Chapter 5 Nice To Meet You

Leena fiddled with her fingers at the door. After a moment of hesitation, she finally swung the door open.

Miguel was leaning against the sofa when he heard a creak at the door. He turned around and stared at the intruder silently.

She inhaled deeply and beamed brightly at him. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Miguel! Seems like you are in a good mood today. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

He fixed his sitting position and tapped the space next to him. "Miss Yang, please sit here and have a chat with me," he urged.

She made out a pleased expression and immediately followed his instruction. "Mr. Miguel rarely comes here. Do you want me to order some wine?"

"I'll gladly accept your offer as long as I can talk to you. Furthermore, it might help to enhance your performance in this hotel." He pressed the intercom and told the waiter to bring some wine. He ordered a whole bottle even though he was a light drinker.

Leena couldn't decipher his words but since he was a rich customer, she brushed off her confusion. "You're good at joking, Mr. Miguel. Are you alone today?"

Miguel replied indifferently, "I've been waiting for you for these past three days!"

She looked at his eyes and saw the sincerity in them. For a while, she was baffled but then decided to break the silence. "Why? What do you want from me?"

"I think your makeup looks a little heavy today. Are you allowed to wear that much here?" he asked instead of answering her question. He stared at her intently as if there was something that he found odd in her.

She quickly turned her head away from his probing eyes. Even though the workers here weren't supposed to wear too much makeup, she had to do that for him not to recognize her.

To divert his attention away, she opened the bottle of wine and poured it into his glass. He only took a small sip while she drank up the drink.

He gaped at her way of drinking before he put his glass on the table. "Looks like you are a good drinker. Is it required in your job?"

"I guess so. It's kind of a must for every director in this hotel." Her voice sounded stable but deep inside, she felt uneasy. His thoughts were a bit hard to predict. He must have come here to explore her private life and not to have fun. Did he recognize her? Anxiousness crept into her heart. Was he able to see through her despite her effort to look different? "What do you want to talk with me today?" She changed the topic.

"What does your work here entail?" he inquired.

"Train new personnel," she answered.

"How about your hobbies? Do you have any interests?"

"None," she replied monotonously.

Hearing what she said, Miguel was speechless. After being silent for a while, he changed the topic and asked, "Have you been working here for long? I want to know your reason for working here."

"I don't remember exactly how long I've been here since I have a poor memory. All I know is that it's been several years, and I came to work here just because I wanted to."

"Are you planning to stay here for the rest of your life? You must have a plan, don't you?"

"I don't know, maybe. I'm just trying to go with the flow of life." Leena was about to reach for her drink but when she saw the frown on his face, she pulled back her hand.

Miguel peeked at her softly and plastered a stirring smile on his face. "Your ambition has been compromised by this thing called life. Are you willing to give up all of that and be here for the rest of your life?"

When she realized that his question seemed to be deeper than it should be, she stood up and picked the microphone. "Why don't I sing you a song, Mr. Miguel?"

At her reluctance to answer his question, he decided to let it slip by. He instead told her to sing the songs of Fish Leong. As the song got sadder and deeper, he stood up and hugged her from behind.

Leena caught the lyrics in her throat and stood frozen. She tried to remove his hands, but he only gripped her tighter. He lowered his head and whispered the next lyrics of the song in her ears. "It's a pity that it's not you who accompanies me 'til the end. We already lost each other at that intersection..."

He pulled her body closer towards him, not letting even the air pass in between. "Why should we let such a pity exist? Why couldn't I be the one beside you until the end? Why do we have to lose each other at some point?" he asked.

They used to be together. Even though there was no clear line as to what they were, they treated each other intimately. However, they were pulled apart by the cruel fate of life as she got stuck in her dilemma at the age of 16. After that, a rift started to drive them apart.

Leena's heart started to beat erratically against her chest. She wanted to calm down, but she couldn't. Being near him was so difficult that she couldn't continue to sing anymore.

Miguel embraced her tighter and said, "You look like one of my acquaintances. Even if you deny it, I'm sure that I didn't make a mistake. Even though years have passed, you still sang that song the same way you did before. You haven't changed... You haven't changed..."

Leena struggled to push him away. "Mr. Miguel, I―"

He turned her around and began to kiss passionately. He laid bare all his feelings for her through his kisses. He wanted to make her remember her times with him while punishing her for pretending to not know him. He hated the way she changed the beauty that drove him crazy.

When the air became necessary, he let go of her. She was panting and her face was flushed in deep red. "How long are you planning to run away from me?"

Tears filled the brim of her eyes when Leena saw the loss in his expression. It was like his unexpected kiss woke up every bit of passion inside her. Did he still care about her after all those years?

"Miguel... I'm sorry for running away." The walls she built all her life started to crumble down just by his presence. She missed him so much that she didn't want to put on her mask anymore. If he still had her in his heart, then there was no use in restraining her heart. She had been guarding and caging her feelings for him and she wouldn't want to do that anymore.

"Leena, it's really you!" he whispered as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Her throat started to feel tight as her chest started to ache. She hugged him tightly and put her face on his chest. "Miguel, why didn't you just forget about me? Why?"

He let her sob in the comfort of his arms as he stroked her hair affectionately. "How could I forget you just like that?"

Leena clutched his shirt in her hands tighter. At that moment, all that mattered to her was him. Even if they were worlds apart and even if they had to go against the world, she was determined not to let him go anymore. She loved him so much even after all these years that they weren't together. She had been unhappy all this time. Even though she was living there was always a hollowness in her heart. Now that she got him, she would never let this happiness go anymore.

Miguel hugged her and said, "You can always cry and lean on me. When I'm in front of you, you don't have to pretend to be strong. You are my Leena. The most important woman in my life..."