It hurts, right?

She did not call Maxim; she did not reach out to him. She changed her number. She gave him enough time and space to reflect on what he said or felt while she licked her own wounds in silence.

What she acknowledged was she did not know what she wanted to do on her career front so she chose this.

 Maybe she would find her passion here. She convinced herself. 

''And what else?" Madam Chen smiled. 

Diana bit her bottom lips, ''I should not have said that in front of the reporters. I am sorry. I thought you would not accept it so…'' 

''So, you would control our decisions through the media?'' Madam Chen pushed herself to her feet, ''You would use our weakness against us to coerce us into accepting your choices, Diana?" 

''Mom, I… ahh…'' Diana gasped when the woman grabbed her hair and yanked her head back in a harsh tug.