Chapter 45: Why now?

She read it again and again. Again and again. And finally, she dropped the letter. She started trembling. Her knees gave away. She fell down.

Panic, fear, dread, horror. She felt every single emotion that could describe any of these feelings.

She had only one secret in her life. She tried to hide it. She tried to forget it. But it came to haunt her.

W-w-who? Who knows it? Who is this person? How does he know? It is not possible!

She agitatedly paced in her room for half an hour.

Then she tried to calm down.

No no. This must be a prank. This is a joke. Yes yes. She wiped her continuously trickling sweat.

She tried to find any name card on it but there was not any.

See! It’s a joke. The person doesn’t want to get yelled at, so he didn’t write his name.

She shredded the letter in pieces and threw it away. She threw the gift box too.

She again tried to calm down a little and after some time she managed to convince herself that it was a silly joke. She relaxed a bit. She freshened up and went for breakfast.

Outside at the breakfast table, Father and Mother Liu were already there.

“Good morning Huian.”, Liu Chunhua said.

But she didn’t give any response. She was still in a daze.

“Huian? Huian?”

She snapped out of it.

“Y-yes?”

“I’m calling you since a while ago but you were lost somewhere. It’s like you are here but your mind is not. What happened?”

“A-ah? Nothing nothing! It’s just…I am still a little tired. So kind of out of sorts.”

“Oh yes yes. Last night everything wrapped up so late. You must still be sleepy and tired.”

Liu Hai noticed her fidgeting a little. He raised his eyebrows.

“Are you okay? You are being shaky. Is it a fever?”, he asked.

“Is that so? Oh dear. Let me check.”

“No. No. I’m fine. Really.”, she reassured.

Liu Hai said, “…Or maybe you are scared of something?”

Huian stiffened.

She laughed nervously and said, “W-what? Scared? Oh! That’s it. I woke up and didn’t find Jinhai so I got a little scared. Last night I had a bad dream and when Jinhai was not there, I panicked a little. But it’s okay now. I got his note. He just went for an early meeting.”

Liu Chunhua was concerned. “That’s not very good. Yesterday was your anniversary, such a special day and you had a bad dream.”

Liu Hai said, “…I see. Oh yes! Did you open all your gifts?”

The chopsticks she was holding suddenly fell down and clattered against her plate.

Her face paled.

She slowly raised her head to face him. But he was just smiling. It didn’t seem like he asked on purpose.

No no. How can Dad know about that? It’s impossible. I’m now getting worried too much.

“Why did the chopsticks slip? Are you sure it’s not a fever? Maybe we should really get you checked.”, Liu Chunhua said.

“There is no need mom. And no dad. Not all gifts. There are so many.”

She looked down and immediately started eating.

A dark glint passed by Liu Hai’s eyes.

—

“And then?”

Suyin continued, “Then…she said how I’m not the right girl for you. She does not approve of our relationship. So she said..she said that if I want to stay with you, you will not be a part of the Chen family anymore.”

She started sobbing.

“She would disown you from the Chen family and cut off all relations with you.”

Jianyu widened his eyes. W-what? Did mom tell her that? I knew mom did not like her but this…No. Mom cannot do this.

“I think mom must have meant something else. There is some misunderstanding. I will ask mom about it.”

Suyin panicked. No! He cannot clear these things with her.

She cried, “This is what she said. What is there to misunderstand? Now you tell me. How can I be so selfish to see you getting disowned? And because of me. You are the only son. The only heir of the Chen family. How can I make you sacrifice your family and your rightful business just to be in a relationship with me? You are the sole owner. You have to carry the legacy. I couldn’t break you apart from your family.”

Jianyu had no words. He was stumped. So did she leave because she had no choice? Did she leave me..for me?

Suyin didn’t want to give any time to think. “What would you have done in place of me? If my parents would have put this condition in front of you? You know how much I love my family too just how you love yours.”

She smiled and said, “And I know you. Very well. You would have also taken the same decision. So, I had to leave you. And do you think I was happy in these two years? Not even one day had gone by when I didn’t think about you. I just buried myself in my work. I was so depressed.”

She started crying.

Jianyu’s heart ached.

Was she also suffering the whole time? Just like me? Did I never understand her love for me? I was selfishly thinking only about my pain the whole time. How can I be so cruel?

“Why are you telling me this now?”