Le Cœur Brisé

Betrayed. Heartbroken. Shattered. Twice.

"Kai... what are you saying?"

The brooding silhouette of a man's back met her with deadly silence. He was leaning against the furnished oak desk, facing the bustling nightlife of Shanghai through large glass windows. Despite how dark it was, the tears streaming down Hua Yuling's face glistened in the moonlight.

"W-w-why, Kai?"

"Don't call me by that name, Hua Yuling. It's time I was honest with you and myself." Feng Kai turned around, cutting the atmosphere with piercing cold eyes.

"You are a great person, to the point where I was burning with jealousy whenever I saw you; you're sweet inside and out with one of the smartest brains I know. Your kindness is what killed you."

Hua Yuling couldn't find the words to cushion her heart falling 6 feet under. Her pitiful body sprawled out onto the cold marble floors, painting a tragic scene that could only be captured by a master painter.

"I can't believe you just accepted me when I randomly approached you that day. So, when you accepted to create this company with me," The corners of Feng Kai's lips tugged into a smirk, "I knew I had hit the jackpot. Thank you for everything you have contributed to this company."

Finishing his sharp words, Feng Kai once again turned his back on her, returning to his nightly observation, before he dealt the final blow.

"Today was your last day at work, Hua Yuling. I won't be seeing you tomorrow."

The closing of heavy doors felt like the death sentence on her heart. 'Never again. I was too f*cking dumbstruck in love to notice his malice!! Never. Ever. Again.'

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Ever since, Hua Yuling fortified her heart with indestructible walls. Each brick fused from tears and heartbreak. The pain of that betrayal seared deep within her; she questioned the very nature of love itself. She closed herself off, vowing to protect her heart from further damage.

But before her wounds could form scars, they reopened when Chen Liwei crashed into Hua Yuling's life. Left as a half-lifeless soul, Hua Yuling was unable to reciprocate the love and affection Chen Liwei desired, and required.

"You... cheated...?"

Hua Yuling stood under the door, her arms limp by her side, and her face blank of emotion to the ignorant eye. In reality, though, her defined jaw clenched, her thinly tamed eyebrows creased, and fury and despair swirled behind her golden eyes. Her apparent savior, the man who was supposed to pull her into the light after Feng Kai threw her into the deep end, yet all he could do now was pull her deeper and carve new scars from within her walls.

"B-but I loved you so much!"

"Really? THESE PAST TWO YEARS FELT LIKE I WAS DATING EMPTINESS ITSELF !!! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE SOUL TO FEEL SAD!!!!" Chen Liwei yelled. Hua Yuling wanted to defend herself with words; she wanted to tell him how much she truly loved him, how happy she was to hear his voice every morning, the giddy butterflies she felt when he walked her home while holding hands, but all her words were brutally shoved back down her throat when he uttered his next words.

"You should learn from Yi Xin." He added with a small hint of pride.

Hua Yuling's gaze fell upon Chen Liwei's hand; it was holding another petite hand belonging to a woman who could only be described as sweet. She peeked her dainty face, framed by dark curtain bangs, making her snow-white skin glisten like the freshest snow, from behind Chen Liwei's broad shoulder. The expression veiled on her face screamed innocence.

"Honey, I'm a little tired," Yi Xin whined while looking up at him with meek and pitiful eyes, her bottom lip jutting out to form a pout that men would go crazy for. Perfect female-lead material. Hua Yuling scowled while Chen Liwei's face instantly softened like a frozen lake melting away with the arrival of a warm spring after the ruthless winter.

"Just a little longer, babe. You can rest on me instead," he said, offering his bicep for her to lay upon, to which she happily nuzzled against, leaving a satisfied look on his face. Hua Yuling burned with hostility for the couple, staring daggers at their blatant intimacy. It was impressive how quick someone could change just for love; a term Hua Yuling no longer knew.

The mood instantly switched once again. Chen Liwei bore down onto Hua Yuling's slim hunched figure with pure disgust like how a tiger looks at a kitten, "Well? What are you still doing here!?!? GET OUT!!!"

All... Everything... All of everything... Everything all, gone.