True Love

9

In a daze, I got up subconsciously and left with him.

He used to be cold, arrogant, and reticent, but now he was mature and shrewd.

He didn't like to interfere in other people's affairs. No matter how disgusting the person was, he would look on indifferently, but he just snapped. Even I was quite shocked.

After leaving the restaurant, he did not get in the car. Instead, he stood by the side of the road and smoked.

I looked at him in silence. The lights of the passing cars were shining on his face, making his profile even cooler and more handsome.

"Why did you snap?" I asked expectantly.

Garrett crossed his arms in front of his chest. His anger had yet to subside. "What an idiot!"

Maybe because of the gentle night breeze, I lost control. "Mr. York, thank you for being protective of me. But I'll misunderstand..."

My voice trailed off.

He glanced at me with a look of understanding in his eyes.

He seemed to have seen through me, but without exposing me, he asked with great interest, "Misunderstand what?"

"That you have a crush on me." I tried my best to force a half smile.

There was a ghost of a smile on his face. He took a drag and did not reply to me.

He was calm and collected. He clearly knew that I was probing his feelings for me, but he refused to answer, letting it gnaw away at me.

I lowered my head and laughed at myself. What were you expecting from him? It was like you wanted to be humiliated!

After two or three minutes of silence, Garrett asked lightly, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

I looked up at him to see if he was up to something or just making conversation.

But he looked and sounded too calm as if he was just having small talk with me.

"Why do you ask? If I say no, will you set me up with someone?" I asked, forcing back my wishful thinking.

"I will think about it."

I sneered, "Mr. York, that's so kind of you. You just cursed a man for me, and now you are trying to help me find a boyfriend."

He flipped the ash off his cigarette. "I've always been kind to my own people."

His own people?

I was his sister, so it was reasonable for him to put it that way.

But why was there a hint of affection?

I hated reading his mind and became angry. "Mr. York, you are the owner of a big company. I don't think I'm good enough to be one of your people."

All these years I'd worked hard at my studies and taken every opportunity to improve myself, hoping that when I saw him again one day, I could proudly tell him that I had had a great life without him.

But when we really met, I was still not good enough for him.

Looking at the busy road, Garrett asked, "You hate me?"

The resentment that had built up over the years washed over me. I was also infuriated by his light tone.

"Why would I do that?" I lied with a sneer. "Actually, I have to thank you. If you hadn't been so cold back then, I wouldn't have got where I am today."

How could I hate him? He had supported me when I was young and meant the world to me.

All these years, I had been holding back my emotions. Whenever I thought of him, I had mixed feelings.

"You do not?" He hit the nail on the head. "Then you're bearing a grudge against me."

10

"You are so humorous," said I, refusing to admit that he was right.

When I was young, I looked gentle, but in fact, I was really stubborn.

When I was forced to go abroad, I cried and cried in vain. Only then did I realize that he was determined not to see me again.

So I stopped crying and made up my mind.

I told myself that if he came to get me, I would forgive him. Otherwise, even if I died in a foreign country, I wouldn't beg him again.

The first month he didn't come. Three months went by and he still didn't come.

Years later, I was still there alone.

He hardly contacted me. There were very few emails each year, and they were only a few lines long and were all about money.

He forbade me to love him, but he didn't cut me off.

Life was really hard then, but I toughed it out. I juggled schoolwork with part-time jobs and didn't spend the money he gave me.

I wasn't born tough. But after being with him for so long, I'd gradually become so, just like him.

Hearing this, Garrett said nothing more and smiled.

I was used to him being silent whenever I said something he didn't like.

No matter how angry I was, he stayed that way, which made me feel powerless and even angrier.

"Goodbye, Mr. York." Randall and Amy had been waiting for me by the car for a while.

He nodded and didn't look at me.

On the way back, Amy looked at me a couple of times and was about to say something, but stopped herself on second thought.

"Mrs. Thornton, you got something to say?" I asked.

Amy tossed her long hair back, trying to cover up her embarrassment. "Is it true that you are Garrett's sister?"

Women were sensitive. She must have sensed something wrong.

Seeing that I was silent, she explained softly, "I heard from Randall that you are Garrett's younger sister so I let you sit next to him at dinner."

I was puzzled. Even if she and Garrett weren't in a relationship, they had been friends for more than ten years.

Garrett had never mentioned to her that he had a younger sister?

"Are you..." Amy hesitated for a moment. "Are you his biological sister?"

She was suspicious. As a smart woman, she would think too much if she knew the real relationship between me and Garrett.

Randall in the driver's seat looked at me in the rearview mirror and said, "Amy, what are you doing? I told you she is Garrett's sister. If you have any questions, why don't you ask Garrett?"

Amy's face darkened. She turned to look out the window and stopped talking.

I had a feeling that she was going to be hostile to me.

Randall took Amy home first. As he pulled up in front of my place, he leaned against the car door and said, "I'm very curious too."

"What?"

"You and Garrett don't look like siblings."

I looked down at my toes and asked him with a smile, "Then what do you think we are?"

Randall put his hands into his pockets and pondered for a while.

"Like a couple who are having a fight".

11

It was already early in the morning, but I was still tossing and turning.

Randall's words kept coming back to me. Like a couple?

I stared at the ceiling in the dark. I knew this was not the case, but I couldn't help feeling overjoyed.

On Monday, Amy called me to her office and three me a document.

"Miss Yates, the client you secured last week refused to sign the contract now."

I flipped through the document. "His reason?"

I remembered this client. We'd discussed and agreed on the details of the contract and he was very happy. Why did he suddenly go back on his word?

"Reason?" Amy smiled, leaned forward, crossed her hands on the desk, and said, "Shouldn't you tell me?"

I realized that this was personal. "I'm not in charge of signing the contract, so I didn't know this until now."

Amy looked upset. "You sounded as if this was nothing, feeling comfortable shirking your responsibility."

"Mrs. Thornton," I put down the document expressionlessly and said, "just get to the point."

"The client signed a contract with Brandes Investment Partners today."

I was surprised, but on second thought, this was not unexpected.

If I could do this, Brandes Investment Partners could do it too.

"Miss Dixon, Garrett York, owner of Brandes Investment Partners, is your brother, isn't he?" Amy lowered her head and straightened her brooch.

I was amused. "Are you suggesting that I gave the client to Brandes Investment Partners?"

"It can happen," Amy said sarcastically. "Not everyone is moral, after all."

I knew she was hinting at something.

It seemed that no matter how smart and capable a woman was at work, she could be muddleheaded when it came to the man she loved.

"Mrs. Thornton, I have poached their clients before. Why couldn't they do the same thing?" I didn't want to argue with her, so I stated my point.

With a gloomy face, Amy opened and shut her mouth, unspeaking.

"I'll get back to work."

When I walked to the door, Amy said, "You are in love with your brother. Don't you think that is disgusting?"

I held on to the door handle and froze.

Her tone was firm. It seemed that she had known about my past with Garrett.

"Who told you about this?" I asked.

Amy propped herself up against the desk and stood up. Her lips curled into a mocking smile as she said, "He was bothered by your so-called love."

It was Garrett who told her this.

For a moment, I was pierced to the heart.