Chereads / Where The Heart Takes You / Chapter 22 - The Healing Process Begins

Chapter 22 - The Healing Process Begins

Evelyn slowly turned her head around to see Jinhai behind her. She remembered everything but now that she was sober she wasn't sure why she wanted him to stay. Her head was pounding and she laid her head back down.

Jinhai didn't move and remained asleep. She slowly turned to face him.

"If I actually told you how I felt then, would you have accepted me?" His words from the night before came back to her.

She always thought that he saw her as a little sister. He had never expressed any interest toward her. If she was honest with herself it's not like she never thought about it. When they were younger she had a crush on him. She always thought he was so handsome and he was so kind to her. But he was four years older than her so it wasn't appropriate and she didn't dare hope for it.

When she had turned eighteen she thought that maybe something might happen between them. They were both adults then. But he was abroad going to completing his master's degree and helping his family run the business in America. So like a lovesick fool she followed him there.

She studied hard and became the valedictorian of her class. She applied to his school and got in.

Everytime they were together then, he still kept an appropriate distance from her. When she met Shawn she was hesitant. But when Shawn persistently chased her, she was touched by his sincerity. She chose to forget about Jinhai in that way.

Even on the night before her wedding he came to see her. They were in the gardens of Wei Manor. They had sat on the swings talking most of the night.

She remembered that he had asked her if she was happy. She was, so she told him honestly. He told her that he was happy that she found happiness.

"I haven't seen you smile like that since before your mom passed away," he had said in a gentle tone.

"Do you think she would have liked him?" Evelyn had asked. He was silent almost as if thinking about it.

"She would like how happy he makes you. As long as he takes care of you well, she would have loved him." He answered.

Even when they had parted ways that night he gave her an appropriate hug before he let her go and smiled at her.

She thought about if he told her that night, how he felt about her, if she would have accepted him. Could she have broken Shawn's heart then and called off the wedding to be with Jinhai?

No. She had loved Shawn. Even though there was a part of her that cared for Jinhai and had wanted to be with him, she would have chosen Shawn.

Her traitorous heart would have still wanted him though. She had never wronged Shawn. The moment she decided to be with him, she locked up her feelings for Jinhai. She buried them in her heart and filled it with her love for Shawn. But he would have always been her heart's deepest most secret desire.

With the way things were now she couldn't even think about it.

She was happy he was back in her life, but she's weary of it. She no longer knew what or who to trust. She fell asleep, lost in her thoughts.

When she awoke again the light was pouring into the room. She snuggled into what she thought was her pillow. It was too hard to be a pillow.

"Good morning," a deep voice rumbled underneath her. Her eyes shot open and realized her face was buried in a chest. With a gasp she shoved off of him and sat up.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"You were the one that buried your face into my chest." He replied. He had an arm under his head as he turned to her. She felt her face redden. She leapt from the bed.

He smiled, he found her reaction to be quite enjoyable. He didn't move and kept his lower half hidden under the covers. Her face twisted in anger and she went to the bathroom to wash up for the day. When she came out of the bathroom he was downstairs with an assortment of breakfast on the kitchen table.

She was wrapped in a robe and blow dried her hair. She styled it in a side part. Her hair hung down to hung down her mid back.

She checked the time, it was 9 o'clock. There was still two hours before Mingxi would arrive.

She sat down and accepted the plate of breakfast and utensils from him. She silently began eating. She looked up when he handed her a glass of orange juice. She lifted it up and raised an eyebrow.

"Mimosa?" She asked with a hint of hope. He gave her a look before he answered her.

"Orange juice." He said without humor. He wasn't happy with her want for alcohol this early in the morning.

She didn't drink it but kept looking at him, her expression unreadable. He sighed.

"I'm not giving you a mimosa, not after a night of drinking. I can get you a coffee." He said. She looked over at the counter. On it was a tray filled with the necessities for coffee.

She got up and walked over to pour herself a cup. She lifted the coffee pot.

"Do you want one?" She asked. He nodded wiping his mouth with a napkin. She poured him a cup.

"Do you still take it black?" She asked him.

"Cream and one sugar," he replied. She turned her head to look at him in shock. That was exactly how she took hers. He used to say that it wasn't real coffee and it was too sweet. He raised an eyebrow as if waiting for her question. She chose not to ask and poured the cream and put a packet of sugar in each cup before stirring it and bringing it back to the table.

He accepted a cup from her with a word of gratitude. They had their breakfast in silence. When they finished he turned to her.

"You could come work with me," he said. She furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't thinking about work right now. She debated going back to the Cheng's Global Corp. to retrieve her things in the office. She didn't leave anything of value there.

She shook her head at him.

"I'm not even thinking about that right now." She told him honestly. He gave her a sad smile.

"The offer will always be open." He said. She took a look at the wall. The clock in the room said 9:30.

"Don't you have to go to work?" She asked him. He glanced up at the clock dismissively.

"No." He said. It probably wasn't true, but as a CEO who could choose not to work today.

"Then what are you going to do today?" She asked.

"Haven't thought about it yet." He answered.

"You need to leave before Mingxi and Driver Chung gets here." She said.

"Why? Ashamed to let them know you and I shared a bed?" He teased.

"No, I just don't need my father questioning me about it." She said.

"You're an adult, why would be care?" He retorted.

"Because one, he still thinks I'm married. Two, he would care that the man I shared my bed with is Jinhai Li. He'd expect you to take responsibility for it." She said. He bit back a smile. He raised one eyebrow in question.

"Take responsibility, how?" He knew the answer, but he wanted to tease her.

"He'd expect you to marry me." She replied. He did smile then.

"I'm okay with that. In fact, I'll call him right now." He said as he reached into his pants for his phone as if he was really about to dial her father. In a panic she didn't realize he was teasing her and she shot out of her chair.

"No!" She shouted trying to grab the phone from him. He held it away from her and she leaned into him to try to reach it.

When she realized how close they were she stepped back.

"You tricked me," she said quietly. She cast her eyes down to avoid his gaze. He slowly brought his arm back down.

"Do you not want to marry me that much?" His voice was low, trying to conceal his emotions.

"Do you really want to marry me?" She threw back at him.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. He knew that what he was saying could push her away. But he took the risk. He relied on their many years of friendship that he could get away with being so brutally honest, unscathed.

"I-" she didn't know how to reply to him.

"I still need to tell him I'm getting a divorce," she said.

"Whatever happens after," she deliberately didn't finish. But he didn't pressure her. They kept the conversation light.

Around 10:30 he said good bye and went down to his car. He promised he would contact her later. They hugged good bye and she finished getting ready for the day. Mingxi and her driver were due in half an hour.