Chapter 4 Do You Want To See My Face (Part Two)

"Is this also from the important person you've been speaking of?" he asked casually.

"No, it isn't."

"Then who is it from?" he questioned.

'Who?' The more she thought of the name she had buried deep in her heart, the more she could feel a knife slicing through her insides. It was as if someone had reopened her wounds and drove a blade deeper into the opening.

They say time is the healer for all wounds. One day, the tears that she had shed would soon dry up in time.

But that person was a tear in her heart that could never be stitched up. Just thinking of him felt like a lightning shaking through her very being.

There were times when she had thought of him in the middle of the night, falling through the shadows of his warm smile and wishing to feel the tenderness of his fingertips as they brushed against her forehead. Now, she could never hold his hand again.

"How long have you kept it?" Wesley changed the topic, seeing that she made no answer to his former question.

"Six years." Snapping out of the memory, Lavender smiled bitterly. She walked to the bonsai, blocking his burning gaze.

Six years had passed in a blink of an eye. The bonsai was a treasure she planned to cherish all the days of her life. She would not let anyone take it away.

"If you compare it to the phone, which is more important?" Wesley sneered.

"What?" Lavender blinked back, stunned by his question. The two objects held history that she would never want to forget. She really didn't know how to answer that.

"The phone is more important, isn't it?" The mockery on his lips deepened.

"Forget it."

He snorted. Lavender didn't understand what he meant by 'forget it'. She smiled awkwardly instead. "Mr. Wesley, please have a seat. I'll get you a glass of water."

When she entered the kitchen, she found that she hadn't heated up any water earlier that day. Without saying a word, she quickly grabbed the electric kettle and filled it with water. She boiled it.

Lavender still needed to wait a few more minutes before the water would boil. With this, she leaned against the cold wall. The apartment was definitely far from the luxurious furnishings of the hotel she had been in. In fact, it was plain and unadorned, but she was still satisfied with what she had.

It was only in this apartment did she feel at ease.

Lavender walked back into the living room with a glass of water in hand. As she did, she could hear a soft snore from the sofa. Wesley had fallen asleep. The silver fox mask on his face glittered under the dim light.

She pushed him gently. "Mr. Wesley, wake up."

The man must've been very tired and drunk. After the long day he had, she didn't really know how he had persisted to take her to the hospital and drive her home like he did. Staring at the mask on his face, Lavender felt an inexplicable feeling shooting through her heart.

After hesitating for a while, she stretched out her trembling hand and reached for the mask.

However, as soon as her fingers touched it, he grabbed her wrist. With a pull and a push, their positions had been reversed. His body pressed against hers, and she gasped.

"Mr. Wesley, I..." She blinked, not expecting the turnabout of events.

Wesley didn't give her a chance to say anything more. Instead, he bent down and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"Please don't!"

He didn't listen to her. His large hands clung to her smooth back and his warm breath fanned against her face. The smell of alcohol lingered in the air. Her mind was blank as she struggled against his tight hold. There was something about this man that seemed familiar to her. Whether it was his voice or movements, there was just something about him that made her want to remove his mask.

"Grace," he whispered.

The name immediately pulled her out of her thoughts. It was as if she had been struck by lightning. Realizing what they were doing, she began to struggle even more. But Wesley was just too strong. Making up her mind, she bit him hard on the lips, hoping that it would shock him out of his stupor.

Blood dripped down the corner of his mouth. He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood quickly. Although she couldn't see his face clearly, she could tell that he must be unsatisfied by her reaction.

"Do you want to see my face?" Wesley bent down and placed her hand on his mask. His eyes were bloodshot and he smirked at the woman beneath him. "Lavender, do you know why I wanted to meet you in the masquerade?"

That was also what she wanted to know. Why didn't he set the meeting in an office like any normal job interview?

He pressed against her body tightly as he pinched the sides of her face with enough force that she was afraid that he could tear her face off. He smiled cruelly. "It's only by wearing a mask can people survive– that's what I wanted to tell you."

Before she could react, the man loosened her hand in disgust and walked out of the apartment without saying another word.

A piece of paper fell on her face. It was a check worth three hundred thousand dollars.

She reached out and grasped the check that he had thrown away like garbage. Lavender gritted her teeth. This was the same powerless feeling she had felt three years ago when she had gone through a difficult labor and a massive hemorrhage. That was the day she had given birth to her little baby. That was also the day when her child had been taken away.

Although the night felt long and endless, it soon ended in despair and sadness.