Evelyn and Jinhai went back to the car and headed back to Evelyn's house. Jinhai had one hand on the steering wheel and the other held her hand on her lap.
Neither of them wanted to let the other one go. Evelyn's mind was still on the lanterns and the symbolic gesture of it. She felt like she could breathe easier tonight.
"I forgive you," she said to him. He was on the highway and he turned to look at her. He didn't swerve but she panicked.
"The road!" she exclaimed. He turned his eyes back but his hand tightened on hers.
"You don't have to say that," he said. 'Isn't that what he wanted though?' she thought.
She did forgive him. Did he think she didn't? "I mean it," she said. She squeezed his hand.
"Why?" he asked. She could tell that he was genuinely curious.
"Well, I'll probably always be sad that you weren't there for the passed five years. But I understand it. And even though you weren't, you're here now," she tried to explain. He didn't say anything but glanced at her before returning his focus on the road.
"Somehow, even without having contact with me for these five years, you still know me better than anyone else," she said. "You know exactly what I need even without me telling you," she looked at him. He stopped at a red light and he turned his head.
He met her eyes and he smiled. She smiled back at him.
"You're letting me off too easy, Xiaoli," he said. She smiled at his use of her Chinese name. "If it were me, you'd let me off the hook. Wouldn't you?" she asked. The light turned green and he drove. He looked like he was contemplating it. "Yes, I would," he murmured.
When they got back, they held hands all the way back to her apartment. When they got inside they were ambushed by Coffee and Garfield.
"Did we forget to feed them?" Jinhai asked. "No, there's still food in their bowls," Evelyn answered.
She bent down to pick up Garfield. Garfield licked her face and she smiled.
"I think they missed company," Evelyn said. Jinhai smiled. "Maybe," he said.
"Well Garfield is still a baby. He still needs lots of love and attention, don't you?" She nuzzled Garfield.
She sent Jinhai off to shower so that she could spend time with them. When he got back she went to take a shower.
Evelyn took a quick shower, then blow dried her hair and did her skincare routine. He joined her in her bedroom.
They brushed their teeth together in her bathroom. Evelyn felt happy. She couldn't remember the last time she actually felt this way. She didn't understand why.
Jinhai watched her as he brushed his teeth. She looked more peaceful. He felt relieved.
They climbed into bed together and she immediately lay against his side. She had a palm flattened against his chest.
She felt exhausted, she had such an emotional night. She closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat.
He put a finger under her chin and brought her face up to his. He gave her a soft kiss that she responded to.
She opened her eyes slowly to look at him. His eyes were serious as he watched her. She thought back to her conversation with Chloe. So what if it was too early? This was Jinhai, her Jinhai.
"Jinhai, we- I- we," she tried to say. He put a finger against her lips.
"Shh, there's no need to say anything tonight," he said as he lowered his finger. Somehow hearing this strengthened her resolve.
"But I want to say it," she said. He looked at her but remained silent.
"It should be too soon to feel this way, but I want to be with you," she said. He held very still. "We lost all this time and I don't want to waste anymore," she held her breath. She waited for him to say something but he said nothing for almost a full minute.
Evelyn moved and her hair fell across her face. He gently tucked it behind her ear.
"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded, "Yes, I'm sure," she answered. He searched her eyes as if he was looking for any sort of hesitation. "I want to be with you too," he said in a soft but decisive voice. A slow smile spread across her lips. The hand that was by her hair cupped her face and kissed her again.
It was soft and yet it felt like he was claiming her. It scared and thrilled her. He put one hand beneath her head and shifted her until half his body covered hers. She lifted a hand to stroke his face.
They stayed like that for a while, barely coming up for air. When he finally pulled away and released her, they were both breathing hard.
She sat up and and she brought her arms around him. He hugged her to him tightly.
"Good night, Xiaoli," he said when he pulled back.
"Good night, Genie," she said with a smile. 'Genie,' was what she called when they were younger.
When she was young she had difficulty pronouncing his name. But she could say 'genie' and that kind of stuck with her. He had reacted indignantly about it she thought it was funny.
She hadn't called him that since she was a child. He didn't seem to mind tonight. He was almost happy that she did.
She giggled against him. Just like she always did when she called him that. This time instead of getting annoyed, he smiled her.
"You always hated when I called you 'Genie,'" she said. She propped up on an elbow and looked down at him. "Why don't you seem upset tonight?" she asked.
"Because right now, it sounds a lot like 'Honey,' he answered.
"Honey," she repeated. "I like that better," she said with a smile.
"Good night, Honey," she said. He tugged her down to kiss her again.
"Good night, my love," he answered. Her smile faltered slightly from the shock of his term of endearment. But she bent down to kiss him again then rested her head against him. He held her tightly and soon he felt her breathing slow.
He fell asleep soon too. For the first time he relaxed and he fell asleep with a smile on his lips.
For the first time in a while Evelyn slept peacefully. Maybe it was the fact that Jinhai was there or because she had begun to feel forgiveness for herself.
She woke up before he did and she propped herself up on one elbow to look down at him.
He looked so peaceful, his lips slightly parted. He breathed deep steady breaths. Evelyn gently reached out a hand and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
Evelyn used a fingertip to gently stroke his face. She couldn't help herself, she smiled.
She slowly got up to brush her teeth. She was putting on her sporty clothes when his voice nearly made her jump.
"Where are you going?" he asked. Evelyn froze then stepped out of the bathroom.
"I was going to take Coffee for a walk," She answered. He yawned and rubbed a hand down his face.
"I'll go with you," he said. He sat up and waited a second before he tossed the blankets to the side and stood up.
Evelyn couldn't help herself as her eyes roamed his body before settling on the tent in the front of his pants. From what she could tell it was rather impressive.
She felt herself blush and turned from him. She felt him come up behind him and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Jinhai," she said uncertainly. "It was Honey, last night," he whispered against her ear. She shivered against him, and she felt herself become aroused at his proximity.
"Honey," she breathed out. He gently bit down on her earlobe and her knees nearly buckled. He put some space between them.
"Finish getting ready," he said then left her in a state of arousal as he crossed her room and went into the bathroom.
The door clicked shut and Evelyn released a breath. It was half in frustration and half in relief.
He had absolutely never done that before. It thrilled her. She rushed out of the room. She didn't want to be there when he came back.
She went to the kitchen and put on pot of coffee. Coffee had prodded his way over to her and licked at her ankles. She bent down and rubbed his head.
She had poured coffee into two mugs and was sipping on hers when Jinhai came to join her. He accepted his mug and chugged it down.
"Thirsty?" she asked. "No, I just like coffee," he answered. Between them Coffee barked and they smiled.
"Why did you think it was a good idea to name him that?" she asked. She refrained from using her dog's name.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he said. She shook her head but drank her coffee.
When they finished she grabbed two bottles of water and put it in her backpack and put Coffee on his leash.
He took the leash from her and they headed out the door together. They waved at the guy at the front desk.
Evelyn didn't see Jinhai's slight glare at him. He didn't forget how he had made him wait. The guy slightly cowered, no doubt realizing who he had offended.
In one hand Jinhai held the leash and in the other he held Evelyn's hand. She smiled at nothing in particular as they set off at a leisures pace. Coffee was happily wagging his tail as he trotted along next time them.
It was cooler this morning as there were clouds in the sky. The sky was almost a cotton white, barely any light slipped through. The wind was mild and it blew her hair in every direction.
Evelyn didn't mind though, she actually enjoyed when the weather was like this. It felt almost peaceful. Evelyn remembered walking Cherry Blossom with her mom and how bittersweet it was to walk her after her mom passed.
Back then, neither her father nor her siblings did the task. It was always Evelyn or one of the servants.
After she had married she proposed the idea of getting a puppy with Shawn but he hadn't agreed. He had said that it would be too much work because of their careers. Evelyn realized then, she actually had no idea how Jinhai had spent these few years.
"Jinhai?" Evelyn asked tentatively. "Hm?" Jinhai answered almost absentmindedly. Evelyn bit her lip, the way she always did when she was hesitant.
"How did you spend the passed five years?" she asked. His fingers tightened then loosened around her hand flexed at her question. "What do you mean?" he responded.
"I mean, what did you do? How did you spend your time?" she clarified. He pursed his lips for a second before responding to her.
"I worked, there are a lot of things to do in the Vice President position as I'm sure you know. When I became the President there were an abundance more," he answered.
"But what did you do for fun?" she pressed. "I didn't really do anything for fun. Most of my days were spent either working or sleeping," he replied almost too casually.
Evelyn stopped and she felt profoundly sad at that. He stopped walking when she did. He turned to her with a curious expression. He observed her pout for a second and then sighed.
"I developed hobbies. I worked out more and cooked," he said. Evelyn didn't responded. She searched his face, she felt as if he didn't tell her everything. "I learned to play the piano," he murmured.
This caught Evelyn's attention. "What? You never liked the piano before," Evelyn said. He smiled.
"No, I didn't. But you do," he said.
"Are you saying you learned for-," before she finished her sentence she felt a bone chill. It was one she was familiar with. She body went on high alert.
He understood and pressed a button on his phone. It would alert his team of bodyguards that were never far behind. His eyes scanned the scene behind her as she did behind him.
Coffee began to bark fiercely. That was all the warning they received before Evelyn felt a searing pain pierce through her left side. She would have crashed if not for the Jinhai. He pulled her to his chest and began shouting.
That was all she remembered before the world went dark and silent.