The Unfilial Daughter - Chapter 8

"Edison Chen!"

He looked up from his desk to see Kenny Chung barging into his office while his secretary trailed powerlessly behind him.

"Mr. Chen, he..."

Nonchalantly, he gestured his left hand to dismiss her presence. "What do you want?"

"Why are you doing this? Is it revenge you're after?" This 'visitor' demanded.

It didn"t take a genius to know what his 'visitor' was referring to.

"And what if it is?" he challenged. He didn't appreciate threats. No one had gotten away with threatening him without having to pay a price. But for 'her', he was willing to make an exception.

"Let Gillian go!"

"Is that what she wants?"

"There's no way she wants to be with a cold-hearted beast like you!" He watched as the other man pointed at him angrily but he was not the least bit afraid.

"Is that so?" he finished in time to answer his ringing cell phone. A smirk donned on his face as he handed the phone to his 'visitor.'

Moments later, Kenny threw the phone onto his desk, giving him another threatening glare before he stomped out of the room.

"So what's this favor you want from me?" he asked after placing the phone by his face.

*

Pacing by the harbor, his hair was disheveled and his shirt all wrinkled. His heart hammered rapidly as he wait for her appearance, checking his watch every few seconds. She had called him and told her to meet her here at 2 PM, it was already 2:38 PM and she was nowhere to be seen.

From a distance he finally caught sight of her slender frame, but she was not alone.

With each step they took, he watched as the distance decrease between them, all the while his heart twisted in agony.

Why did she bring him with her?

"Gillian," he called but she did not rush into his arms like he hoped, she merely looked at him. He did not know how to interpret her expression until she slipped her arm into the arm of the man beside her.

"This is Daniel Wu," she began the introductions, "and this is Edison Chen, my fiance."

He stared at her disbelievingly. "Why?"

"Daniel, we're over. I love Edison now. I hope you can go on as I have," she said. Her face no longer glowed lovingly as he was used to seeing.

"That's not true. I don't believe you. You love me," he pleaded, trying unsuccessfully to grab hold of her shoulders as "her new love" blocked his way.

"Daniel, get a hold of yourself. We're over," she screamed.

"Why?" Millions of questions occupied his mind but he could only utter a single word.

"Edison is rich and he loves me!"

"Money? You never cared about money!"

"Who doesn't care for money? My only regret is realizing it so late," she said, shattering the remains of his heart before she turn and walked away with "her new love" trailing behind her, leaving him on the verge of collapsing.

Money?

Was that what she truly cared about?

*

They sat in silence during the entire ride but curiosity got the best of him. "I have to say," he began, taking a closer look at her after they reached the metal gates of her home, "you surprised me. Is that how you treat the man that you love?"

He didn't doubt her love for her former fiance�.

Not even for a second.

She didn't wait for him to open the car door for her; she just slipped out and headed towards the entrance. He thought she wasn't going to answer his question but suddenly without turning he heard her voice.

"It's easier to let go of a person you hate than a person you love. But someone like you will never understand. Just remember your promise." Her voice eluded of any emotion.

"I always keep my word."

He always did.

*

Their kisses were passionate. His touch was intoxicating. Her mind twirled from their lovemaking.

"I'm not a good man."

"I don't care."

"I can't make you any promises."

"I don't care. I will wait everyday until you come. I won't give up."

So innocent.

So naive.

Keeping her promise, she did wait everyday. She waited so many days that she practically lost count but he never came. Shivering from the freezing cold by the metal rails at the seaport, it was an unknown stranger that shed his outer coat and offered it to her.

Her heart died that day.

"Charlene, are you alright?" she heard her husband's voice call from behind as he felt his arms embracing her from behind and neck resting on her shoulder as she continued to stare out the balcony.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about how we met," she replied.

"You were so silly. I can't believe you were standing at the seaport for hours in the freezing cold," his warm breath brushed against her cheeks.

"Yeah, but you were there to save me."

"Tomorrow is Saturday, you're going to the orphanage, right? I'll go with you. I haven't spent much time with you lately," her husband suggested.

"Don't you have to go back to the office tomorrow?" surprised by her husband's suggestion.

"I worked practically everyday the last few years and Chung Enterprises is still no better than before," he sighed, "seeing how Gillian and Daniel are, I want to spent more time with you. We're very lucky compared to them."

Lucky, indeed.

*

A delicious aroma penetrated his nostrils the moment he stepped through the door. A quick glance around his living room, unlike this morning, everything had resumed an orderly position.

"Aunt Nancy," he called, thinking that his nanny was over but the voice that answered was obviously a lot younger.

"E..Ed, I..I'm in your room."

Leaving his briefcase and jacket on the couch, he made his way to his bedroom in time to see his sister folding his laundry.

"Karena," he greeted his older sister. In a loose light blue sweater and jeans, no one would have guessed she was the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Hong Kong but he knew that was the way she preferred it.

There was a heavy price tag that came with being born into a prominent family.

"Au..Aunt Nancy was bu..busy today so I came inn..instead," she smiled. Her smile was not of pretentiousness. Her smile was from the heart and had always brought him warmth; sometimes she almost seemed too angelic to be human.

It was not due to any physical inadequacies that his sister stuttered rather the problem was mental. Years of being put down by her parents for not being able to meet their impossible expectations had affected her self-esteem and eventually affected her speech.

His anger against his parents would flare whenever he was reminded of how they mistreated his sister. They had not shown much tolerance towards him either, but fortunately for him, his sister always came to his rescue each time he ignited his parents' fury.

His father was a ruthless businessman that ruled with an iron fist, his own household was not excluded. His mother was usually too preoccupied with clothing and jewelry to notice or care. Their only comfort came from their nanny.

He could still recall, running to his sister at the tender age of three once when he had accidentally knocked over an expensive vase in the living room. His father came after him with a belt, wanting to teach him a lesson and his sister used her own small body to block the blow for him. Afterwards that night, his sister ran a high fever, their nanny stayed by her side while their parents slept peacefully in their own rooms.

"You really don't have to, another day or week of this won't kill me," he joked, waving his hands to display his surroundings.

"Ye..Yess, soon you will have a wife looking after you," he knew from her eyes that there were hidden meanings behind her words.

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Ar..Are you sure you..you.. want to go through with this marriage? I don..don't believe you're do..doing all this just because she..she humiliated you..six years ago," her concern eyes never left his face.

"Yes and it is," he said, his expression changing from a smile to unreadable.

Was he really marrying her because of revenge?

"Don't...Don't turn into Father."