Chapter 106 — She Really Came By
After a while, the sobs died down, leaving occasional hiccups.
He fumbled in his pockets for a handkerchief, which he held out to her. She was too busy hiccupping to take it, so he gently used it to dab at her eyes.
"Thank you." She said quietly. He would never understand how much his gestures pulled at her heartstrings.
"You're welcome, anytime." He said, looking into her eyes. His heart broke at what he saw.
She looked so vulnerable and fragile that he blamed himself. He was the one that did this to her. It was his fault she was in so much pain and anguish.
He tried to lighten the atmosphere.
"Is my food delicious? I exhausted a decade's worth of my culinary skills to make this, so eat up."
Su Qianhua managed a smile through her tears. "A whole decade of skills went into this?" She asked shakily. "Unbelievable! It's too good to eat then, let me preserve it for posterity."
Jiang Philip touched his nose and said sheepishly, "Okay, it's not that serious. Let's just take a picture to commemorate it instead."
Su Qianhua laughed, her first genuine laugh since the matter of pregnancy arose. Jiang Philip was dazzled by it and clicked unconsciously, capturing the moment perfectly.
They had lunch in this light atmosphere, and Jiang Philip waited for her to fall asleep before letting himself out of the house.
****
Her plan wasn't to go and see Li Chuanmo. Infact, according to what she had initially planned, she would go into hiding for a while, change her identity and wait till the coast was clear before coming forward.
Then she would appear pitifully before her husband and son, apologize sincerely for abandoning them and beg them to take her back.
She knew Li Chuanmo loved her. Surely he would forgive her after she pleaded sincerely. Even if he was reluctant, her son would definitely beg him on her behalf. She was his mother after all.
She had already gotten a fake ID card and bought a bus ticket to the suburbs where she planned to stay for a few months, but she wanted to see Li Chuanmo before she left.
She felt that seeing his face would give her strength for the time she needed to be apart from him. She went early in the morning to the Li Conglomerate to wait for him. Once she saw him, and maybe got a snapshot of him, she would leave.
She fantasized about how he would look. Would he still be feeling sad that she left? Was he still a warm, reserved man, or did he now have the aura of a CEO?
What she didn't bargain for was seeing him holding hands with a young, elegant beauty, smiling for all the world like a man in love.
They were not doing anything out of the ordinary, but the more Xie Weiwan looked, the more furious she became. Anger slammed into her like a tidal wave.
It was the eyes.
Li Chuanmo had a pair of captivating hazel eyes that added depth to his features. She had seen them light up in excitement, dim down in disappointment, and even turn dark with pain after her betrayal.
But now, those eyes were glowing like fireflies in the dark. Even in the early morning sun, they sparkled as he looked at the lady beside him, reflecting the object of his affections.
She was angrier because she understood.
He used to look at her the same way.
For the first year of their marriage, although he was clumsy and seemed totally unaware of the romance she had anticipated, he still seemed to worship the ground she walked on.
He would look at her with such love in his eyes that she would feel intoxicated, only to get angry again because he didn't buy her the latest limited edition bag or take her out for dinner.
He had the money after all, why wasn't he spending it on her?
But expensive gifts aside, he was always busy. Half of the time, he would be gone before she woke up, even on weekends. It was like work was his topmost priority, and she came second.
It was all his fault that she ran to seek comfort in the arms of someone else, someone who was always there for her. She knew she was wrong, but he pushed her to it.
Now here he was, holding hands with another woman and behaving as if she was the centre of his world?
'No! I will not allow it.' She fumed silently, while debating her next move. She had planned to go and see her son as well, but she soon realized how unrealistic that was, as schools were on vacation and she didn't even know where they lived.
After some thought, she decided to continue with her original plan and go to the suburbs.
But before that, she wanted to make a declaration. She wanted Li Chuanmo to know that she was back.
That was why she waited until she saw him return to the company before she walked to the reception, greeted the receptionist with a smile and named Li Chuanmo directly, dropping her name.
When asked if she had an appointment, she proudly said, "I don't need one. Just tell him his wife came to see him." She smiled in satisfaction at the receptionist's look of shock.
After accomplishing her purpose, she sashayed away, not waiting for his secretary —who the receptionist said was coming downstairs—to arrive.
She would definitely be back and once she did, she would claim what was rightfully hers.
Just as she entered the taxi, she saw him dash out in a hurry, searching around. Her heart beat faster. Would he see her?
At that exact moment, he looked straight ahead and met her eyes. It felt like time stopped.
Their gazes met and held for a few seconds. Xie Weiwan gave him an eerie smile before the taxi drove away.
*****
Try as he might, Li Chuanmo could not get himself to focus on work after the news Min Shiyi delivered. He kept replaying her words. After the shock passed, anger set in.
His wife? He had been divorced for more than three years already, what wife?
Her name alone brought the awful memories crashing like waves—walking in on them cheating, her persistence in her wish for a divorce, her unremorseful look when she proudly gave him details of her infidelity.
He accidentally pressed the pen too deeply on the paper he was writing on. The fountain pen overflowed, leaving a huge dark stain on the white paper.
He hated the fact that she still had this effect on him, that just the mention of her name could send him down the road of melancholy and self-doubt.
The horrible feeling of not being good enough and not being worthy of love pressed down on his shoulders like huge invisible twin boulders. He felt physically sick.