293 Unequivocal dependence upon him

3pm, Shanghai

Jia Li had visited the new condo where Tang had been living recently. He had mentioned about it in one of the mails to her. But she couldn't get any information from the stone faced manager there. It was early for the meeting with Mr. Wang but she had run out of other options. She decided to go and wait at the office's entrance lobby for the meet. He was her last and only hope left. Upon reaching the place, she informed the reception about her arrival and turned to go find herself a seat.

"Ouch!" she had banged into another woman who had been rushing past.

The young woman's hand was bandaged. With her eyes closed, she was grimacing in pain.

"I am so so sorry. It was unintentional. Does it hurt terribly?" Jia Li asked her in concern.

The woman shook her head in negative but her pale face was suggesting otherwise. Looking at the scene unfolding in front of her, the receptionist called up Wei's office since Ms. Samantha, the new director seemed to be closely working with him. She had seen them come and go back from work together in the recent past.

"Come, sit down. I am going to get you a cup of water," Jia Li said and ran towards the water dispensing machine.

Bringing the water to her, Jia Li sat on her haunches as the woman took a sip of water and looked at her ruefully.

"Actually the fault was mine. I should have been more careful about where I was going, especially with a bruised hand. Pease don't feel bad. I am better now. The pain is slowly subsiding," Sam tried to console the striking woman in front of her.

She was gorgeous. There was no other way to describe her. Deep green eyes with flawless skin, the woman had a shimmering elegant air about her. Even dressed in normal office attire, she looked amazing. She was someone who would probably be called an 'effortless beauty'.

Sam was busy admiring her looks when a stern voice interrupted her reverie, "I told you to stay home and take care of that hand. Why can't you ever follow instructions?"

Jia Li's heart froze at the sound of that voice. Loathed to turn around, she kept sitting down on the floor with her back to Wang Wei.

"I am absolutely fine. Nobody needs rescuing here, so put back that sword in its sheath. As for staying at home, I was bored," she pouted.

Jia Li was hoping that the woman would keep Weibusy enough for her to make an escape unnoticed and she nearly succeeded in it.

"Hey, sorry! Ignore the man and his scoldings. Thanks for the water. Also, I wanted to tell you that you have beautiful, unusual eyes for a Chinese woman. I am sure enough people have told you this but I couldn't help myself from saying it. I am Samantha, by the way," she extended her hand to Jia Li who had just raised herself to her full height and was trying to move away without turning to face Wei.

At her words, Wei froze. There weren't too many women with unusual eyes in his universe. Heart pounding, he placed a restraining hand on Jia Li's shoulder and came around to face her.

"Hi", he said softly.

Jia Li's face was flushed. She didn't know how to meet his eyes.

"Hi, Wei. How are you doing?" she replied in hushed tones.

His cold hand grabbed her equally frozen fingers, "come with me."

Without waiting for her to say yes, he held her hand and took her away.

Sam stood there, forgotten, forlorn and hurting. She hadn't seen such expressions on Wei's face ever during the past weeks that she had been closely associated with him.

"Samantha, if this is the woman whom he was seeking in London that time, then you don't stand a chance," she informed her already bleeding heart.

Wei didn't let go of Jia Li's hand till they entered his cabin.

"What's wrong? Why have you lost so much weight? Are you unwell?" his words were like a soothing balm to her extinguished spirit.

She had missed him, the solid support which his presence used to bring to her, his thoughtfulness which could understand everything unspoken.

After days of heartbreaking loneliness, Jia Li came up and hugged him hard, tears already flowing down from her cheeks. This is what she had been dreading the most, her unequivocal dependence upon him. But she was tired of being brave and needed a few minutes of respite.

Wei's heart thundered in anxiety as he felt her tears raining down her cheeks. Sitting at the edge of his table, he held her firmly in the circle of his arms while she emptied her grief out.