Chapter 65

The weekend finally came. Ray went to the Leo family mansion to train with Ve, while Taria stayed at home, board and scoring some tests like an old teacher. She thought of calling Edrian and scolding him as he didn't come to the lunch as he promised, yet he was supposed to meet his father this weekend, Steven was about to start his final exams so she didn't want to bother him, and Josephine is spending her time with Kai for sure.

"Was I this lonely all the time? Wow, I thought I had many friends though", she thought out loud, then she sighed and kept scoring the tests, however, a knocking sound on her door stopped her.

Taria went to the door, thankful that she now has an excuse to not keep scoring, yet when she opened the door, Tian grabbed her hand and handcuffed her wrist with his own before she could say a word.

"What are you doing? Give me the key", Taria said angrily

"Em em, you must spend the day with me", Tian said, looking into her eyes with a smile and rising his eyebrows, yet that energetic look was something she got used to, so it didn't affect her at all

"Why would I spend the day with you, ha? We are not lovers nor married, and I have responsibilities to hold. Give me the key", Taria said coldly

"Taria. Give me one day, one day only. After midnight today, if you still can't accept me again, then I promise I would hold my responsibility as a father only and leave you alone", Tian said, with the same sharp cold look that seemed more broken and sad as she kept staring at his eyes

"If you promise to leave me after tonight, then spending a day with you would be worth it", Taria said, then she wanted to get inside again yet he didn't move, preventing her from moving as well

"You gave me a day, and I'm planning on using it to the utmost", Tian said, raising his shackled hand and pulling her closer to him. She felt he was so close to her, and the sudden pull forced her to lay her hand on his chest, feeling the necklace he was still wearing, so she took her hand off fast, and turned her face away to avoid looking into his black eyes that were still the same since they first met.

Tian took Taria out of the building, and once they stepped outside of it, he grabbed her hand that was shackled to his and put both of them on his pocket

"What are you doing?" Taria said

"We are outside, were you planning on going out with our hands shackled?" Tian said, and she stayed silent as she knew people would have weird thoughts about two grown ups with their hands shackled together, however, his cold hand holding hers in his small pocket was shaking her heart

Tian took Taria to the bus station, and after a while of waiting, the bus came. As a person who used to take buses everyday, Taria was able to tell where that bus was taking them, the old store.

"Let's go, we are going to have fun", Tian said.

He tried his best to make her smile, walking around the stores and buying things she liked in the past, yet she kept wearing her cold face all the time. He lost hope, yet he never gave up, then he walked with Taria until they met the same hex they met when they were still at high school.

"Do you remember her, she really knew what she was saying back then", Tian said

"Nonsense", Taria said coldly, then she pulled Tian away, not giving him the chance to listen to what the hex was going to say.

They went to the fountain of wishes, but this time, Tian made a wish first while Taria didn't make any. He held her hands and clasped them together, then he asked her to make a wish, and so she did, not because she wanted to obey him, but because his hands holding hers were more than her heart could handle.

They ate at the restaurant Tian once booked for the two of them, yet even fried chicken wasn't able to draw a smile on her face, or that's what he thought as she was shouting happily inside while eating her favorite meal.

After that, Tian took Taria to the high cliff. They sat down, close to each other yet having a million walls between them, walls that she had built.

"This cliff has so many memories. It's still as wonderful as the time you brought me here", Tian said with a warm smile, yet she stayed silent.

"I don't see it as wonderful any more as I shed tears here more than I smiled. The water fountain became meaningless to me as my only wish wasn't fulfilled, and the old stores became less bright as I don't have time for empty things like those now", Taria said, staring at the sunset with a deep look in her eyes, a broken look as if she was missing her past self that used to think of these things as funny.

Tian took a jewelry box out of his pocket, and he handed it to Taria. She opened the box and saw the necklace she threw away a year ago, with her mother's sky blue earring and her wedding ring.

"It needed some repairs as the salty water effected it badly", Tian said

Taria wanted to touch the necklace, however, she stopped just before her fingertips touched it. She tried to stand up, forgetting that her hand was still shackled to his, so she fell down, closing her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she was laying in his arms, so close to him to the point their noses were almost touching. She couldn't avoid looking into his black eyes any more, and she felt herself drowning in them all over again, hearing his heartbeats and seeing his hair shining under the sunlight. Her heart hurt as it couldn't hold the fast beating rhythm, yet she didn't pay any attention to it and kept staring at Tian's eyes, allowing them to heal her wounded soul that no one could heal for seven years. However, she broke their eye contact at the last moment.

"If that's all you want to do, then give me the key", Taria said

"I still have time till midnight", Tian said with a deep voice, then he stood up, forcing her to stand up too, and walked down the mountain silently. He walked in front of her, preventing her from looking into his eyes any more, then he took the car key out as well as the handcuff' key

Tian took the handcuff off his hand and hers, then he told her to get into the car. He drove crazily until they reached the apartment, while she tried hard not to shout every time he overtook a car recklessly.

When they finally reached the building, Tian got out of the car first, then he opened the door for Taria and carried her all the way to her apartment

"What are you doing? Let me down", she said while pushing him away, yet he pulled her closer, looking straight into her eyes with a sharp look that made her shiver

"You will fall down if you keep moving", he said, then he opened the door and entered.

Tian sat Taria on the bed in her room. He closed the door with the key and closed the curtains, giving her a heavy feeling. He looked at her for a while, sitting on the bed with a fearless brave look, then he took off his shirt and his pants

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" she shouted, with blushing face and closed eyes that her hands were covering since he started taking his clothes off

Tian held her hands softly, moving them away from her eyes, then he said "open your eyes, Taria", with a soft low voice that tickled her

She could feel how close he was by his voice, and for a reason she didn't know, she opened her eyes slowly as he told her to do, yet she regretted that fast. Her eyes got widely open and she couldn't blink after seeing his body, filled with scars and bruises that weren't all healed yet. Some of his wounds were still purple, and some were even covered with bandages, while other wounds were only scars now. Her heart started bleeding, and her body started shaking.

"At the night before our wedding, Ve, Kai and I were sitting beside the lake. Brother told us that the family was facing a huge danger as thirty four of the mafia families were planning on attacking us, and if we waited for them to attack first, no one of the family would survive. Ve couldn't do that himself as his face was known for most of those families, which left no choice for me and Kai other than doing that mission ourselves, the problem was that no one could tell when that mission would be completed or if it would be completed in the first place. Kai and I didn't want you and Josephine to keep waiting for us when we didn't even know if we had a chance to get back, that's why we decided to die. I saw my friends getting killed one after the other, and I almost died myself more than I could count, however, I remembered you every time I felt weak, I held your necklace whenever I felt lost, and I saw our first meeting every time I got a new scar. Your memories inside my mind were the only thing that kept me sane, your bright smile and shiny eyes, your soft skin and warm body, I never forgot anything about you, I never stopped loving you all these years. Taria, leaving you alone was the hardest part of that mission, yet I paid the price with seven years of living in hell, isn't that enough? Please end this hell, Taria, I can't hang on any longer", Tian said, kneeling in front of her with tears running down his chin.

She couldn't think properly as her mind was a mess, filled with good and bad memories, however, she felt weak after seeing his tears shining on his face like diamonds, so she got up and hugged him tightly, leaving them both to fall down.

"I missed you, I missed you every single day. Your face never got out of my head, even at my worst times. I lied to myself all these years saying I moved on when my soul was still hung on your gravestone. I was lying every time I said I'm ok as my heart was bleeding. I.. still love you, TIAN", she said. He hugged her back tightly, crying like a baby and wetting her hair. He closed his eyes, burying his head on her neck, and unable to get up as the past twenty minutes were filled with none stop stress.

After a while, Taria pressed on the ground with her hands, moving her body up so she could see his face again. He put his arm over his eyes, trying to not show her his tears, yet she leaned forward, and kissed his lips softly, then she moved his arm above his head

"Don't hide your eyes, Tai, I missed them a lot", she said, then she printed another kiss on his lips, initiating a night they both waited very long for.