The door closed, and the sight of his slightly trembling back disappeared.

I placed my cold palms over my cheek, aiming to relieve the pain.

What would I do now? How would I do it? How would I face my parents? How would I explain what happened? My dad was already unwell, would this drive him back to the hospital? And Ye Zhengchen ? How would I face him?

There were too many questions, and not a single answer.

If at anytime I met him, I would ask him, " Brother, was it rape, adultery or prost.i.tution?"

…… …

A burst of cold autumn wind blew in through the window. I shivered in the cold.

I got up from the ground and closed the window. As I pulled the curtains close, my hands froze.

Through the window, I spotted a white SUV parked downstairs. I hesitated for a long time before I picked up the phone and texted Ye Zhengchen, "Where are you?"

As soon as the text was sent, I got a reply - "In the nightclub. Chatting with a hot chick."

I looked at the car downstairs. "Great. Then I wont bother you."

He texted me back after a few minutes. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at the scenery downstairs. It"s nice"

He replied,"………….."

I laughed, and then clutched my face as pain shot through.

Then he texted again, "I want to see you"

I touched the side of my face and could feel the swelling,"I don"t want to see you right now"

I waited for a long time but Ye Zhengchen did not reply.

I placed the phone on the table and went into the bathroom to see my own face. The right side of my face was swollen hugely and there was a clear imprint of five figures. It was a shocking sight.

I moved my hair away from my forehead. There was a bit of blood. I took a tissue and tried to rub away the blood. I finished nearly half the roll but the blood continued to flow. If Ye Zhengchen saw me in this state, I couldn"t even guess how he would react.

The doorbell rang.

I thought Zhong Tim had returned and quickly walked to the door. But as I peeked through the eyehole, I saw a man standing at the door. He was dressed in black jeans and a black shirt. In the dim light, he looked s.e.xy and domineering.

I grabbed some strands of hair and artfully placed it on my forehead. Then I opened the door.

Ye Zhengchen smiles and said, " If you wanted to see me, you could have just told me directly…"

His smile froze when he registered my face.

Chapter 47 – Love and hate..

I pretended to be calm and smiled while opening the door wider to allow Ye Zhengchen to come in. " Come in"

Instead of walking in, Ye Zhengchen pulled me to himself, pushed back the hair on my forehead and looked at the state of my face closely.

" Who did this to you? Who?" he roared angrily, almost rattling the window at the same time as the motion activated lights lit up.

As far as I could remember, Ye Zhengchen had always been a person in full control of his emotions. No matter what he had to face, he was always able to maintain a calm facade.

But now, he was frowning fiercely, the blood vessels in his forehead were popping out so much they looked like they would burst and his fingers were clenched in tight fists.

" Is it Zhong Tim!" His voice was tight.

I was worried that Ye Zhengchen would cause trouble for Zhong Tim in his anger. Without conscious thought, I covered my face.

" He was drunk, it was just a sudden impulse.."

Ye Zhengchen"s lips tightened and his voice was very low but vibrating with anger. " He did this to you, and you are still trying to protect him?"

I had forgotten that Ye Zhengchen had actually studied psychology. My motive behind the efforts to maintain calm and treating this matter lightly were transparent to him

I stopped smiling. In a more serious voice I asked him," What would you have done if you had heard that I had slept with another man? Would"nt you have just strangulated me immediately?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

" If I had the ability to strangle you, I would have already done that ten thousand times!"

His words struck me like a thorn in my heart.

Yes, it was true. I had brought nothing but sadness and anguish in his life, but he had never hurt me, never scolded me.

But I had always been relentlessly cruel to him. I stabbed him in the chest leaving a lasting scar, I had ignored him in the airport when he had run to explain to me, sick and bleeding. But perhaps what was most painful to him was the diamond ring on my finger which, even now, was cutting into his palm.

If I thought about it, I had been simply too cruel to him.

He had spared no effort to rescue Zhong Tim. Yet, I had misrepresented our relationship. He was a proud man and I had trampled upon his pride in a misguided attempt to conceal our relationship. Still, he had simply smiled and played along.

" Do you want to strangle me now? I promise not to put up a fight."

He shook his head. Then picked me up and placed me on the couch. He examined the wound on my forehead closely.

" Do you have a first aid box?"

" In the bedroom cabinet."

He got the first aid box, then with a gauze, he helped me stench the flow of blood. Then he took a towel, wrapped some ice cubes in it and gently placed it on the swollen cheek.

The sudden cold touch stung and I laughed out. I was in such a nervous state that I found I couldn"t stop laughing once I started.

This was really quite funny! Zhong Tim had slapped me and Ye Zhengchen was now administering to the wounds. I was really earning the love these two men had for me.

" Why are you laughing?" Ye Zhengchen smiled at me.

I clutched the towel to my face, " Brother, tell me , are we comminting adultery?"

"No", he looked up and glanced at me coldly, " I never agreed tp break up with you.

Was it even necessary to mention the word "break up" in the situation we were in at that time?

" In my heart, you have always been my girlfriend", he continued.

(MM - Awww.. so cute. Such loyalty)

"Even though I already have a fiancé?" I asked

" Girl", Ye Zhengchen stroked my hair with the same gentleness I remembered, " Leave him."

The light cast a shadow on his face. I looked at the shadowed face, and examined every detail of what was visible. I remembered the angles and planes in his face as if it had been captured in transparent amber. Three years, even three thousand years later, I would never forget a single detail.

At this moment, I really did not want to say no to him and my own wishes.

" Even if I don"t want to, he will leave me."

I could see a shadow of a smile in his face. " If you want to smile", I said, "Go ahead!"

He smiled widely with satisfaction, giving up all pretence.

I should have realised that Ye Zhengchen was a man who planned everything. His action of forcing me to go to bed with him was not only to satisfy his l.u.s.t. He must have also realised that once Zhong Tim got to know of the incident, he would no longer continue with the engagement.

He must have planned so far as to realise that once the engagement was broken, I would return to his arms

Sometimes it"s a woman"s tragedy if her man is too clever

"Do you hate me?" he asked.

Hate? How much did I hate him?

Three years ago when he had deceived me, my life was upended. I hated him then. I hated him when he s.n.a.t.c.hed Zhong Tim"s fiancé when Zhong Tim was in the most dire of straits.

But all this had already happened, and nothing would change by hating him

If possible, I would like to make Zhong Tim"s life a bit easier, something to minimise the damage we had inflicted on him.

I hesitated a moment then pulled his sleeve.

"Brother?"

He placed his hand on mine, "What do you want?"

I looked up and with a smiling expression, I said, " Is there any way that Zhong Tim can get his job back in the City Hall?"

He answered with a terse, " Yes"

" How?" I sat up and waited for his answer.

Ye Zhengchen gently stroked my jaw with a finger and smiled, " If you marry me."