Chapter 14

“What do you wanna do after you leave prison, Jane? I wanna go to Erhai. It’s beautiful in a clear and clean way. The waterfowl there are adorable, and the fish and shrimp there are fresh. The sky is bluer, the water is clearer, and even the sunlight is warmer than here in this city.

“I wanna work hard to earn a ton of money, then I’ll go there and start a little homestay. I don’t wanna make money there. I just wanna see Erhai every day, see the tides come and go. Money isn’t my main goal, as long as I have enough to eat. Occasionally I’d see the backpackers come and go.

“Jane, I think I’m dying. What should I do? I haven’t even seen Erhai with my own eyes yet.”

Jane would never forget that melodic yet tragic voice. She held that girl, trying constantly to warm up the girl’s gradually cooling body with her own heat.

As she lay dying, the girl’s bright eyes remained filled with desire. She looked at the sky outside the prison’s tiny metal window, saying, “Jane, to tell you the truth, I’ve never been to Erhai. I saw it’s beauty on TV and in magazines. I know that even after I get out of here, I won’t have the money to go to Erhai and start a small homestay. I just wanted to dream an impractical dream before I died, that’s all.”

Until now, Jane still remembered the yearning in the girl’s eyes as she died.

The memory hurt so badly that Jane’s eyes moistened with tears before she realized. She reached out her hand to wipe away the tears stealthily. As she lay prostrated on the floor, she reached one hand toward her lower left back. It was completely empty there; she had one organ less than most normal people.

That was the reason she could not drink alcohol. She had to live.

She owed a debt that she had not repaid!

She had a sin that she had not atoned for!

No!

She could not die yet!

Jane raised her head and looked at Sean, shaking her head. “Mr. Stewart, as long as it’s not drinking, I can do anything.”

Anything… was it?

The man’s hawk-like eyes narrowed, and his lips curved slowly. “Anything at all?” There was a hint of danger in his tone.

Had the young heiress of the Dunns thrown away all of her self-confidence and pride?

He wanted to see if the Miss Dunn he remembered had really changed so utterly.

“As long as it’s not drinking, I can do anything.”

“Very well!” A hard glint flashed across the man’s face where he sat on the couch. He snapped his fingers and on cue, a figure slowly walked out of the shadowy corner. “Sir.” The man was dressed in a black suit, with neat closely-trimmed hair and his head bowed at a respectful 45-degree angle. He was probably Sean’s bodyguard.

Jane looked at Sean in confusion under the dim lighting. The man’s perfect gold-tinted face gradually spread into a smile like a beautiful yet ominous red spider lily. His thin and elegant lips moved, saying, “Kiss him.”

Jane’s gaze followed his slender finger and froze when she saw that wordless bodyguard in black standing behind him… Then all of a sudden, her eyes widened!

“What? You can’t do it?” She heard Sean’s intrigued laugh at her ear. “Either drink the vodka or start performing, right here and now.”

Splash! It felt like she had a basin of ice water poured over her head. Jane was frozen all over, without a hint of warmth left. Her ears rang, and she raised her head, looking dazedly at the man sitting on the couch like a king. ...What did he say?

Performing, was it? Oh… He wanted her to perform like a hooker, huh?

She slowly pursed her dry lips. So her first kiss was so cheap. Although all she felt for him now was terror and fear, although she had hidden away all of her feelings for him in the deepest graves of her heart, she still could not stop herself from feeling a hint of bitter pain.