Joslyn had always been very supportive of Blair. She wanted her friend to pursue her one true love, but she was not a fan of her going to the extremes. She looked at her friend with sympathy in her eyes and tried to persuade her, "Bless, don't be silly. You can't marry him if he is only coerced by his grandpa! You have a lot of options. He's not the only man there is."
Blair sighed. "But he's the only one I want for the rest of my life. I once told Wesley I was done loving him. Look at me now, Joslyn. I can't quit him. That same night I told him I was done with him, I saw him only wearing a bath towel. I immediately regretted the thing I told him." Being a soldier, Wesley's body was not surprisingly in a good shape. Blair almost drooled at the thought of his chiseled abs, as if gods sculpted it themselves.
Joslyn found amusement in her best friend's words. "So, you like him 'cause of his bod?"
"Well, duh?" Blair admitted. "We live under the same roof, and he's been treating me nicely. The only catch is that he's unwilling to make me his girlfriend." She let out a sigh of defeat.
"He cares so much for you and he keeps you around him, but he is unwilling to make you his girlfriend. I think Wesley is a giant weasel!" Joslyn spat, quite more angrily than she had intended.
Blair was not a fan of how her friend was talking shit about Wesley. "Please don't speak ill of him. He's made everything between us clear. He drew the line. It's me who keeps on pestering him."
"Tsk, tsk. Listen to what you're saying. Why are you defending him? Technically, I'm not speaking ill of him because everything I said is true," Joslyn retorted.
Blair's face turned red. "Excuse me, it is not! We are on good terms. If for some kind of miracle, I find another man in the future, and Wesley and I go our separate ways, only then you can talk shit about him."
"Okay, Miss Jing. I hear you. Let's just drop it, okay? By the way, you should stay here tonight! We haven't had a night together in such a long time," Joslyn suggested.
Blair made a crying face. "I want to! But you're a married woman now. My cousin may return any time tonight. How about you go to my place?"
"Don't worry. He won't be coming home tonight. He's not in Y City. Your cousin's out of town for an important meeting. We're having a sleepover! There won't be any problem."
Blair hesitated for a moment but this was her uncle's house anyway. She nodded. "Okay, I'll just go give Wesley a heads up."
"Yay!" Joslyn's face was filled with excitement.
Blair found Wesley in Adalson's study. The two were still talking, so she waited for Wesley by the door. Adalson knew Blair was waiting for Wesley to come out, so he quickly summarized his thoughts and ended their discussion sooner.
When Wesley got out of the study, Blair was leaning against the wall, playing on her phone. She heard the footsteps and put her phone away. "Are you two done talking?" Blair asked.
"Uh huh," Wesley nodded.
"Okay, here's the deal. I'll be having a sleepover with Joslyn here, so I'm not going back to the apartment with you."
Wesley raised his brow. "What about Hartwell?"
"He's in meeting out of town. He won't be home tonight."
A frown formed on Wesley's face. "But Mom made us bring a lot of stuff. You need to sort them out."
"I don't see why you can't do that. The fresh fruits, meat and drinks go to the fridge; the dried fruits and the snacks go to the cabinet—"
"I can't do that. You have to come back to the apartment with me first, sort them out, and I'll drive you back here after," Wesley interrupted before Blair could finish giving instructions.
Blair was baffled by his proposal. That would be such a hassle for everyone. She paused, thinking if it was okay to leave the perishable goods out of the fridge tonight. She wondered if she could sort them out tomorrow instead.
Seeing Blair think hard, Wesley added, "Mrs. Ji is pregnant. You move around a lit in your sleep. What if you kick her belly?"
"How do you know I—" Blair's face started warming up. She'd been drunk twice and each time she forced Wesley to sleep beside her. 'Did I roll around a lot when we shared a bed?
Did I kick him in my sleep?' she wondered.
Soon enough, Blair gave up the idea of staying overnight. "Forget it. I'll come another time," she said quietly. She was a bit disappointed and defeated.
Wesley's face relaxed. "I'll wait for you downstairs."
"Okay."
Blair went back to Joslyn's room and broke the sad news. "Sorry, I can't stay tonight. Wesley's mom packed a lot of foods for us. They will go bad if I don't put them in the fridge. I'll be going now. I'll come see you next time."
Joslyn instantly knew what happened. "Just let him do that. It's easy! He surely knows how to do it."
"I told him that, but I don't think he could remember my instructions. He also said you're pregnant and I might kick your belly in my sleep. He's just being reasonable." As she said it, the more it made sense. She was more determined to go back to their place.
Joslyn shook her head and sighed helplessly. Onlookers see more than the players do. Joslyn was well aware of how Wesley manipulated Blair's head. Nonetheless, she still agreed, "Okay. Then I guess I'll just see you next time. Whenever you get free time, please call me and let's go out. Otherwise, I'd get bored to death."
"Will do!" Blair promised.
The two had arrived at their apartment. Cecelia had given them a lot of stuff. Wesley made multiple trips from the car to the unit.
Blair was sorting out the foods and the groceries in their unit. By the time Wesley finished bringing up all the luggage, she had put everything away. She was holding some dried vegetables when she asked him, "Will you have lunch here tomorrow?"
"No. A colleague of mine hasn't taken a break the entire Spring Festival. I'll take over his shift and give him two days off."
"Oh, I see. Then I'll cook these dried vegetables and noodles for you some other time," she said understandingly. She didn't need the dried vegetables immediately, so she put them away in a cabinet.
The next day, Wesley left for work and didn't come home for two consecutive days. Blair also returned to the office since the holidays were over. Their life went back to normal.
Lately, Blair had been receiving flowers from Orion on a daily basis.
At first, Blair was confused. After a few times though, she finally understood what the flowers meant. "Orion, this is the last time I accept flowers from you. Please don't do this again," she told him off, holding a bouquet of lilies. "We are just friends, forever."
Orion put one of his hands behind. "Blair, you don't have a boyfriend, right?"
"No, I don't. But you know that for the longest time, I have someone else in my heart." The scent of the lilies brought a smile on her face. Just the thought of Wesley made her feel all giddy.
With a sad look, Orion handed her the car keys and said, "You don't have a car for work. I bought you one that is suitable for girls. It doesn't matter if you don't accept my love for now, but can you at least accept my gift?"
Blair looked at the car keys. She was familiar with the brand. It was a luxury car model popular among many female celebrities. She smiled politely. "Thank you for this. I live very close to the office. You see, I travel on foot. Sorry, Orion, but I can't accept this. This is too much."
Orion grew flustered. He'd been rejected twice consecutively. "You don't like the car? What do you want then? I can give you anything, just name it. Blair, I fell in love with you the very first time we met. Do you remember the collaboration between this company and the Jin Group? I asked my grandfather for that to happen. I knew you were working for the Jin Group." He wanted more chances of seeing her.
He slowly approached Blair.
Blair was in awe, but she shook her head at once. "You're a good guy, Orion. But we're not meant for each other. Please, stop. You'll always be a friend to me."
Orion grew a bit more emotional. He didn't know what else to do but embrace her. "Blair, I don't want us to be just friends. I want you to be mine. I'll love you, spoil you, and take care of you until we're old and grey. Please?"
Blair broke free from his hug and graciously smiled at him. "Thank you, Orion, but I'm sorry. I'm heading out now. See you tomorrow." She already had someone taking care of her; she didn't need another man's protection.
