distant

Lian could feel her watching him intently but he did not open his eyes from fear that she could flee once he looked at her.

Lisa on the other hand was still recovering from her shock as she looked at the elderly woman that stood a step behind her.

She looked like she was about sixty at least and her warm big chocolate eyes were enough to put her at ease.

"Yes, he is indeed handsome." She agreed with her and the woman smiled like she knew something that Lisa did not.

"I am Nana, the housekeeper." She introduced herself.

"I am pleased to meet you." Lisa replied.

The woman offered her a soft smile before she looked over her shoulder and looked at Lian Que which a tender look in her eyes.

"It's been a while since he played that song." The old house keeper murmured to herself and piqued Lisa's curiosity in the process.

"When was the last time he played?" Lisa asked and the woman briefly glanced at her before looking at Lian Que again.

"I am sorry, I cannot answer your question miss." The old lady apologized and Lisa was quick to brush it off.

"It's totally okay, I understand." She answered because Nana's response made total sense. It could have been quite irresponsible of her to answer personal questions related to her boss after a single encounter with a total stranger.

Lisa turned and looked at Lian Que again and her eyes appreciated his inhumanly handsome face.

His thick black strands of midnight black hair and fair skin were enough to make one jealous. He was so good looking. Lisa knew that he had always been but she couldn't remember being drawn to him the way she was at that moment.

She found herself taking slow steps towards him until she stood in front of his piano and gazed down at him.

Her fingers gripped the softly furnished black wood of the classic piano as thoughts evaded her mind.

Lisa wondered why she was standing before him instead of keeping her distance like she had planned to. She questioned herself on why his every action affected her. Why she felt bad for making him angry and why she wanted to be with him even though she was still mad at him.

Lisa felt like her mind was an untamed jungle, springing out into all the directions that her subconscious considered bad for her. Oh, she was damned and she hated to admit it.

Her grip on the piano tightened when his eyes suddenly flew and he looked at her with those enchanting grey orbs.

For the first time that evening, she saw an emotion that she recognized in his eyes. It was something akin to pain and it broke her heart to see him that way.

"Lisa?" He called out her name, surprise colouring his voice as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

Lian hadn't expected her to walk up to him.

She lowered her eyes after looking at him for a while and subtly licked her lips to moisten them causing him to swallow hard as he keenly noticed them.

Lisa wanted nothing more than to hug him in hopes of reducing the pain in his eyes but she couldn't move an inch.

Hugging him was rather intimate and she had made a vow to herself to keep her distance.

She exhaled softly as she moved her fingers, lightly trailing the piano's black wood.

Lisa couldn't bring herself to look up at him again. Her restraint wasn't strong enough to keep her from pouncing onto him and embracing him once she looked into his eyes again.

"That was a sad tune." She said and Lian Que looked at her for a while, his eyes watching her face for any emotions and perhaps a glimpse into her thoughts.

She looked calm.

"Yes." He agreed softly and she briefly glanced at him through her thick lashes.

"It reminds me of someone that I loved very much." He added and Lisa felt a familiar yet mild sting of jealousy in her chest.

"Your girlfriend?" She whispered, inwardly dreading his positive reply to her thoughts.

"No Lisa, my mom." Lian replied, his voice hoarse and deep with suppressed emotion.

It didn't take Lisa to know that something horrible had happened to his mom.

Had she died?

Lisa knew how much the man before her adored his mom and she moved and threw her arms around him.

She knew she was breaking her own rules but she threw all caution to the wind.

He needed someone to show him that they understood his pain and she wanted to be that person for him.

To hell with the consequences.

Lian was still a little taken back by her surprise hug but he slowly wrapped his arms around her as he recovered.

"What happened to her?" Lisa asked as her fingers gripped a few strands of hair at the back of his head.

"She died, three years ago." Lian replied as he snuggled his head on her shoulder. It all still felt like a nightmare that he wanted to wake up from and he still found it hard to believe that he had lost the most important woman in his life to a fever.

His arms around her tightened as he sought to be closer to her warm and comforting presence. She made him feel much better.

"I am so sorry to hear that. I know she meant so much to you." Lisa consoled him as she allowed her fingers to gently caress his hair.

Personally, she had lost her mom at birth and had spent a lifetime missing her and wishing that she had gotten the chance to know her.

Lisa had only got to hear stories about her biological mom and the pictures she saw proved beyond words that she was indeed her mom's daughter. They shared a striking resemblance and that made Lisa happy whenever she thought of her mom.

She missed her but she had learned to be okay and accepted the fact that she was gone. It hadn't been easy and she had spent a lifetime to get better.

Her small arms held him closer to her as she felt a strong urge to protect him from anything that caused him pain.

Lisa still loved and cared for him and to her dismay, those feelings were not about to disappear.

A piece of her broken heart was still open to this man.

Lian looked up at her after a while and smiled faintly. His eyes shone dimly and it was like a tiny speck of life was returning to them.

"She could have loved you." He whispered as he held her gaze and Lisa froze.