Chapter 8 The Impressive Apology

Early in the morning, Blake had arrived, reporting to Darren about the car accident. He noticed Jessie was heading out and he asked her to accompany him.

"Jessie, are you actually going to marry Mr. Mark?"

he asked, unable to hide his surprise. Jessie didn't give him a reply. Instead, she fell silent.

She didn't want to get married. After all, no girl in her sane mind would want to marry a stranger who also happened to be disabled.

Since she had no choice, she could do nothing but oblige to her father's whims.

She was destined to be Darren's pawn. If she refused to marry now, she could only imagine the kind of person her father would bring for her next. When she thought about it, marrying Mark and going into the Lan family didn't sound so bad. From what she knew, Darren was capable of even selling her if it meant he would get what he wanted.

Throughout the journey, she sat silently. Every now and then, Blake brought up some topics, hoping to dispel the silence. But Jessie put no effort to further their conversation.

"Ahchoo!"

Jessie sneezed and Blake's hand instantly fell on the air conditioner's button, switching it off. Jessie asked, "Blake, do you have any tissue? I forgot to bring some." Blake took a piece of tissue from the backseat and handed it to her.

While he was doing so, his eyes fell on her hand. It was terribly bruised. Nervously, he asked, "What happened to your hand?"

"I'm fine. I got hurt while walking. I wasn't careful" Jessie drew her hand back, attempting to hide it. But Blake continued to look at her, his eyes full of suspicion.

'Got hurt?' he thought, not convinced by her words. Even though he had only gotten one glimpse, it looked like she was brutally beaten by something.

Knowing that Jessie didn't want to talk about it, Blake decided to let go of the topic. If he wanted, he could find out how it had happened.

After twenty minutes, the car came to a halt. It was parked a little away from the Lan family's villa.

Blake actually wished to take her to the gate, but Jessie refused to let him accompany her.

All by herself, she walked and arrived at the gate.

She stood a few seconds, gazing at the huge villa. She was soon escorted in. She sat silently in the big living room. In spite of its beauty, she felt suffocated inside. There was something depressing about the atmosphere here.

On her opposite, Nelson sat, eyeing her. Jessie clenched her fists, trying to suppress her nervousness.

Nelson was in his fifties and looked quite majestic. There was a frown on his face which frightened Jessie.

"Uncle Nelson, I'm here to apologize to you. I'm really sorry for breaking my promise last time," Jessie said, cutting to the chase.

"Sorry?" With a snort, Nelson leaned against the sofa with his feet crossed. In a deep voice, he said, "You don't have to feel sorry for us. If anything, feel sorry for yourself. We, the Lan family, is considered very noble. Breaking this alliance won't cause us any harm. Mark may have some health problems, but we have plenty of rich women, dying to become his bride. They are quite fond of him,"

he said and looked at her haughtily. Jessie found his words funny but didn't dare to say anything.

'Do all parents think that their children are the best?

Mark is not only disabled, he is also disfigured. What are they proud of?' she wondered, but didn't voice her thoughts. Deep down, she couldn't help but feel a frustrated. His father thought she was dying to marry him!

The truth was, marrying him was the last thing she wanted to do. The only reason she was here was because she had been forced.

"Uncle Nelson, I didn't mean to break my promise last time. I was getting ready to go to school. The moment I got into the car, I was knocked out. And then when I woke up, I found myself in a strange place. It was with great difficulty that I managed to escape that horrible place. Finding my way back was really hard. I rolled down the mountain and hurt myself. Thankfully, the villagers came to my rescue. Uncle Nelson, if you don't believe me, please take a look at these wounds."

While speaking, Jessie pulled back her sleeves, revealing the wound on her arms. She willed herself to cry and few drops of tears began to flow from her eyes. She tried to feign sadness, hoping the man sitting in front of her would take pity on her.

"Alright! It's all over now. Let's just let it go. Darren should have told me about it. It wasn't nice of him to send a little girl like you to apologize. Well, I'm not angry any more. But you have to go upstairs and explain things to Mark."

Nelson didn't wish to talk more. He had already wasted a lot of time sitting with her. He was ready to let her go now.

Seeing that Nelson was not angry any more, Jessie let out a sigh of relief. She got up and climbed up the stairs. Mark was upstairs.

'What kind of person would Mark be?

Can I deceive him like I deceived Nelson Lan?' she couldn't help but wonder as she walked.

Jessie took Nelson for a naive man who had no idea her story had been fake. The truth was, he had figured it out already. After all, she was still too young for a cunning fox like Nelson.

In spite of her lies, he was willing to allow Jessie to become a part of their family. After all, she was too important for him!

"Excuse me, is Mr. Mark there?"

"Mr. Mark is waiting for you in the lounge on the third floor. Please follow me."

"Okay, thank you."

Until then did Jessie realize how spacious the house was.

She had assumed that the Lan family had a house similar to that of hers and everyone lived together in it. However, in the Lan family, there were four villas, united by one large garden. The front door would take people to the main villa where Nelson lived. The other three sons occupied the rest.

Mark, the third son of the Lan family, was living in the last villa.

"Mr. Mark, Miss Jessie is here."

"Well, you can go now. Don't come in unless I call for you."

When Jessie saw the servant coming downstairs, she began to shiver, starting to feel quite afraid.

"So, you are Jessie Lin?" The man with his back to her suddenly pressed on his wheelchair, turning around and facing her.

As Jessie looked at the man in the silver mask, her heart began to thud against her chest. 'Okay, that's what Mark looks like,' Jessie thought.

"Yes. I came here today to apologize to you."

"Apologize?" Mark chuckled. "Haven't you heard that I never accept oral apology?"

"But..." Jessie trailed off, not knowing what to say. Composing herself, she asked, "How do I apologize then?"

A glimmer of surprise flashed through his deep eyes. Good! She seemed a smart girl.

"Look at me. I'm the third son of the Lan family. I can get anything I want!" he said, sounding extremely proud.

Raising his eyebrows, Mark looked at her, wondering what answer she would give him.

In the beginning, when he heard that Nelson had found him a fiancee, he was repulsed. From his experience, women were hypocritical and had nothing in their head. They liked to soak their faces in make-up.

There was something about Jessie that told him she was different from the rest. Her prison break attempt and lab experiments were testimonies to her intellect. He found himself quite impressed with her.

He would like to see if this woman was indeed different from others.

Standing there numbly, Jessie racked her mind, wondering what this man wanted.

'If he doesn't want oral apology, he is looking for a physical one. And that would be a kiss,' she realized.

"So, what's your decision?" he asked, snapping her back from her reverie.

"If I give the right kind of apology, do you promise not to cancel the engagement?"

Mark gazed at her silently. 'She seems eager to marry me. I am disfigured and disabled!

Jessie, it looks like you are superficial and not any different from all the other women.'

Realizing she was waiting for his reply, Mark said, "If you turn out to be right, we can get married right away."

Mark's words were all the consolation she needed. Trying to relax herself, she mumbled, "Okay! I hope you will keep your word."

Saying that, she strode to Mark, took off the silver mask and kissed him on his lips. While she did this, her eyes remained closed.