About a minute after Jinhai and Zain left the apartment the doorbell rang. Evelyn picked up the kitten in her arms to walk to the door. Coffee padded along behind her. On the security system it showed Phoenix standing outside the door.
Surprised, Evelyn opened the door, she was great full that Coffee stopped next to her and didn't try to run out. Phoenix took in Evelyn with a bewildered expression.
"Come in, quickly," Evelyn said. Phoenix walked in and closed the door behind her. She took her shoes off and put on slippers.
"What are you doing here? Not that you aren't welcome," Evelyn said.
"You weren't answering your phone all day," Phoenix explained her sudden appearance.
"Did you spend the day getting a cat and a dog?" she asked.
Evelyn laughed. She headed back to the couch with Garfield and Coffee padded along. The kitten was now awake and purring in her arms.
"No I didn't. I was working all day. Coffee," Evelyn said as she petted Coffee's head to indicate the German Shepard was Coffee. "Was a gift from Jinhai," she said.
"Garfield, here is from Zain," Evelyn finished. Phoenix's face twitched at the mention of Zain. 'That's interesting,' Evelyn noted in her mind.
Phoenix reached out a hand toward Garfield. He sniffed her hand curiously but didn't make any other movements. He let Phoenix pet his head.
"He likes you," Evelyn commented. Phoenix beamed at her. Phoenix tickled Garfield and he meowed at her. Phoenix smiled.
"So, are you really okay?" Phoenix asked her. Evelyn gave her a small smile.
"I will be," Evelyn answered. Phoenix stopped playing with the kitten.
"Shawn's an asshole," Phoenix said, stating the obvious. Evelyn didn't reply. She didn't really want to talk about what happened.
"I can't believe that he did that to you," she continued to grumble. Evelyn allowed her to.
"He did say he was cheating for a year," Evelyn said. She wasn't defending him so much as stating the obvious.
"Yeah but to see it. Evelyn, he knew you were pregnant and he still-" Phoenix stopped mid sentence. She saw Evelyn's face and her expression softened.
"I'm sorry, Li Li. I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm just so mad at him. I can't forgive him for doing that to you," Phoenix said.
"I can't either," Evelyn responded. "But I can't change the past. All I can do is move forward." Phoenix looked at her best friend. She sounded so strong that Phoenix was proud. She was just worried Evelyn was just putting on a brave face.
The conversation lightened as they continued to chat.
Soon after there was another knock at the door. Jinhai and Zain were back with the bags of stuff. Evelyn went to open the door for them.
They set the stuff down by the kitchen island and when Zain straightened up his eyes landed on Phoenix's and froze.
Phoenix tensed but quickly recovered. "Hi, guys," she said.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Zain asked. Evelyn turned to her as well.
"Well, Li Li hasn't answered her phone all day," Phoenix said. Evelyn went to grab her phone.
"Sorry, I kept getting calls and texts all day. You know, the paparazzi wanted a statement, family wanting to give their condolences," Evelyn said rolling her eyes at the last part.
"I was just worried," Phoenix said. Evelyn set Garfield down and took a peek inside the bags.
"I'm fine," she reassured Phoenix with a bright smile. "Besides how can I not be? Look at these bundles of joy the guys brought me!" she finished. Phoenix smiled.
The guys spent the rest of the evening helping Evelyn set things up for her new pets.
Jinhai and Evelyn went to Evelyn's bedroom to set up Coffee's bed.
"How do you really feel?" he asked her as he placed the bed where she wanted.
"I'm fine, I just need to shower and sleep," Evelyn said. He straightened and turned to look at her. His intense eyes captured hers.
"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice stepping closer to her. Her lips tugged at the side a little.
"I know," she replied in a soft voice. "It's why you got me a dog," she said half heartedly. He smirked.
"I got you a dog to comfort you on nights that I'm not here," he said, turning serious.
"What?" she asked slightly confused.
"You want to be independent and you don't want my help. I understand that, I respect it. But last night, seeing your face when I came in here," he trailed off closing the distance so that he was right in front of her.
"I have never seen that expression on your face before. It scared me," he said. She looked up him not truly realizing how close they actually were.
"I don't know what you dreamed about, but I want to protect you from it. If you don't let me, then the only thing I can do while still respecting what you want, is to offer something that will hopefully bring you comfort," he continued. She breathed in, her eyes opening in surprise.
"Jinhai," she whispered. He took her into his arms, effectively cutting off her words. One arm wrapped around her waist and the other went across her back gripping her shoulder. He rested his head against the top of hers. Her arms wrapped around his torso after a brief moment of hesitation.
She allowed him to hold her and melted into him. She hadn't realized how much she craved a comforting touch today. She rested her cheeks against his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
Evelyn inhaled deeply. His unique scent permeated her senses. It was a scent she had almost forgotten.
Throughout their lives he often held her when she had a bad day. She would breathe in deeply just like this. His scent had always brought her a sense of comfort. She would feel safe in his arms.
Evelyn felt a piece of her heart fall back into place. For the first time in a while, she felt cherished. A part of her didn't trust this feeling. It had been so long that this feeling was foreign. Evelyn fought the want to reject this feeling that Jinhai was giving her.
Was this the same Jinhai she had known all her life? 'No,' she thought. He was so much sweeter, so much more tender with her now. He was without a doubt kind to her over the years. But not like this.
The sound of whimpering had them pulling apart. Coffee was trotting into the room. He walked right up to Evelyn and sat on his hunches. He raised a paw to rub against her leg.
She rubbed his head. "Good boy," she said. Evelyn bent down and wrapped her arm around Coffee. She missed Jinhai's soft smile and sigh of relief.
Jinhai gazed down at her with a soft expression he reserved only for her. This was the woman he had long ago vowed he would protect with his life. She was the woman that he thought of when he lied awake at night. The one he thought he had missed. 'I'm counting on you to get her,' he thought as he turned his attention to Coffee.
As if on cue, Coffee turned to Jinhai and bumped his nose against Jinhai's suit pants. He bent down next to Evelyn to give him a he'd rub.
"Hey, we're all done out here," Phoenix poked her head in. Evelyn and Jinhai straightened. They followed Phoenix as she led the way back into the living room.
"I see Garfield is already enjoying his cat tower," Evelyn said with a smile.
"Yup, he jumped on almost as soon as I took it out of the box," Zain said turning to her.
"Thank you guys. You really didn't have to, but I appreciate it," she smiled at them. They smiled back at her.
"Alright, let's get out of your hair. You've had a long day," Zain said.
"Yeah, lets go," Phoenix confirmed. They gathered their things and started to head out. Evelyn hugged each of them as they headed out the door. Jinhai was the last to leave.
"Do you want me to stay?" he asked voice only she could hear. She shook her head but smiled.
"I'll be okay, I have Coffee and Garfield tonight," she reassured him in an equally low voice. He gave her a small smile.
"Okay, call me, if you have another nightmare," he said to her.
"You need to sleep," she chided. He rolled his eyes.
"Just call me if you do. You don't have to deal with it on your own," he said. She sighed but nodded. She really hoped she wouldn't have another nightmare though.
"Promise?" he asked. He wasn't satisfied with her answer.
"Promise," she smiled brightly at him. He smiled back then turned to follow his brother and Phoenix who were waiting by the elevator for him.
After they got in she closed the door. Coffee and Garfield stood side by side as they gazed up at her.
"Well, I guess it's just you guys and me. I'm going to go shower," she told them like they would understand. They parted so she could step passed them.
Evelyn took a shower and got ready for bed. Coffee was in his little bed by hers and Garfield had hoped onto her comforter. Evelyn plugged her phone in by the nightstand then got into the bed.
Evelyn day against the headboard and took a look at the messages on her phone. There were so many of them.
All of her extended family said something along the lines of, "Everything will be okay. Out with the old in with the new" or "I hope you're okay, don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything." Evelyn rolled her eyes. These were people that almost never spoke to her unless they wanted something.
They would want her to speak at their kids school, or help donate to certain charities. Some had even asked if she could pull some strings to get them into famous schools.
Chloe's messages said, "I just saw the video, are you okay? I can't believe it." "What can I do to help you?" Evelyn clicked on the messages and typed out a response.
"Don't worry, Mei Mei. I have everything under control." She typed in then pressed send.
The next name she saw made her freeze. It was a message from Shawn.
"This doesn't change anything. You won't be getting anything from me." Evelyn's eyes blazed over. 'The nerve of this guy!'
She put her phone down fuming and flopped down into the bed. She pulled the comforter over her.
Garfield crawled over to her and rested against her side. She absentmindedly rubbed his fur and stared at the ceiling.
She couldn't believe that the Shawn she fell in love with when she was nineteen was the same guy that did this to her. She didn't know when things had changed and she no longer cared.
He hadn't loved her in a long time. He couldn't have. The video showed her that he didn't care about her. He didn't pause to think that his actions would hurt her. He knew she was pregnant and he still cheated on her.
She heard the murmurs that day in the halls.
"Did you see the time stamp?" "I did! It was last year!" "It was right before her miscarriage, I remember how devastated the President was." "I can't believe CEO Zheng is that kind of guy." "He's rich, all rich men are like that."
She bit her lip. She had checked the video again and they were right. The time stamp was the day before her second miscarriage. She was enraged that while she was going through one of the worst times of her life, he had actually been cheating the whole time.
As for the comment about all men being like that, it wasn't true. Her father wasn't like that. He had always gone to work and come straight home at the same tome everyday. When her mother, the twins, or Evelyn was sick, he worked from home. He was a devoted husband and father.
Evelyn slowly drifted off to sleep that night. She had hoped for a peaceful night, but of course she was visited with another night of dreams.