Epiphany

After Tobias...handled himself in the bathroom, he had fed Mimi breakfast before calling a car to drive her home. Because he had things to handle after the accident, she went home by herself, still a little dazed from what had just occurred.

The fading blush on her cheeks was reignited once again. She fanned her face and let out a breath of air. The driver stared at the girl in the back with a confused gaze but said nothing.

Arriving in front of her destination, Mimi stepped out of the car –already prepaid by Tobias and walked into the apartment complex. Pulling out her keys, she unlocks the door and enters.

With a sigh, she pads through her kitchen to grab a glass of water.

"You sure came home late."

In the process of drinking her water, Mimi suddenly broke out into a series of coughs. Slowly, she turned her head in the living room. With the curtains closed, a tall figure sat quietly in the dark.

From the sound of his voice, Mimi knew it was Shen Jue. Even as she couldn't see him, the fact he was sitting there watching her…too creepy.

"Shen Jue?"

"Yes, little one?"

"You're freaking me out."

"Am I?" He didn't seem the least bit concerned.

"How long…" Mimi quickly steeled herself for the answer. "What are you doing here?"

Shen Jue was silent. She could still feel his intense gaze on her as he just sat there.

Then, he hooked his lips, asking with a low, calm voice, "Where were you last night?"

Mimi's brows drew together in a slight frown. Why did it feel as if she was a daughter caught staying out late and Shen Jue was her father?

At this thought, she shivered. Erase, erase, erase.

Mimi snorted and walked over to the side of the room to turn on a light. "I don't see how that's any of your concern."

When she walked over to open the curtains, Shen Jue suddenly grabbed her hand. A dangerous glint instantly emerged within Mimi's previously jeering and teasing gaze.

"Let go." She demanded coldly.

"I rather like holding your hand." Shen Jue smiled.

"Well it hurts, so let go."

Instead of letting go of her arms, his grip tightened. Then, he leaned forward, and she felt his breath fan against her neck. Mimi stiffened, eyes narrowed.

"Shen Jue…" She said through gritted teeth.

"You don't smell sweet anymore. This scent on you…it's new." He said against her ear, his tone strangely soft. "I don't like it."

Mimi's brows furrowed. Why the hell was he sniffing? Was he a dog?

"Shen Jue, let go. And stop sniffing me!" She glared at him icily, trying to pull herself from his grip.

"Not until you tell me where you were last night." He smiled. His voice was all the more dangerous because it was so very quiet and polite.

Mimi suppressed her raging emotions and took in a deep breath, shoving all her violent urges to castrate the man.

"I was at Tobias's last night. Now let go." She said with no further detail.

At that moment, Shen Jue's smile faded abruptly. Mimi lifted an eyebrow and eyed him curiously. He looked at her again, his expression so closed it might as well been carved in granite.

He seemed to be thinking about something deeply.

"What is it?" Her eyes narrowed.

Shen Jue thought for a moment and said, "Was he not in an accident last night?"

A dangerous and icy glint flashed through Mimi's dark gaze. "How did you know that?"

Shen Jue stared at her a moment longer before he sighed and released her hands. Mimi quickly backed away while rubbing her wrists. Who thought with such slender looking hands, he would be so strong.

While rubbing her wrists, Mimi noticed Shen Jue suddenly pull out his phone to her.

"What are you doing?" She frowned.

"Read it." He said calmly.

Mimi stared at his phone and finally snatched it from his hands. Upon reading the first line on the phone, she froze in her spot at that moment.

[Tobias Itou Injured in Deadly Crash]

[CEO Tobias Itou Injured In Car Crash]

[Recent CEO Crash: Accident or Attempted Murder?]

Reading the last headline, Mimi's hold on the phone tightened. She didn't want to admit it, but she too suspected whether or not Tobias's accident was truly what it was. An accident.

When the car suddenly sped past the crosswalk and killed her sister, everyone had claimed it was an accident. But she knew. She knew her sister was murdered.

"Little one, calm down. You'll break my phone if you tighten your grip any further." Shen Jue grabbed his phone and pulled it out of her hand.

Mimi didn't pay any attention to his words. She stared down at the ground to take a deep breath. By the time she gradually calmed down, she had become even more fearful.

Did this mean her father was now trying to kill Tobias?

With this thought in mind, her eyes flickered. Although she tried her best not to be nervous, she could not control her body's light trembling.

If he ever did anything to Tobias...He would have to kill her!

At that moment, Mimi froze. Her heartbeat pounding faintly beneath her ribs. It was heavy, aching with contained feeling, a hard knot within the numbness.

Details of the man himself began penetrating her thoughts. The warmth in his smile. His gentle, open gaze. The way she had told him her secrets with trust and honesty, and his compassion.

The realization that she was never alone because of him, that he helped her get through it since the first time they met. Wherever she turned, he would be there for her

The truth was so clear.

He loved her, flaws and all. He did. Tobias was in love with her.

Well, shit.

Mimi couldn't hold back anymore and the corners of her lips twitched upwards in soundless laughter. Shen Jue looked at her with rapidly blinking eyes, his head tilted.

"What's the matter?" He asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Mimi looked at him, and her eyes squinted, words were filled with laughter, and she said lightly, "It's nothing."

Shen Jue's narrow eyes lowered even further.

Lost in her own thoughts, Mimi hadn't noticed the strange look in his eyes when their eyes met. At that moment, she just wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

The saying was true. There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.

Never had she thought she would feel this feeling again. Somewhere between the years, it slowly crept into her heart.

It would seem she had fallen in love with Tobias.