Jinhai stood there, motionless as every word from Huian’s mouth made sense to him.
He knew her pain and grief. In the cemetery, when Nana had told him about her past, he had seen how recalling and retelling it was badly affecting her. It felt as if she went back to the night, going through that horror all over again.
And even then, he was the one who put her through that experience again.
Jinhai should have been the one who understood her the most and who always should have protected her.
He was the first person with whom Nana had shared that incident. Nana had laid her heart bare in front of him. Her fears, her anxiousness, her reality; everything was out in front of him.
But he forced her to experience her worst fear yet again.
He didn’t want to be so weak in front of Huian, but he couldn’t control his tears.
Huian smiled. “Nana must have never imagined that you could do something like that. So tell me, will Nana forgive you? Are you ready to confront her with the truth?”
Jinhai stiffened.
How can I do that? Nana will hate me. She will be disappointed in me. She will leave me forever.
Jinhai’s heart was thudding loudly in his chest. He remembered the dream he had a few days ago, where Nana looked at him with hate and disgust. She was going farther and farther away from him.
No…I-I cannot let that happen. She cannot know anything. She loves and trusts me so much. How can I lose that?
Then he remembered that Huian had told her everything just a few minutes ago, but Nana didn’t believe her.
He felt just a little bit calm. Although the guilt was gnawing his heart, he was relieved to know that Nana would never trust Huian.
Jinhai squinted his eyes. He leaned forward and kept his hands on either side of the wheelchair handles. The corner of his lips curved into a sly smile.
“Forgive me? I will not let the situation come to that point, ex-wife. You saw for yourself that Nana didn’t believe you. And she said the same to me. So she won’t bother you anymore. She will never come to know anything.”
Huian silently clenched her fingers.
That was right. Even if Jinhai realized that he made a grave error on his part, what was the use if Nana never comes to know about it?
“And will you be able to live with that guilt?” Huian challenged him. “Will you be able to live with the fact that it was not only because of me now why Nana was hurt?”
Jinhai said nothing. He didn’t show it on the outside, but her questions stirred him. He knew he was at a more significant fault here. And even if it was wrong to hide this from Nana, he couldn’t help but fear her reaction.
Because he knew that he would truly lose himself if he lost Nana.
Jinhai turned to leave, but Huian stopped him with a question again.
“When did you come to know that I had tricked you?”
Jinhai stopped in his way. He slowly turned and silently looked at her.
Huian quietly asked. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
Jinhai chuckled. “Because that is not my style. At first, I genuinely thought that perhaps I could give this marriage a chance even if I was forced into it. That time I didn’t know.”
Huian widened her eyes. She looked at him in disbelief.
Jinhai seemed to be in a trance, apparently, lost in a memory. “But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give you that title of my wife from my heart. Then I came to know about the truth a year later when I heard you talking with Grandma one day. I was supposed to be on a business trip, but I returned a day earlier. That’s when I heard you two talking about how you fooled me.”
Huian faintly recollected that memory. She was stressed out that their marriage wasn’t heading anywhere. They were just husband and wife in name. But there was no love and intimacy. She was sharing her worries with Grandma Liu when the topic headed in that direction of the day of their marriage.
And then she remembered how she felt Jinhai’s behavior change all of a sudden. It wasn’t for a long while, but he started to avoid her. He wouldn’t even normally greet her. But then after a few days, he returned back to behave like before. So, it slipped out of her mind.
Now that she thought about it, it was indeed around the time when Jinhai had just returned from his business trip.
Jinhai smiled. “I could have confronted you at that time. I could have asked for a divorce. But since you so desperately wanted to marry me, I thought, why not make your life hell instead? You had the nerve to play games with Liu Jinhai. So I decided that I would take you to the peak of your happiness for our married life and then crash! I was just waiting for the right chance.”
Huian couldn’t believe the man who was standing in front of her right now.
So cunning and calculative…
Huian asked in a daze. “What chance did you get in our wedding anniversary?”
Jinhai raised his brow. “You don’t need to know that. This much is enough to know for now.”
He didn’t stand there any longer and left Huian.
Aa Jinhai stepped out; he finally let out a deep breath. He was trying to act all normal and indifferent in front of Huian, but only he knew what storm was brewing inside him the moment Huian pointed out the biggest flaw in his plan.
He clenched his fingers into a fist and punched on the wall, disappointed and angry at himself.
He lowered his head. A weird feeling and dread crept in his chest. He felt as if the dream would become real any day. He felt a sense of foreboding.
His lips trembled as he mumbled, “I am sorry, Nana…I failed to realize what I did. I want to ask you to forgive me, but I’m afraid…I’m afraid that you will hate me. And I can bear any pain but that…So, I am sorry. I cannot tell you the truth. Rather than knowing the truth and leaving me, I prefer to keep you in the dark and make you stay by my side. Sorry…for being so selfish.”
—
As Nana was walking towards the banquet hall in a daze, she felt a harsh push on her left shoulder. She winced in pain and stumbled a little but managed to steady herself.
“Can you not see who is walking in front of you?”
Nana heard a woman’s taunting voice. She looked at the woman and was surprised to recognize Long Yanmei. But then again, it wasn’t surprising to be in this banquet.
“Just because you turned out to be the daughter of the Liang family doesn’t mean that you walk like you own the place!” Long Yanmei was angry.
Nana already understood that Long Yanmei bumped into her on purpose, and she just wanted a reason to fight. And she had no energy to bother with her right now.
Nana ignored her and starting walking away. But Long Yanmei grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She was furious to see Nana act all haughty and arrogant.
Nana gasped in shock. She instinctively touched her belly in defense.
Nana glared at her. “Are you crazy!?”
Long Yanmei sneered. “Where were you going? Apologize to me!”
Nana harshly slapped her hand away.
“It is so obvious that you bumped into me on purpose. The corridor is so wide, but you got only this path to walk where I was? So it should be you apologizing to me, but I don’t want to bother with you.”
“You! How dare you blame me? You pushed me, and I was about to fall! If anything had happened to my child, then what would I have done? What if you had killed my child? I want you to apologize to me right now!”
Long Yanmei just wanted to see her bow in front of her. The jealousy and envy completely took over her.
Nana said, “I think the CCTV will be enough to prove who is at fault here. It will clearly show who pushed who. Should I ask big brother to fetch it and show it to your face?”
Long Yanmei froze.
If they saw that I came her way and pushed her on purpose, then I am screwed!
She bit her lip hard.
Nana snorted as her silence gave her away. With her big and heavy tummy, she was too tired even to walk now.
Long Yanmei watched her leaving in hatred. She couldn’t control her emotions and tried to push Nana from behind.
But Nana already saw her approaching from the corner of her eye. She quickly shifted at a side and rested her hand on a nearby table for support.
Long Yanmei didn’t expect that, and with how Nana suddenly moved, it made her stumble. Her feet entangled together. She tripped and fell on the floor, hitting hard on her belly.
She widened her eyes and clutched her belly as a sharp pain shot inside.
“Ahhhhh!!!!”
