280 First Sober Hug

"Welcome to the family, Wang Wei. I can see that you have already started taking care of our Sam. I am really grateful for it. I would really like if you stay back and have dinner with us tonight," Mrs. Li offered softly.

Wei coloured slightly at her words but said, "I… thank you for the really kind offer but I am afraid I'll have to take a rain check today. It has been a traumatic day for Sam. I am sure she is exhausted. Maybe we can do this sometime next week?"

Sam took the cue from his words and echoed her agreement. Walking upto Grandma Li, she hugged the woman and whispered a 'thank you' in her ear.

In the meanwhile, Zhu Cheng had come upto Wang Wei to welcome him into the family. Looking coldly into his eyes, Wei growled softly enough for his ears only, "stay miles away from Samantha."

Zhu Cheng took a step back and gave an injured look to him, "it seems that your impression about me may have been coloured due to Sam and my complicated history. I assure you though, I have nothing but her best interest at heart."

Wei didn't bother to reply. He walked towards Samantha instead and touched her elbow lightly, signalling that they should leave.

She stepped out of the house with him, without acknowledging either her father or his son in-law. Trailing behind Wei, she was trying to calm her heart which had been racing ever since he had uttered those words. While telling her what to do when they reached Li mansion, Wei had not mentioned anything about him weaving this story in front of her family.

Stopping in front of the car, Wei couldn't hold it in any longer. He was feeling really awkward. He had taken liberties without consulting her and since then he had dared not look at Sam's face. What must she be thinking of him?

He turned to face her, the car's door was behind his back.

"Sam, I… am sorry that I didn't tell you about the whole 'us meeting in London' thing. It just came to me when I saw that the family wasn't getting as convinced as I would have liked them to. I just wanted to deliver a solid punch forcing them to look at you in a favourable light. Please don'tmisunderstand. There was no ulterior motive to it. Do you get what I am trying to say?" he looked at her intently.

Sam was overwhelmed by the genuine sincerity of the guy and it felt as if a part of heart melted and flowed towards him. On an impulse, she jumped up and put her arms around his neck, giving it a squeeze. Wei's arms automatically came around her waist to balance her as she stood on her tip toes. He smiled at her exuberance, words weren't needed…

What they weren't aware of was the fact that this hug was witnessed by two other people, the car's driver not counted amongst them.

Grandma Li was standing at the door's entrance, affording her a clear view of the newly discovered love birds. Her heart was finally settled looking at them. They looked perfect together!

"How dare she? Does she think that by trapping a rich boy, she would get one up on me? It was my fault that I went too easy on her. Now no more. Wait till I make you lose the boyfriend, shares and family, Samantha Li. Complete annihilation coming your way," Zhu Cheng swore as he peeked out of the study's window.

"Thank you once again for today. Would you like to come in… for a cup of coffee or tea?" she offered a touch shyly.

They had reached her house.

"No, I don't want you to waste any time on the niceties. Go home and start packing up. I will arrange for someone to pick up your belongings and help you move into a new flat. As we have discovered, this building is not a safe place to live in," he said with a frown.

He was worried about leaving her alone tonight also but didn't want to come across as an over bearing person. He had already spoken with the real estate agent and arranged a condo for Sam in his building. The security measures were top notch there and he was around as well in case of emergency. Sam may have thought that she won big today. But he knew that Zhu Cheng was not going to take it lying down. She needed to be on guard even more henceforth. This was one of the major reasons why he had implied that he was romantically inclined towards her in front of everyone. He wanted Zhu Cheng to know that he had Sam's back.