As workaholic as he is, Ethan didn't not waste a second, once ensconced in the back seat, he began to work on his MacBook. Tapping on the keyboard his eyes were fixated on the screen, but his ears were attuned to her faint giggling.Cindy’s silly messages made her giggle with glee, but it was eclipsed by the concern she felt for her friend. As always, whenever she sent her silly messages she was lonely and needed consolation, a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on."Hey, what's wrong?" Moriah asked with concern in her tone."Moriah, he's cheating on me," Cindy began to sob.Moriah’s heart felt like being squashed and trample on the ground at her friend’s sobs. She wouldn’t cry like a wailing whale if the hur
"How are you son?" As Ethan was just three inches taller than Jianyu's six feet height, it wasn't difficult for him to place his arm on Ethan's shoulder. He side hugged him as he gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze like a father giving a son encouragement."I'm doing great baba," Ethan called his father in law, baba (dad) and mother in law mama (mum) considering that most Asian people would call their parents in-laws mom and dad as a show of respect.For Asians, to call a father in law and mother in law by their name is disrespectful. Jianyu is Asian and kept some of his culture and traditions, although he had married an English woman and been in England for so many years.The autumn morning chilly air blew, caressing Moriah's face, causing her nape hair to rise. Goosebumps covering the entirety of
A feathery kiss on her face woke her up from slumber. Afraid to meet Ethan's eyes, she didn't open her eyes. "Time to eat," Ethan's alluring husky voice rang in her ears. "You go first, I'll be there in a while," she said in a soft voice without opening her eyes in order to avoid his gaze. The trauma of being abandoned at the altar has been deeply embedded in her heart and made her insecure. The kiss was just a spur of the moment thing. She was emotionally messed up and he might have a craving that needed to be satisfied. There's no special thing going on between them. She wouldn't make a fool of herself to fall into the trap of her enemy. She hurried to the bathroom and washed her face before going to the dining room. "There you are, hurry and sit down before the food gets cold," Jianyu said to Moriah walking towards them. "Baba, I missed this food," she said, looking at the food with wide eyes and sniffing. While watching her, Ethan recalled Butler George's observation that sh
The festive and jovial mood along the streets in Chinatown did nothing to ignite neither Ethan's nor Moriah's somber heart. Unable to find an appropriate word and timing to strike up a conversation with her husband, she remained silent as they stroll. They walked side by side, so near yet so far with the thick invisible wall parting them. Like the people of China built the great wall to protect the country from invasion, so is Moriah, protecting her heart from Ethan's invasion. A burly man was moving quite fast towards Moriah and Ethan and collided with Moriah. The collision took Moriah by surprise and was unable to balance herself. With a cry she fell face first to the ground but in the nick of time, a pair of strong arms surrounded her and pulled her back. Ethan protectively embraced her and pressed her head against his chest. The loud beating of his heart was like a symphony of music in Moriah's ears. In her daze, she momentarily forgot that she wasn't supposed to allow herself
The door creaked open, lifting her eyes up from the medical report in front of her, Moriah's green forest eyes came in contact with her best friend's hazel eyes. "What's the matter?" Moriah asked with slightly raised eyebrows. Her best friend's tear pooled eyes said that she needed someone who would lend ears and a shoulder to cry on. "I can't stand it anymore!" she told Moriah before she gave in and allowed herself to cry. Pitying her friend, she strode toward her and pulled her to her embrace. She patted her back to lend her the strength she needed to pull herself together. She felt absurd, she was giving strength to her friend when she herself was struggling to make it through her everyday. But what could she possibly do? Will she abandon her friend because she was hurting too. Absolutely, no. She wasn't raised by her parents to be selfish, only thinking about herself. "Go on, cry," this is her way of telling Cindy that she's alway there for her no matter what. Over the year
Clearing his throat, to take Moriah's attention who was physically present but mentally absent, his objective was realized in an instant as Moriah came back to her senses. "A – are you telling something?" Her stuttering was an indication of her fluttering heart, a thing that only Shaun and Cindy knew. Shoving his hands in his pocket, Shaun clenched them. He can't accept the fact that Moriah is somewhat affected by Ethan's presence. "What do you want to eat?" His gentleness totally discombobulated Moriah. He was cold and uncaring now and then switched to being warm and caring. She wondered if her husband is bipolar. "I - I can't decide what to eat," Moriah clenched her hand until her knuckles were white as a sheet. She so hated the fact that Ethan makes her heart flutter like a butterfly by merely looking at her. "Do you want me to order for you?" He said tucking away the loose tendrils of hair behind her ears. As if under a spell, unknowingly Moriah leaned her head and raised h
"Do you want to eat more?" Ethan asked Moriah as he finished wiping the corner of his lips with a table napkin."Mm," she hummed her reply as she nodded her head affirmatively and added, "I'm going to have some of the salad."Moriah was about to pick the salad servers, but Ethan beat her to it."Let me," he said, and put some salad on her plate.Except for the pasta Moriah didn't eat any of the food Shaun ordered.After she finished eating the salad Ethan gave her, excusing herself, Moriah went to the powder room. After she used the toilet and washed her hand, she came out of the powder room.All of a sudden, Moriah's back felt the cold concrete
Moriah unbuckled her seat belt and squirmed to free herself from Ethan's embrace. Without missing a beat, she opened the door and went out of the car, leaving a puzzled Ethan.Ethan couldn't figure out why she was vacillating between being warm and cold towards him. When they were in Manchester, she kissed him back and snuggled against his chest. Then she avoided her after waking up. After that when they were roaming around Chinatown she became warm again, but became cold before they retired for the night.What's wrong with her? He heard Shaun say that she's a consistent lady and not hard to decipher.Instead of going straight to their bedroom, Ethan went to the study.In the bedroom, having donned her pajamas after her bath and nightly skin regimen, sh