Broken

Ah Hai could feel the warmth of her tears seeping through his trousers and scalding him. He hated himself for making her cry like this but hearing what she said had made him unreasonably angry. It also made him realize an ugly truth. He would have to come clean and tell her about the past that plagued him to this date. He did not want to do that. He had fooled himself into thinking that they could move into the future without touching the past.

He was reluctant to tell her anything because he was scared. He accepted that. From the first time when he had met the girl she had reminded him of his younger self. From her clear expression to the adoration in her eyes. He too had once looked at someone just like Shi Ai looked at him. And he was scared that she would not look at him like that anymore if she knew the real him. He was scared to remove his mask in front of her and see loathing.