72 Happy Birthday...

She struggled to get the right words out, "you had chosen to marry Mei Zhen of your own accord. Isn't that correct? At that time, you must have believed that she was the right woman for you. Had I not come into the picture during those last couple of days, you wouldn't have felt the conflicting emotions. The reaction could have been the result of pre-marital jitters. How could I have risked telling you anything in such a volatile environment?"

"Really? So when were you planning to tell me about it? I have been married long enough now. What has been stopping you all this while to inform me about it or for that matter, about the fact that you work for MY company now? The truth is that you didn't want me to know any of it because of your own convoluted assumptions. While I wrestled with my guilt of kissing another woman, longing for her on the eve of my marriage, you were busy playing the saint. Did you ever have any faith in me or my feeling for you? Pre-marital jitters…bullshit. You know what…I don't give a damn about you or your life anymore. Do what the f*** you want to with it. I simply don't care," with that, he stormed out of the room.

Mei Zhen was furious by the time he joined her.

"Where have you been? Why did you not take my calls? Everyone has been asking about you. It's been embarrassing to explain your absence," she whispered in his ear.

Tang silenced her with a glacial look. His head was reeling with the revelations that Jia Li had thrown at him almost casually. Disbelief was refusing to leave his side. All these months when he wrestled with himself fighting his feelings for her, she could have been his. The marriage, the honeymoon…it could have been them so easily. A choked cry broke out of him, much to his consternation. Unable to sit there for even a minute, he excused himself from the table and walked blindly away. He needed some time off.

Mei Zhen stared at his retreating back. He had just come a minute ago. How dare he walk off already. She felt humiliated by his absolute indifferent behaviour. And she knew that his current mood had something to do with that Jia Li. Sitting there, she wondered if she should follow him or manage perceptions in front of her friends.

"Where are you? Why haven't you come down till now?" Wei finally managed to reach Jia Li on the phone.

"I am so sorry. Would it be too much to plead absence from tonight's dinner. I simply can't muster the strength to come down," she begged him.

"I had told all of you that we should move to another place. I knew this would happen. It's her birthday eve and she is miserable. I am going up to her room," Wei spoke in accusing tone to everyone at the dinner table after finishing the conversation with Jia Li.

"He seems to be equally affected or more by the ongoing of the day. I don't think his behaviour is going to help her at this moment," remarked Li Jie after Wei had excused himself hurriedly and walked away.

Though Kong agreed with his assessment, he also understood Wei's insecurity and angst at the moment. It wasn't easy to see the one you love, in pain and stand aside helpless. He just hoped that Jia Li was able to appreciate what the present was offering instead of being stuck in the past.

"Stop being a slacker. We are going for a walk. Only twenty words allowed per person per hour," Shantanu pushed her towards the door, referring to their tradition of near silent walks in Moganshan.

He had been come up right after the call and was persisting for the past fifteen minutes for her to come out of the room.

"Ok alright…just give me a minute to change," she finally capitulated under the guilt of spoiling the fun for everyone else.

"You were right. I needed to walk it off. I feel much better already," she said with a smile, sometime later at the beach.

"This is to inform you that you have nearly finished the quota of talking for this hour. Since it is your birthday eve, I can allow you to speak a couple of words extra but no more," he joked.

"Wow, this is cosy," suddenly Tang was standing in front of them.

With disbelief in his eyes, he saw his Jia Li smiling at something Wei was whispering to her. They hardly looked like work colleagues. Hurt was superseded now by the jealousy monster in his head. He had come straight to the beach to cool off after excusing himself from the dinner with Mei Zhen's friends. Little did he know that more painful surprises awaited him.

"Uh hi Tang, I didn't realise that you were here. Jia Li wasn't feeling well, so we came out to the beach for some air," Wei flushed while replying.

For some reason, Wei felt as if he had been caught cheating with someone else's girlfriend.

"You sure seem to be a considerate boss. She is lucky to have you around. Don't bother about me, please carry on. I was just leaving anyway," Tang spoke caustically.

He started to walk away but turned suddenly and came back to them. Without warning, he lowered his mouth and dropped a swift but hard kiss on her lips.

"Happy birthday, Jia Li…" without waiting to see her reaction, he turned back and walked towards the hotel.