Comfort

Exhaling a deep breath, Assistant Li felt a surging headache approaching her brain. "Since when did Mrs. Wang want to sell you off? She wanted you to attend blind dates! And while I'm single, I know I'll meet someone I love in the future. I'll get married sooner or later. This is a topic you shouldn't be concerned about."

Glaring sharply at her assistant with an aggrieved look in her eyes. Jessica's forehead wrinkled horizontal lines from frustration. "So, you're saying that I don't deserve love nor a happy marriage like everyone does? You think I don't want to choose a man I fall for and have kids with him? I deserve just as many rights as everyone else does. Just because I am the daughter of the Wang family does not make me different from anyone else."

Raising her fingers one after another, Jessica began listing facts about herself. "I work for a salary. I eat and sleep every day. I have desires and dreams to fulfill for myself. I have goals in my life that I wish to achieve. What? Just because I'm a Wang, did you think everything was handed down to me like I was born with a silver spoon?"

"Is this why you helped my mother? If you guys want to go on blind dates so much and are interested in those rich families, then you guys marry those men. You can marry them yourself! But don't come bothering me about it." Jessica spoke out her thoughts all at once, making her gasp for breath.

Taken aback by her unusual response, Assistant Li parted her lips and only responded with one sentence. "I never said any of that."

"You never said any of it, but it was already implied. What is the difference?" Jessica scoffed as her chest heaved heavily up and down. She couldn't control her tears as it began streaming down like a raging storm.

"You're drunk. I'll drive you home. Come." Assistant Li extended her arm towards Jessica.

"Hell no. Did you not hear what I just said? I'll fulfill your dreams and get married tonight. That's what my mom wanted. All along, that's what she wished to see! And to prove my point that I give no fucks about a person's background, I'll marry this stranger!" Jessica refused to get off Alfred's lap.

Seeing how stubborn she was acting; Assistant Li could no longer tolerate her anymore. "Jessica Wang! You're the miss from the Wang family. How could you act this way in public? Come, we're going home."

Shoving Assistant Li's arm away, Jessica gnashed her teeth. Her cheeks were flushed and eyes were pink as if someone had punched her. "Home? You mean the home where I live like a walking corpse and fake smile to all those fake ass relatives? Or do you mean the cold palace I moved to? Either way, it's like another escape route - a dog hole I dug to escape from marriage."

"If being a Wang means to sacrifice my future, then I will rather drop my name from the family register. You can bring this message back to my mother. If this surname means such ridiculous and pointless responsibilities, then I don't need any of this. Li Yi Wei, you've been my assistant and a friend. You should understand my temper. How could you be on her side?"

She turned her head and lifted her eyes to meet Alfred's worried gaze. At this moment, the entire space around them went silent. The loud heavy metal music was still rocking the disco dance floor. Waiters were chattering from a distance, and a group of strangers were talking simultaneously. Though it was exceedingly noisy, everything in their surrounding has become mute as Jessica stared deeply into Alfred's eyes.

This time, his hand elevated in the air and reached to brush strands of hair away from her wet cheeks. Slowly, he patted her back as comfort. He whispered, "Don't cry anymore."

Somehow, his words brought warmth to her heart. He was a stranger, yet his words felt more heartwarming than her family members. Tears formed layers of protection shields and slowly melted down her face, warming her cheeks again.

Unfortunately, this comfort shattered as Assistant Li squatted down by Jessica's side. She sighed and rotated Jessica's body to face hers. "Jessica, I'm not on your mother's side. I'm not on anyone's side. I've told you countless times that you cannot continue running to bars when you feel upset over blind date matters. Even if you cry or scream your anger at me, would it help the situation? It won't. If you want to vent, you should be going to your mother."

"If what she's doing causes you to have mental breakdowns and anxiety attacks, you need to show it to her face. Or else, she won't see what you're going through and all your tears would still result in nothing. When you get drunk like this, it's your health at stake. I'm not your mom, and I can't make decisions in your place. I am only doing what my job requires me to do."

"In other words, I do not want to get up in the middle of the night to hear your drunk voice! I don't want to hear about the same repetitive words! So, stop crying to me like a crybaby when I'm only twenty percent awake! Go back home to scream the hell out of your mom to make your feisty point!"

Assistant Li flipped her hair to the side and smiled after spitting out the words she's been wanting to say. Her smile froze in the next second when she heard Isaac's voice shouting over the loud rock music.

"No need! I've been on facetime with my mom the entire time." Isaac waved his hand while everyone stared speechlessly at him. While they were crying and cat fighting, he was showing it to his mother all along.

"...Hello, Mrs. Wang," Assistant Li greeted the camera.