Disgusting

Relocking the drawer after grabbing a few papers from his desk, Liang JianAmal left for the airport, preferring to drive himself instead of waiting for Luo Jun. As he exited, the cloying smell of Yan Xiao Dan's floral perfume hung in the air choking him.

'Disgusting.' He would have to have a cleaning staff  come to clean and refresh the house before he came home again. He hated overly strong artificial smells, that so many women wore. It seemed to emphasize their falseness, as it was part of the mask they wore for society, disguising who they really were. Part of what he loved about Chang was that she did not disguise herself in that manner. She wore her own fresh, clean smell. 

'Next time I come back, it will be with Chang.' He chuckled at the thought of how she had complained about how large it was, until she saw the gardens in the back. Then she had filled every room in the house with the flowers from the garden, and complained that there were not enough rooms for all the flowers. 

Shortly after she had came into his life it had seemed strange to have someone in his house beside one of the cleaning staff. Yet before too long he found himself looking forward to returning to it. On one of those days, when Liang Jian Amal came in, he called out to her, announcing that he was home. When no one had answered, and it had seemed as if it was just home, he had slowly started looking around his house for he.

What was once a familiar silence had become wrong devoid of the life inside he had grown used to. Not finding her Liang JianAmal had called out for her, tearing through his house before the back gardens. He had not understood then why it had made him so anxious when she was not there. 

Eventually he had found her weaving a flower crown with a menagerie of flowers. Sitting cross-legged on the edge of a wide-basined fountain, Chang sang to herself as she worked in the sunshine. The sight had gripped him, and he had known then he would never want another as long as he lived. Hearing him call out as he came up the path to her, Chang had jumped up in surprise, dropping her crown on accident momentarily. Coming up to him, she gave him a kiss, her cheeks tinged pink. Smiling at the memory of her grass and petal filled hair and her sparkling eyes, Liang JianAmal looked forward to bringing her back when everything was settled.

'My beloved, I'll be back by your side soon.'

--

Despite her efforts to procure an answer for her boss, Hao Jin Ying was unable to find out exactly what had happpened to Chang after having left the palace grounds. All that she was able to find was that Chang had become separated from her guard at some point, and after exploring a few of the main squares she had disappeared, only to be found later crying in the alleyway.  

Having only more questions than answers, Hao JinYing decided to wait to contact back her boss. She knew without  doubt he would be furious that she did not call him back as she said she would, but the outcome would only undoubtedly would be worse if she gave him only what she knew. Narrowing her eyes, she wondered who would dare touch someone under the palace's protection in the area. Was it truly random?  As things were, she would have to find out the truth from Chang herself.

Watching Hakim al-Hassan lecture the shamed man standing before them, Hao Jin Ying wondered if he held the same suspicions. Before being relieved of his duties to be replaced by another, the man who had been tasked to guard Chang apologized and told them what he could, which was not much. As Lihua Dumont had asked for privacy while she spoke to her daughter, the two of them waited in the main salon area, sipping on cooling cucumber melon juice.                                                      

The two of them waited in there for awhile, sharing their suspicions until Lihua entered without Chang, interrupting them. 

Even though he was well aware that the woman was in the eve of her life, Hakim al-Hassan could not help but be attracted to her strong yet graceful presence which greatly resembled his late wife's. Rising, the man pulled a chair out for her a poured her a glass of the cooling liquid before a servant could. 

Giving him a light smile in thanks, Lihua pulled out one of the photos she had taken from her daughter. Setting it on the table she looked the other two in their eyes. 

"It would seem that someone is greatly displeased." Hearing her words, Hao Jin Ying reached for the photo first and saw it was her boss dancing with Yan Xiao Dan at an evening gala.

Tsking, Hao Jin Ying placed the photo back on the table dismissively. 

"That's what I thought but I wanted to be sure.. Who is that, do you know Jin Ying?" 

"That is Miss Xiao Dan of the Yan family, Mr Liang senior had hoped to unite their two families in marriage before. Despite what Miss Yan or Mr Liang may wish, this will never be."

'I'm sure my boss was less than pleased with that arrangement' 

"Thank you for confirming that Jin Ying, I rather like my son-in-law, and would like to continue doing so. Closing her eyes as she took a sip of her drink, Lihua heaved a heavy sigh. "Then that means this and more came from Jian's father."

Pounding a fist against the table, startling the two ladies beside him, Hakim l-Hassan excused himself. After his daughter he would not see another precious life lost because of that man. He would have to see to it that there was stricter security throughout the palace as well as the main city. This was only a warning. A warning of what would never come. 

'Not in my country, never again.'