************
CHAPTER 284
Nevertheless, that did not stop him from complimenting her.
"You look beautiful by the way and sexy," Jia Huang threw his compliment.
"Thanks. You look good too."
"No need to flatter me."
"I am not. You truly are handsome in a cute way." Li Jing smiled as she issued her sincerest compliment.
"Thanks. It is unfortunate that this cuteness isn't getting me anywhere with her."
Li Jing had not expected for him to be the first person to bring up the issue. She thought she would be the one who would beat it out of him.
Instinctively she turned to the side to look at him and was shocked to see a downcast expression on his face. Even in this state, it did not reduce his handsomeness not by one meter.
Instead, it made it hard for someone to want to say no to him. "Jia Huang." Li Jing called out softly and was even more shocked to see a bitter smile on his lips.
"Do not pity me please. I know I deserve her treatment and more but no matter how I prepare myself for it, I do not get used to the hurt of her rejection."
'You can never truly prepare yourself for hurt that had to do with the heart. The pain of the heart is something else, Jia Huang."
"I guess you are right." He admitted and turned to face her. "Do you think she would ever accept me?"
"I cannot say as I am not her, Jia Huang but I can say this for a fact, Yin Lifen was really hurt by what you did."
"More like what I didn't do," Jia Huang confessed to Li Jing.
Her brows creased at his words. "Wait, what you didn't do?"
"Yes, Li Jing. What I didn't do. I failed to reveal to her the fact that I was…"
"Engaged. Yes, she did make mention of that."
That same pained smile appeared again and it touched Li Jing. "I am sorry. Those are the words I wish to relay to your friend, Li Jing. I am sorry folr all I did. I should have told her."
"Then why didn't you?"
"I was scared."
"Of what? What were you scared of, Jia Huang for you to ignore her heart like that? How can you calm you love her and still do that to her?"
"It wasn't intentional."
"Can you hear yourself?" Li Jing half yelled at him, attracting a few stress their way. "Urghh… Come." She held his hand and led him to a much more secluded place. "Okay, she doesn't want to listen to you but I am giving you the opportunity to come clean with me and tell me the truth."
"It is as it is."
"As what, Jia Huang? What were you scared of?"
"Of falling in love with her and then I cannot be with her. I never planned on falling in love. We just talked and I found myself loving the conversation and not being able to get enough. I did not guard my heart then, I admit I was at fault."
"Not an excuse."
"To you maybe it is not an excuse. But I fell in love with her quicker than I have ever loved any other person in this life. I never expected it and one thing led to the other I got too involved with her. I was going to tell her I was engaged later after our first night of conversing and we kissed but then again…"
He just couldn't speak further as a nice smile graced his lips but this time it was much more. Li Jing could see the joy in his eyes as he recalled something important.
"Each time our lips touched, I felt a spark ignite within me. It felt as though I was alive and dead again. I just wanted nothing more than to just remain with her. That was when the fear kicked in. Each minute, hour, day that passed brought me deeper in love with her."
"But it couldn't last forever. No relationship based on lies ever would."
"True. I know that now. My fear of revealing the truth to her only ruined what I held dear. I fell in love with Ava. We were one like there was never such unity."
"Never once did yopu think you were hurting someone else?" Jia Huang scrunched his brrows in confusion at her. "Never did you think you wouyld be hurting your fiancé?"
"I did, but I have never felt any love for her. What was I to do when I felt something so true for someone else? I felt complete for those days we spent knowing each other."
"You were to say the truth. You cannot call your love true if you want to lie to the one you love. You cannot have her by deceiving someone else or at the expense of someone else's sadness."
"What should I do?"
"The next right thing. Apologize."
"I have apologized to her."
"No, not Yin Lifen. Apologize to your fiancé. You broke her trust even before marriage. That is bad. I hate betrayals and so does Yin Lifen. She is so angry at you because you used her to cheat on someone else. It hurts. It hurts so much to be the second… be a mistress."
'She would never be my mistress."
"Nor can she be your wife if you do not fix your mind and choose what you want."
'It is complicated, Li Jing."
"And so is life. Settle your mind else you would lose both parties," Li Jing advised.
"I do not want to hurt my fiancé but I cannot love her and our marriage would be terrible. At the same time, my heart beats for your friend but I do not know if I can call the engagement off. This is something that involves both families."
"You need to man up and go for what you want. Duty or love? Your choice, pick/. Choose wisely. Whatever decision you make today would determine your future."
"I would…"
"I do not know what you would do neither do I care to know. All I know is that you hurt her badly and that is because she herself fell for you. I do not want to see my friend looking this way again. So please fix yourself. Settle your thoughts and do not meet her till you have chosen and decided on what you want."
"I want her. I would dissolve my engagement."
"It is easier said than done. Mind you, you can end your engagement yet Yin Lifen would not accept you. I hope you are ready to face that when it does happen?"
Yes she has asked a very tough question and she wanted to see how true he was about his love for Yin Lifen. Li Jing was shocked to see the look in his eyes change from a sad one to a determined fiery one.
"Then I would push through till she does. I do not want to give up on her."
"What I am saying is that be certain about what you want and if it is in line with what she wants. Simple. This is all the advice I can give to you."
"Thank you."
"No problem. Now shall we lighten the mood and leave?"
