When most young people got their first real taste of freedom and adulthood, hitting clubs and dating, Xin took over the reins of his father's company and assumed responsibility for his teenage brother. For the first time in her life, she felt involuntary respect and admiration for sin. "Are you sure we're not going in circles?" she asked after about an hour. They stopped again to rest. "I've been watching the sun and I'm pretty sure it's not."
He rubbed his knee thoughtfully. "But I'm surprised we didn't meet anyone, not even a group of vacationers." Mei watched the fading sunlight seeping through the trees, then looked back at Xin. "We're staying here again for the night, aren't we? "At this point, it's a big possibility." He frowned and ran a hand through his tousled hair. "It's going to be dark soon, and I don't want us limping through the woods then.
Mei struggled with the uneasiness that always filled her when she thought about the dark. "I'm hungry," she said, trying to change the subject. "Yes, me too. I'd love a big juicy steak, medium rare, and a baked potato smothered in sour cream." He looked at her with a touch of humour. "And I suppose if your dream meal were in front of you, it would be a lettuce leaf with a drizzle of dressing." "A lot you know," she retorted. "My dream meal would be a double cheeseburger with a side of French fries and the biggest chocolate shake in the world." She picked a dried leaf from her hair. "Why on earth would you think I'd be interested in rabbit food?" "Because whenever you and Loi came to my place for dinner, you usually didn't eat much of anything." Mei well remembered those nights when she and Loi had first been married and Xin would request their presence at dinner.
How she had hated those family gatherings! "I was always too nervous to eat," she confessed. He looked at her in surprise. You always struck me as surprisingly cool and composed." "I was a good actress," she replied, "I was a nervous wreck inside and knew that if I tried to eat I would probably throw up." She smiled at him: "Remember Big Burger down the street from your house? I used to have Loi stop by there on her way home to buy a hamburger, fries and a smoothie." She could tell he was surprised by her confession. - What made you so nervous? he asked.
She hesitated for a moment before answering. She couldn't tell him that he unsettled her with his beautiful dark eyes and shapely features. She couldn't tell him that whenever she was around him, all she could think about was how she would feel when he kissed her, loved her. At the time, she didn't even want to admit to herself how she felt.
She wouldn't tell him that her nervousness and tension around him was the result of a keen perception of him, not as a son-in-law, but as a manly, handsome man with a cold dislike in his eyes constantly reading. "You," she finally answered. Seeing his confused look, she said, "Oh come on Xin, I know how much you hate me. I knew you thought I got pregnant on purpose to lure Loy into a trap. Why did you marry him? There was genuine confusion in his eyes. "It wasn't just because I was pregnant," she said in her defence. "And I certainly had no intention of taking McCarthy's fortune, even though I knew you believed in it." She lifted her chin like a boxer waiting for a punch. "I was seventeen and I thought I loved Loy." "You and Loi were too young to know anything about love. "Try telling that to two hormone-addicted teenagers," she said dryly. In all the years of their marriage and in the years since their divorce, she and Xin had never spent any time alone together, much less discussed her marriage to his brother and subsequent divorce.
She frowned thoughtfully and mentally went back in time. "I had to belong to someone. Loi was beautiful and funny and seemed to want what I wanted. I really wanted to believe that we could build something together. Family." Wanting, wanting Xin to understand, she reached out and touched his arm. Have you ever experienced passion for something, for someone? "Right now I really want to get out of here." He stood up. "We'd better move on into what little daylight there is left." He limped away under his own power, and May hurried to catch up.
She wanted him to understand what forces had drawn them to Loi in the first place and what forces had finally torn them apart. But it was obvious that he didn't care. Looking at his broad back, she realised he hadn't answered her question. He must never have had a passion for anyone, she thought.
He always seemed to her a man who would never understand passion, love or need. He always seemed strong in his isolation, content in his solitude. What she didn't understand was why knowing him caused her strange pains.
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Only one thing in adulthood ignited Xin's passion. To his utter shame and guilt, something was his brother's wife, he wanted her, but he knew she would never comply with this desire of hers. But the reminder of that fact did not relieve the pressure that was building inside him.
And he felt that if he didn't get out of this forest quickly, if he didn't leave her, he was going to explode. The consequences of such an explosion could be devastating to his brother. , was filled with tantalizing visions of nothing else.
But what haunted him more than visions of a half-naked Mei was the vulnerability he saw in her for the first time. As we spoke he had seen the softness in her eyes and did not want to see Mei look so soft. When he said that, he saw a strange, yearning glint in her eyes. He didn't want to think of her as soft and sweet and in need of anything. "Better off at night," he finally said. I didn't want to give up, but I knew it would be reckless to stumble in the dark. Mei let out a weary sigh and fell to the floor. "We feel like we're in some kind of insane fairy tale. Our curse is to wander forever and never find our way out of this forest." I sat beside her without hesitation. "I'm sorry, Mei. I don't know how sorry I am for all this."
Her features were almost obscured by the deepening darkness. "This is the second time you have apologized and I already told you there was no need. I hope not.
Tears suddenly glistened in her blue eyes, and he saw her lower lip tremble slightly. He was surprised that she was about to cry. Certainly not. not Mei. His mind pushed away the mere thought that she might cry.
He has seen her jailbreak Loi and not shed her tears. As Loi played basketball with some buddies, he watched her in labor pains, but there were no tears in her eyes. The twinkling brilliance of her tears now touched him deeply. He watched helplessly as a single tear streamed down her cheek. "I'm sure you'll be fine, Andrew," he said, desperately trying to say something to stop the abnormal tears. I am having a great time doing Maybe she's too happy to worry about us, knowing both of us." Her eyes shone with a glimmer of hope. "I am sure," he said firmly.
He prayed that Loi actually welcomed Andrew home and that they were safe and sound. Even if it crossed their minds, they would still be wondering if we were abducted by aliens. "I'm sure you are right," she said. As on the night before, a large tree trunk acted as a backrest, and they settled down to spend the long night.
When the time came, Mei drew closer to Xin, enveloped in her warmth, her scent. I resisted the sensual onslaught, hated myself for wanting her… hated her for wanting her. He leaned his head against the tree, closed his eyes, and wondered what he had done with his life to deserve the situation.
I knew a relationship with was out of the question...the whole thing would just feel… wrong. Also, from what he knew, Loi had been planning all week to reunite the family who had lost Mei.
As usual, thoughts of Loi filled him with mixed emotions. Love and protection were a battle against vague feelings and concerns that he hadn't done enough, that he wasn't doing enough, to make Loi a mature and balanced man. Are you afraid or do you want to know?" Mei broke her silence. He wanted to tell her no, that the last thing he wanted was an invitation to a secret place in her soul.
I wanted to tell her. Even so, he couldn't suppress the curiosity that seized him. "Okay, why?" "When I was five, my parents would go out at night and let me babysit. That night, while I was sleeping, my parents had a car accident." Died of." She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I was woken up by a stranger who got me out of bed and took me to a nursing home.
When I woke up the next morning, everything I knew and loved was gone. Somehow that night, darkness and a loss that was unbelievable to me were hopelessly entwined. Despite his determination to disagree, I couldn't help but be impressed. He knew what it was like to lie in the shadow of the night, afraid of what tomorrow might come. It wasn't her. Unable to contain the impulse that drove him, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
She pressed her face against the front of his shirt, and he knew her eyes were tight against the darkness around her."I'll be safe tonight." I softly called out to the sweet scent of "Just go to sleep and get out of here tomorrow." His helpless resignation hits him, and he wonders how someone so wrong to him can feel so right in his arms. was They woke up and walked for an hour before finding a motel.