Amber knew if she didn't say something now, she might get no chance in the future. She said bluntly, "I actually liked you, but you took over my life. For years. Without asking me. I'm pissed at you for that."
She was a woman with a soft heart. Colman was kind to her when he wasn't being a control freak. What woman wouldn't be moved by that? She could tell he was sincere from the way he treated her. It wasn't just because he had money. He used money as a tool, and that didn't factor into her decision.
He was earnest and really cared about her. If she needed help, he would show up in person. That was sweet.
On her birthday, he kissed her in front of her boyfriend. That was when she figured out she had feelings for him.
He knew Amber was angry at him. He leaned against a tree and smiled bitterly.
"I hadn't broken up with Leon yet, but you just pulled me away from him like that. You forced me to betray him. I broke up with him because of you, but you didn't even let me say goodbye. What's up with that? You ever think about Leon's feelings? His best friend betrayed him. His girlfriend did the same. How do you think he feels about that? You're a selfish guy, Colman Huo."
'I'm selfish?' Colman took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, put one in his mouth, took out the lighter and was ready to hit the striker.
Amber walked over and stood in front of him. She raised her head and looked at him angrily. "Can I bum one off you?
Let's smoke together." He wasn't really attracted to women who smoked, so he tucked the one in his mouth in his pocket, and quietly put the pack away.
"You never ask me what I want. You only give me what you think is good for me. That's not right." She knew it was his way of being good to her, but she didn't feel he respected her at all.
She finally found the chance to pour out her feelings, pick out any inconsistencies, and lay bare her thoughts for the past few years. She didn't worry about what he thought. He needed to hear it.
Colman just listened quietly. He didn't say anything, even if there were misunderstandings.
An hour later, she said her piece and was tired, and finally stopped talking. It was emotionally draining to do this.
"Thirsty?" Colman asked with a smile.
In fact, she was thirsty. After all, she had been speaking for an hour now. Her mouth felt like the ground in the desert. But she was still angry and said impatiently, "I'm not thirsty!"
"I think you are!" he said.
"I said I'm not thirsty! Mmmph!" In a single quick movement, she was encircled in his arms, and he kissed her passionately.
Then, Amber left to catch her flight. She went abroad for further study.
At first, Colman thought he would just give up on Amber. Even she thought things would fall apart right here.
However, three months later
At a university in Columbia
After class, Amber bid goodbye to her friends and started home.
It was a small two-bedroom apartment that Coleman bought for her. He figured she'd need it when she was away at school. It had a generous living area for the size.
It was a quiet neighborhood, and it was a nice, crime-free area. It was safe for her to live here.
When she opened the door to the apartment, she fell into a strong embrace before she could even take off her shoes.
She wanted to scream out loud, but her lips were tightly covered.
"It's me." A familiar voice sounded in her ear, and she stopped struggling.
He pressed her against the door and the two bodies clung to each other. He let go of her lips and whispered in her ear, "I tried falling back into my old patterns. I tried to forget you. But I don't want anyone else. The thought of other women makes me sick. I only want you. In the dead of the night, all I think about is you. I can't forget you at all, and I'm tired of the pain. Since I can't forget you, I don't want to try. I just can't quit you!"
"We never said it was over. I didn't want it to be. Why did you have to forget me?" said Amber in a quiet voice, her eyes reddening with tears. He paid for her tuition and expenses here. She had to work hard in the future and pay back the money. How could she not be with him after she graduated?
"You want to pay me back, don't you?" He knew what was on her mind.
Amber didn't say anything.
"Your parents already paid me back for this. You don't have to worry about it anymore," he said. What he said was true. Amber's parents found him in person and gave him a chunk of change for her tuition and expenses abroad.
The eight hundred thousand dollars that her parents gave him was nothing compared to the money he spent on Amber, but he knew it was the Zhen family's life savings.
Amber couldn't believe her ears. She didn't know her parents had done this for her. They never told her.
With a sigh, Colman said bluntly, "But that's not why I'm here.
The money's a minor thing. If I never got it back, I wouldn't care. I want to talk about us." How could he be so direct?
"So I miss you. And I'm finally here." He squeezed her tighter, and led her to the couch to sit down.
He was drained, and lay his head in her lap while she stroked his hair.
They lay like that for a while. Just being in the moment, savoring the time they had with each other. One thing led to another. He touched her in her secret places, and she responded with coos and sighs. The first time he touched her, she jumped. The first touch was like a sudden shock. Not unpleasant, but a rush of feeling like she hadn't felt since they first got together.
When they moved to the bedroom, that was when all their primal feelings were released.
Since that time, Colman had started hopping flights to Columbia whenever he could. He divided his time between there and Y City.
For this reason, he even took flying lessons. He got his pilot's license quickly, so he could fly a plane back and forth whenever he wanted.
The last two years of her studies, Colman quit his job and stayed in Columbia, keeping her company while she studied.
Amber didn't know what Colman did on the computer all day. Whenever she asked him about it, he would answer that he was coding. But what kind of software was he developing? She had no clue. Every month, he would deposit several million dollars in her account, and he still had money to buy a few more sports cars.
After completing her studies in Columbia, Amber came back and worked as a pediatrician in a hospital.
The night before she went to work, Colman proposed to her in the hanging garden.
In the next year, the two married. On their wedding day, he spirited her away. Yes, the bridegroom ran off with the bride.
Leaving their family and friends in the hotel, Colman took her on a plane to travel and get married. They didn't even know where they'd stay. They'd figure it out when they got there.
Matthew had to deal with the mess the two of them left behind. After scolding his son over the phone in the lounge, he had to calm himself down and take his wife out to greet relatives and friends.
On their wedding night, in a hotel in K Country, Colman told her a secret. He wanted to ease Amber's guilt for betraying Leon. "It's not like Leon was faithful, honey! He slept with a few girls after he met you. But me, I'm not like that. I know I was a playboy, but that was mostly for show. From the day I met you—no, even before—I was still a virgin. You're my first, and my only woman."
Although he had made up with Leon, he still had to make it clear to his wife. Otherwise, it would be a thorn in her heart.
Amber said nothing. She had mixed feelings.
After he said that, any guilt she had over Leon vanished like a ghost.
The second day, the couple went to Tow Village. Colman took Amber to see the place where his mom and his three brothers had lived when they were kids.
But Tow Village had changed a lot. Things had grown up around there. Businesses had moved in. It was a lot different than it was twenty years ago.
However, the house they had lived in had been torn down, replaced with a three-story building.
Although he felt a little sad about it, Amber was good at talking him through it. He got over it quickly.
During the honeymoon trip, Amber was pregnant. Three months later, they found out she was carrying twins.
At the end of the new year, a pair of beautiful girls were born. The Huo family members had been immersed in happiness for a long time. After all, the men in the family all loved little girls and lavished their attention on them.
And that was when Amber figured out another layer of Colman's deception. He was the one who had taken those photos he had shown to Leon. He spread the rumors she was having an affair.
He hired those boys to get close to her. When Leon tried to get to that boy close to her with a group of his friends, Colman hired some men to protect the boy. He made sure that whoever he'd set up was protected.
Colman was not allergic to shrimp, either. It was all just part of his plan to make sure she would fall for him.
Every time she was in a bad mood after fighting with Leon, Colman made sure he'd be there to comfort her. He hadn't left anything to chance. Her husband just made it look that way.
It was the perfect plan, and perfectly executed. He had everything planned out. He would poach Amber from his best friend and make her his woman. He was a match for even the most devious members of the Huo family.
