Meeting Miguel again after nine years—the thought didn’t once cross her mind. What’s more, she didn’t know that he knew exactly how she was obsessed with him. In terms of what he did last night, if it didn’t somehow show true love, then what else could it be? But their standings in society were polar opposites.
Approximately four years ago, he went abroad to study after he finished a degree in a domestic college. After two years of studying, he got his master's degree and came back to his brother's company to sit as the new vice president. With the support of his family, he had a promising future. He had been back for one or two months now. A few days ago, though, when he and some friends from the same economic status gathered, they told him that they wanted to hold a welcome party for him. He didn't expect that they would meet Leena in the Heaven Hotel, of all places.
The fate was magical. She thought that God would arrange a fate especially for them, but at the same time, she was extremely anxious and worried about what might happen.
That night, they talked about a lot of things. Namely, the changes in Leena's family, her life, his life abroad and the recent development in his career. When she was off duty, they were still reluctant to leave. Shortly after, she allowed him to drive her home personally. Miguel was the second person who knew her identity and drove her home, aside from Rena.
Seeing that she was about to walk into a dark and rather narrow alley, Miguel couldn't help but genuinely ask, "Do you live here?"
She replied casually, "Yes, my big brother owed some loan shark a big amount of money after my father's accident. We had no choice but to move here."
Miguel knit his brows and replied, "Who's the loan shark? And how much?" Leena's elder brother, Peterson Yang, was at the same age with him. He recognized his brother from memories before. Her brother was regarded as a playboy back in the days and wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of him. Miguel didn't expect that he became bolder as time went by and even loaned money illegally.
She pulled her bag and said, "The Empire Group. My brother owed them a lot of money. Neither of us could pay them back even if we both traded our lives for it. It's an absurd amount of money!"
Miguel simply remained in silence and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Leena wanted to say a final goodbye to him before she ventured to the dark alley, but he finally said, "Don't work in the hotel anymore. I'll find you a job. Tell me exactly how much money your brother owed them and I'll see what I can do to help you."
Leena waved her hands in refusal. "No, thanks. I don't want to trouble you with that. I'll figure that out myself! I'll just continue working at the hotel. I know Uncle Lewis. Under his protection, no one would dare do anything to me."
"Is that so? I heard that a man called Carlson is interested in you and even harassed you!" Miguel replied with a cold tone. He was a little dissatisfied with her trying to hide something from him.
Hearing that, Leena looked down, her face almost entirely covered by the shadows. She didn't expect Miguel to know the whole story of her situation. She smiled deliberately and said, "It doesn't really matter. There are always some guests in the hotel that are hard to deal with. After all, guests coming to Heaven Hotel are all big shots. But I know they are cautious and wouldn't dare to do anything to me."
"He isn't an ordinary person. You can't do anything to stop him from hurting you."
"Well, he didn't do anything to me, did he? It just means he was simply having some fun!"
"I don't like the way you just abandon yourself!" Miguel raised his voice.
"Miguel, I didn't abandon myself. This is my job. At least I haven't slept with someone for money. I'm just earning money with my own hard work!"
"Well, I guess you just wouldn't listen to me!" Miguel was infuriated. He didn't know why Leena just couldn't stop working at that hotel. She had been molested by Carlson, but even if she could handle him, many other men could do the same thi
ng to her in the future.
Leena sighed after a few exchanges and looked at her watch to check the time. "It's late at night, Miguel. You'd better go home now!"
Miguel simply replied, "Then you go in first. I'll go when I can't see you!"
She turned around to leave and walked straight into the dark alley. When she heard a car revving not too far away, she knew that Miguel had gone. She couldn’t help but turn her head to look back. His car now vanished from the entrance of the alley.
For some reason, Leena was disappointed. She hoped he could send her to the gate of her house. The alley was pitch black and there wasn't a single light source. Although her home wasn't too far, she still wanted someone to accompany her on the way. Especially the one she trusted and loved, for it would mean that he actually cared about her safety. But Miguel didn’t. He drove away at once before she could even finish her way back home. Was she just too sentimental? What exactly was the nature of their relationship? Why should Miguel bother to send her home safe and sound? She shook her head with a bitter smile painted on her face and just continued her way back home.
Because of frequent rain these days, there was a puddle of water right in the middle of the alley. She paid close attention through the dark. When she saw the quiet water close to her, she took out her cellphone to use its light. However, at that moment, a car passed by the entrance of the alley and its bright lights shone into the whole alley, illuminating everything in it. She was surprised and jumped over the water in a hurry. When she got there, the car simply left. She felt herself extremely lucky. She stuck out her tongue childishly and happily went home.
In fact, the car she just saw was Carlson's. He had followed her for a few days now. Of course, he saw that Miguel himself drove her home. So he waited patiently in the corner and waited for him to drive away. He thought that maybe Leena was passing by the water, so he drove and flashed the bright lights of his car to help her on purpose. Then he parked his car at a corner and started to smoke. With a complex look on his face, he thought that Leena became more and more interesting. He never expected that she had some sort of connections with Miguel and his brother. Did he somehow find a piece of treasure?
In the following few days, Leena waited patiently in an uneasy state of mind for Miguel's appearance. However, it was strange that he didn't show up since then. She couldn't help but guess that she had made him unhappy that night. He had been waiting for her every day. Why did he suddenly ignore her after they finally reunited?
After a long chitchat that day, they didn't keep any contact information of each other, because Miguel didn't take the initiative to ask her, and she didn't even dare to ask. She thought her love finally had a happy ending, but Miguel didn't give her a chance. She had never been able to figure out what was on Miguel's mind. Now, the possibility of it happening was even worse than the odds before.
After another two days had passed, she still hadn't seen him. Due to disappointment, she couldn't help but simply mock herself for hoping too much. Maybe it wasn't that much of a deal. Even if he had kissed her that night, he had been under the influence of alcohol. It didn't mean anything at all. Many men had flirted with her in the hotel before. Why did she care so much about him, of all people?
Miguel just treated her as a woman whom he could have fun with. He had some level of attachment to her, but that was only because they had known each other before. In fact, he might have thought of her as a woman who was easy to be played with. Pondering, Leena felt some sadness inside her. But she gave up trying to think about it so much.
Carlson Qin didn't come to her as well. Everything went smoothly this week. During the weekend, her mother kept urging her to meet the man mentioned last time for a blind date. Aunt Amy had to come to talk with her in person, so she didn’t have much of a choice but to meet him.