Chapter 281 - 281

Passion.  Patience. Perseverance.  God, what was love? To love and be loved was such a slippery subject.  Henry was uneasy as he still felt a pull towards his supermodel, although for sure there was something strong with Ellie Wong.  He couldn't shake the other woman. Love, was it that? Or was it an infatuation with the idea of how beautiful of a wife she would be in his bed, his kitchen . . . even the thought of having children was a pretty picture.  Her allure to him could be that Nadia would be difficult to piss off as she had told him often she only saw her husband as a spėrm donor.

Ellie Chen, on the other hand, would want him to participate actively in the raising of their children.  Henry wasn't sure exactly how he felt about that. She had so many interesting ideas that surprised him. He had married her on a whim, found her humor enchanting, confided in her like a person he'd known since childhood, and to top it all off he had done the deed with her.  In truth, he wouldn't mind keeping at it again and again. Henry was sure that just had to be pure ŀust as love was dangerous. If he did truly commit to her and she left . . . Henry knew it would be difficult to rise the following day.

Was she going to follow him to New York City?  Did she already suspect he was here even though he had made sure not to leave any traces of where he was going?  Maybe she had done like he had hoped, just destroyed his note and sit until the annulment was finalized? What if she did just that, then his answer was to go back to the strange English country house that needed all those repairs?  Henry knew it would probably come to that as he had finally need to come to the end of his hiding habit.

Henry put his head in his hands, thinking he would just rest his tired mind for a minute.  But, a minute quickly turned to morning. Henry blinked rapidly as moisture had covered his eyes from sleeping so close to clouds.

Someone was tapping on his shoulder.  Henry moved away and made an irritated sound.  The tapping was insistent so Henry turned with a annoyed grimace.  "What? I know it's morning and I have a lot to do, but I need to find the answer to my question."

"The breakfast is here sir, it's almost noon.  I'm sure your need to count sheep is not above your need for adequate sustenance." Michael threw a moist towelette onto Henry's face.

Henry mȯȧnėd and wiped his face before depositing it onto the tray that Michael held out.  He could see there was a table being set up in the gardens so he quickly snuck into the garden's bathroom to freshen up.  As he toweled off and turned, Henry saw that Sheng Mei and Nadius were already seated for their morning meal. Sheng Mei grabbed his face as he pulled a seat next to her.  Henry wasn't sure what she saw there but it seemed to satisfy her as she saw it fit to shove mashed potatoes into his mouth until he gagged. He coughed fitfully as she asked him questions about the business.  Henry had been dreading the questions about his wife so he was very happy to catch her up with upcoming meetings and potential collaborations.

Sheng Mei nodded slowly as she worked her way through a pile of buŧŧermilk pancakes.  As he finished, she tried to bait him. "You know your hair has gotten quite long. You have such terrifying eyebags that would make your grandmother think you were a ghoast.  You should keep me company at the spa today."

Henry instantly recoiled.  "The spa you go to only caters to women.  I'm a man."

"It's not difficult to turn a man into a woman.  They are not going to check your parts. It's not a gynecologist.  If you're my niece, then no one will dare question me. I'm tipping and paying, not my husband."

"I don't want to be a woman."

"What's wrong with a man dressing like a woman?  Are you saying that just because you don't love your aunt anymore?  I know you've stopped sending me the crystalized pineapple that I love so much.  I can't even get Michael to tell me where you got it. It's obvious you don't care for you elders now that you're an ȧduŀt.  You think your aunt isn't good enough to hang out with you."

"Oh no.  It's quite the opposite.  I'll have Michael send you all the crystallized fruit in our shop if you like it so much.  I'm just expecting someone maybe and I need to put my thoughts in order."

Nadius finally broke.  He exchanged glances with Sheng Mei before bursting into laughter.  She followed slowly. Henry looked from one to the other with confusing in his face, before Nadius straightened enough to shake his head.  "She's just joking with you. You're right the spa does usually cater to women. Sheng Mei is also right that you need to sleep more to get rid of your jet lag.  It's funny she's thinking of taking you to her favorite drag parlour. It's fabulous. The queens always are so beautiful. But it's also a spa. The service is excellent and it is quite fun to take a new person and see their reaction.  Usually I would allow it, but I really do think Henry should be left alone for today."

"If I had it my way, he would have to do a runway show with the queens.  I want them all to participate in my upcoming show. Henry would make quite an attractive show opener for me.  I wanted to trick him into doing it for me. The tabloids would have a heyday that Henry Wong did drag. 'The Most Eligible Bachelor Struts' would be such a good headline."

Henry sighed.  "I'm the face of Wong Industries, dear aunt.  That kind of publicity would only work if I donated the proceeds.  I cannot walk if it's for profit. We'll talk about the details later, but I am not opposed to it."