sound of his car door slamming shut echoed into the air and quickly, he was standing before her.
"What is wrong with you? You won't open the door when I come over. You won't answer the phone when I call."
And despite all he said, she did not turn to look at him, merely continued to stare forward. When she finally spoke her voice was quiet and carried an air of resolution. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean what am I doing here? I just told you why I am here."
"Nicholas, we're over."
The few words washed over him like a bucket of cold water. Instinctively, his hand gripped onto her forearm and tugged forcefully. "What are you talking about? Over? What over?"
"We're over."
"No! We're not over, you heard me?"
Her head turned from side to side in defeat. "We should have never gotten together to begin with. Our relationship had been a mistake since the very beginning."
"It's Kenny Chung, isn't it? You're still not over him," he accused, tightening his grip.
"This has nothing to do with Kenny. This is about us," she continued, unaffected by his grasp. "I don't know you any--"
"Rubbish. It has to be Kenny Chung," he defended, refusing to listen to her, having only pride to cover his pain. "What does he have that I don't? Tell me!"
"This has nothing to do with Kenny. He deserves someone better than me. Someone that won't cause him anymore pain," she whispered. "Please just let me go."
"I'll ask you one more time. Are you certain you want to break up? Is nothing going to change your mind?"
His question was met with silent admission.
Overwhelmed by disbelief and anger, all he could do was scream, "Let me tell you something, Nicholas Tse can have any woman he wants. I don't need you."
Before the last words left his lips, his hand was already gone from her arm and his legs were quickly carrying him back to his car, missing the tears that slowly rolled down from beneath her darkly tinted sunglasses.
Revenge was what he had sought for.
In doing so, he lost her.
In doing so, he lost himself.
*
Despite being inside the inner quarters of the orphanage where the children slept, the happy laughter and screams of the children playing in the yard could still be heard. Yet, sitting motionlessly on the neatly made bed, Charlene seemed absolutely unaware of the noise. Her normally bright eyes were dim and lifeless.
It was only when a gentle young voice call to her did she awake from the darkness that surrounded her. The moment her eyes focused, a pair of bright and innocent mocha eyes was already staring at her. "Jie, jie. Jie, jie."
Timmy.
They had grown quite attached to one another in the last year.
Only with him, did the baggage of being the former wife of Hong Kong's currently most eligible bachelor and girlfriend of former socialite playboy seem to be lifted.
Only with him, was she simply Charlene Choi; a friend, a playmate, and to a certain extend, a mother.
How she had made her way to the orphanage was entirely a mystery. The entire journey eluded her. All she recalled was the earlier unpleasant confrontation with Nicholas.
Nicholas.
He had entered her life like a wild whirlwind, filling her once routine life with excitement and thrill, but as quickly as his entrance was his exit, leaving her alone to pick up the shattered pieces of her heart.
But it was a lesson she did not learn.
Two years later she once again fell for his charms. But this time, she was not the single college student rather she had already become the wife of a handsome businessman.
Perhaps, it was the need to fulfill an unfinished dream that made her abandon everything for him. Including a man that loved her like no other.
But like the first time, the dream had fallen short.
Timmy smiled and pointed at the small hardcover book on his small lap.
Jack and the beanstalk.
She could only smile weakly.
Fairytales were meant to bring young readers faith to overcome the obstacles that awaited them. They were supposed to believe that courage and determination was enough to overthrow the ugly mean giant. But what fairytales never told were the heartaches and pain that must be endured along the way.
Or maybe, it was just she never had enough faith.
"Yes, Timmy?"
"Jie jie, where's gor gor? You said gor gor would come next time?" He asked, innocently. His big brown eyes so pure and angelic.
Taken back, it took seconds before she could answer. "Gor gor is very busy. He'll come when he has time."
It was true what some said.
Ignorance was sometimes bliss.
She hoped her words would be able to spare him from pain.
To her relief, he nodded and did not probe further; instead he began to read to her from the small hardcover book, pointing at the illustrations on each page. His childish pronunciation sounded almost gibberish.
As hard as she tried to concentrate, her mind began to wander and her eyes became distant.
Kenny.
Their meeting was a blessing from the heavens. He had saved not only her body but also her heart from the harsh cold. Their marriage would have been the perfect fairytale if not for her unfaithfulness. And despite the pain and humiliation she had inflicted on him, he was still willing to forgive her, still willing to start over again.
His heart was big but hers was not.
With a squiggle of a pen, she had set him free, finalizing their divorce.
After the way she wronged him, how could she face him again? How can she look into his understanding eyes again?
But was it really guilt that forbade her from accepting him again?
Or was it pride?
Perhaps even she did not have the answer.
But one matter was certain.
Hong Kong was no longer the new home she had once anticipated; the small city had given her a lifetime of memories, some sweet and some bitter. But overall, it was filled with regrets and pain.
It was time for her to return to New York, where her parents were, where she was born and raised. Perhaps from the land she had originated, she would find a much-needed new start.
Involuntarily, her eyes turned to the small child beside her and she felt a small tug to her heart. If she left, what would become of him?
"Timmy, jie jie has something to tell you," she spoke slowly, looking into his small round face. "Jie jie has to leave Hong Kong."
"When are you coming back?" His small eyebrows rose.
"Probably never."
Her heart broke when his bright brown eyes dulled with disappointment while his little lips pursed together to fight against the gathering tears.
Instantly, she knew she couldn't leave him behind. "Would you like to come with me?"
He nodded excitedly, a bright smile automatically formed on his small round lips as he crashed into her open arms. Reminding her of the familiar feelings of love and security that she would never take for granted again.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled the young boy closer and rested her head on his.
"From now on. It'll just be us."
*
The atmosphere around the rectangular conference room table was solemn. One after one, department managers reported the progress on the various different aspects of the resort to the rest of the attendees. Among the attendees were Tony Chung, Kenny Chung, Simon Tse, Nicholas Tse, and Daniel Wu.
When the Production manager rose to speak the entire table intently with the exception of one person. Seated beside Tse International's two highest executives, Daniel's eyes traveled over to the speaker until they eventually landed on two empty seats near the head of the table.
His normally sharp eyes grew distant.
"Will you love me forever?"
"I promise you, I will not let you go until you let me go."
And let him go, she did. For riches, she abandoned him and their promise.
For that, he hated her.
He hated her more than he had ever hated anyone in his entire life and yet; he could not be without her. For at the same time, he loved her more than he had ever loved anyone in his entire life.
They were once the perfect couple. By day, they were the best of partners, part of the most successful marketing team in New York. By night, they were passionate lovers, sharing their hopes and dreams.
After the meeting ended, everyone filed out the double office doors, some in groups and some individually. A few steps behind the elder and younger Tses, Daniel followed in silence. But in truth, he had not taken liking in either father or son and was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. It would not surprise him, if they had already begun their plans to destroy Chung Enterprises without his knowledge.
Yet, the idea did not really bother him.
The three almost reached the parking lot when he noticed some files missing from his stack of folders. Quickly excusing himself from the two, he headed back to the Chung Enterprises office.
It proved to be an event that would change his life.
Only several feet away from the conference room, his steps slowed at the sound of a pair voices from inside, one male and one female. The male voice belonged to Kenny Chung but the female voice, he could not recognize. It was raspy and coarse.
He was just about to knock when a familiar name immobilized him.
Gillian.
"Kenny, is there something I don't know? How could Gillian have married Edison?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean after all the hardship she's been through to avoid the marriage? Why did Gillian suddenly changed her mind? I tried to ask her the other day but she said it just happened and wouldn't speak further. I know she's hiding something, Kenny. Tell me what happened? Gillian and I have been friends since forever. I have the right to know."
Silence ensued until he heard the sound of a deep sigh coming from the other side of the doorway. "For years, Chung Enterprises has been in debt. My father and Andy Chen originally planned Gillian and Edison's marriage years ago with the agreement that Chen Corporation would invest a large sum into Chung Enterprises but Gillian ran away, so the deal was off. We all thought the ordeal was over. But she suddenly returned."
The voice grew even quieter. "When Edison found out that she had returned, he used evidence of my father's bribery and Chung Enterprises' debt to blackmail Gillian into marrying him."
"Oh my god."
Outside the hallway, a pair of knees nearly buckled.
Blackmail.
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