Misery

Cree grasped Qiao Ruo's hand firmly to ease her nervousness as he travelled back to drop her off at the office.

"I'll be late tonight," she informed him.

He didn't let go of her hand and taunted her playfully. "I hope I can have my answer tonight."

"Brother Ye!"

She turned red as she saw Yueling headed their way, having finished lunch at the cafe downstairs. Did Yueling know Cree?

"Mei," he greeted, and to her surprise, he smiled amiably. Apart from when he was with her, Qiao Ruo had yet to witness such a genuinely happy smile from Cree. It signified the girl was no ordinary friend to Cree, contradictory to what he had told her. Cree hardly smiled when he was out with her, and the fact that he had smiled when he was not Ye Qi, made her uneasy.

Suddenly she recalled having heard that nickname before. 'Mei' was the person he had greeted over the phone when she was almost naked with him, and he had told 'Mei' that he was busy and didn't have time.

It turned out 'Mei' was such a young and pretty girl, and it made her green-eyed with envy. What if after she left the company and Cree took over, he and Yueling spent much time in the office together doing overtime work? If it reached the point where they were both bare and needy, would he have slept with her?

She flushed away her weird thoughts. She didn't want to think about the possibilities of Cree with Yueling at that moment, and dashed into the building, shielding her teary eyes with her sleeve.

Qiao Ruo bawled her eyes out. Though she acknowledged she was acting possessive about Cree, Qiao Ruo hadn't expected to be facing a rival so quickly, and a competitor that appeared to be younger and prettier than she was!

Her thoughts were disrupted abruptly by a few knocks on the door. "Who is it?" she called out.

"Ruo-jie (Sister Ruo), are you alright?"

At that juncture, Qiao Ruo had wished she could take her anger and frustrations out on the girl who was enquiring the obvious, but reminded herself that she was in her workplace and she had to behave most professionally. She calmed herself by taking a few deep breaths and counted to ten, before walking out of the toilet.

She didn't want the girl to realize she had just cried like a baby, so said she caught some bug, and was all of a sudden, feeling sick. One more week, she told herself, and she would depart this place. But why was she now reluctant to leave?

"I'll go to the employee resting room," she said. "Can you work on your own?"

......

Hours later, while everyone returned to their respective homes, Qiao Ruo was still burdened with tasks that she had set the tightest deadlines by which she had to have completed. Work was strenuous and overwhelming, and she realized she needed to take a break to preserve her sanity.

She wasn't interested in thinking what Cree was up to after she had seen him smile to Yueling and as being not in the right state of mind, she immediately switched off her phone and hailed a taxi to one of the most bustling bars downtown, the Standard Bar.

Her heart throbbed in her contemplation that Cree might have been childhood lovers with Yueling, and perhaps she had just been a companion. Although they had physical intimacy with each other, it bothered her how indifferent he was with Yueling. He had dropped his icy-cold demeanour just at the mere sight of her. She wanted to be unique to him, but with Yueling around, she just felt like an extra. She was like a film star who had lost the limelight to a rookie star. An aura of hopelessness lingered about her. She was defeated.

Like Cree, she had decided on numbing herself with alcohol to forget her pain momentarily, but as Cree had learned, it wasn't the correct thing to do. Previously, Cree had presented her with one of his supplementary cards for her usage since the credit card had a limit set and he believed she needed it to get groceries and other essentials. Tonight, she thought, she would be putting it to fair use. She would think about the consequences of her overspending later.

After the fifth glass of wine, she wanted to dance. She immediately forgot she was Cree's woman, and that she was about to start her new career at a renowned publisher. If she could run amok in the streets, she would. Her insecurities got the better of her, and she even screamed hysterically, until she sensed a strong pair of arms pulling her out of the bar.

"Xiaoqiao, you're drunk. Pull yourself together."

The voice was calming while she was an emotional mess. She was no longer sober, and in her state of disarray, she was shouting Cree's name.

"Xiaoqiao, it's me. Da Lu!"

She just fell into his arms, wrecked. Lu Hanyang had no idea where she lived, or where she could go. The only way he could think of had been to go to her boyfriend. He found her increasingly tempting with her tight and revealing attire, but he had to think of the bigger picture and do what he could to preserve his image in front of her boyfriend. He needed this man to trust him for an unexplainable reason.

Meanwhile, Cree glanced at the clock. It was already a quarter to ten, and she had not called. He presumed she was busy at work just as she had said. He dialled her number to realize her phone was still unreachable, as it was hours ago.

He realized it was not like her to be so late, but as he awaited her call, he witnessed from his security system, a strange car pull in his driveway. He hurried down the stairs and opened the door to discover what was going on. To his displeasure, he recognized the face of the man he disliked with a passion. Lu Hanyang.

Lu Hanyang smiled insidiously. It wouldn't be long before he hatched his plans, which were a secret only he knew. He would be patient and play with Cree slowly.

Evilly he said, "Mr Ye, you can take your woman back. She was creating a mess for me back at the bar. Treat her well." He had said such words to agitate Cree, and he knew it was a simple job.

Cree immediately rushed to Lu Hanyang's car and retrieved Qiao Ruo and her handbag. He was infuriated and jealous of what had happened. Instead of working overtime as he had expected her to be, she had gone with Lu Hanyang and had even come back heavily drunk and dressed sexily. He could not allow this to happen!

He shook Qiao Ruo, but she would not wake, so he deposited her on the sofa instead and returned to deal with his rival.

"Lu Hanyang, what is the meaning of this? You know she is my woman, so why have you seduced her?"

"Be mindful of your words, loser. I did nothing, but your woman threw herself at me. Soon, I will have her, and you will be her past tense."

A brawl ensued, but Lu Hanyang had the upper hand and bruised Cree in the process. Cree hadn't anticipated his opponent to have such a strong fighter. His skills were well over Cree's, albeit that Cree had a black belt in karate.

"Next time, take care of your woman. You don't have an idea of how many days you have before she leaves you. Mark my words."

Lu Hanyang's words echoed in his mind as the car vanished into the distance. He looked painfully at the drunken woman in his arms. She had thrown upon her dress a few times, and he had changed her clothes without further thought. The reality that she had been with another man tormented him. Instead of placing her in his bed, this time Cree put her in her bed in the guest room and cleaned her face and hands thoroughly using a wet towel. Then he promptly left the room.

He wanted her so much, but why had she done this to hurt him? He thought. What did Lu Hanyang have that he didn't?

Cree couldn't find the answer to his questions. It felt like she had taken a knife and sliced open his heart. It had been the first time he had romantically loved a woman, and yet, she was killing him with her actions that night. He didn't know what to do or what to think.

He returned to his room and opened a hidden drawer of which only he knew its physical location. A secret password combination was required to open the personal box in the drawer, and he withdrew a diary from the pack. The journal contained all his feelings and emotions since he was a child.

Dear Diary,

Today, she hurt me. She saw someone else. I don't know what to do. Please tell me what I can do to continue with the relationship.

Does she love me at all?

He lay down and pulled the duvet blanket around his head. Love was challenging, and the agony of her betrayal, as he perceived it to be, was consuming him within. When he woke up the next day, would he still remember all this misery?