Chapter 6 I've Abandoned Everything From The Past

As soon as Janice entered the study and walked over to the large oaken desk to turn on the computer, her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she answered the call and put the phone to her ear.

"Jannie, my birthday is coming up in a few days. Will you be coming back soon?" The raspy voice, over the phone, sounded like it belonged to a middle-aged man.

The moment she heard the low rumble of his tone, Janice started to feel better, as if a piece of her broken heart had been restored.

"Dad, I won't be able to attend your birthday party, but if you have time afterwards, just let me know and I'll take you to eat birthday noodles." There was genuine affection and warmth in Janice's words, even though they were meant to turn him down.

Jill Jian pursed his lips and heaved a deep sigh of disappointment.

"Since you don't want to come, I won't force you. But, I will take you up on that offer if you're paying for the noodles!" As an understanding father, he knew that Janice wouldn't have refused to attend his party if she had a choice.

"It's a deal," said Janice. However, just as she was about to hang up, Jill's voice rang out in her ears.

"Jannie, is Malcolm... Is he good to you?" The way he stuttered awkwardly carried his innermost feelings.

Janice, however, felt uncomfortable to hear him speak with such apprehension and nervousness.

After all, it was her own will that led her to marry Malcolm two years ago. In fact, Jill did everything he could as a father to persuade Janice not to marry Malcolm, but she turned a deaf ear to his concerns. Needless to say, all of that created a huge void in the relationship between the father and daughter. Although, they still cared for each other, their bond was never the same again.

Janice would be lying if she said she didn't regret her decision even once in the past two years, but she decided to stay committed to her decision and face the consequences because she didn't want to spend the rest of her life living in guilt. As such, even if the consequences of her actions weighed heavily on her conscience, she swept them all under the rug and fed Jill only the good news, so that he wouldn't worry about her.

Breaking away from her pensive state, Janice lowered her head, touching the photo frame on her desk and slowly said, "We have known each other for a long time and he has always been good to me. You don't have to worry about anything, Dad!"

Just as long as she was still a part of the Rong family, she was contented with life as it was.

Jill, however, was a tough man to fool and sure enough, he was able to catch the disappointment in her voice. Acting out of love, he allowed her to say what she wanted and then said,

"That's good. That's all I have been thinking about. Well, Jannie, it's getting late. Go to bed early. I have to get back to work." Jill hung up, soon after.

As Janice drew back the phone from her ear, she looked at the screen and felt a strong urge to cry her heart out.

The past two years had only widened the gap between them and despite their sincerest efforts to shorten the distance, they still failed.

'If only I hadn't been so stubborn back then, perhaps things would have been different between us today,' she pondered. Unfortunately, no one could turn back time and undo their mistakes from the past. Janice and Malcolm were no different.

By the time she finished her work, it was already three o'clock in the morning. After sending the design drawing to the director, Janice turned off the computer and went back to her room.

The silence that slid around her in the cold, dark room offered no comfort or reassurance. Malcolm's body was framed by the blanket. He must have fallen asleep.

Janice felt relieved and she slipped into bed quietly. After tucking herself in, she heaved a sigh of relief upon realizing that her movement didn't disturb Malcolm's sleep.

She closed her eyes for a moment before she heard long, steady breaths from her side. Squinting with one eye open, she titled her head a little to see Malcolm's side profile.

The line of his side face from the eye socket to the chin was a beautiful thing that attracted her so much. Janice stared at him in the semi-darkness, the only illumination being the moonlight which shone through cracks in the curtains. Perhaps, it was the dim light of the moon or the fact that he looked so peaceful in his sleep, but Janice couldn't help comparing him to a quiet painting which invoked peace and calm to those who set their sights on it.

Slowly, Janice felt a strong urge in her heart.

She reached out her hand gently, hoping to get a feel of Malcolm's hair. Janice held her breath as she approached his face with great caution.

She was just hardly a centimeter away from touching his hair. Just as she moved closer, she heard a beep and a faint light lit up next to Malcolm's pillow. It must have been his phone.

Frightened, she immediately lay down on her side and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, just in case Malcolm woke up. The last thing she wanted was for him to catch her in an embarrassing way.

Janice stayed frozen like that for two whole minutes before she realized that Malcolm was still sound asleep. Only then did she unclench her wet palms and blow on them a few times.

"I'm happy already." Janice took a deep breath, feeling contended as she didn't dare to ask for more. Just being able to witness the man sleeping so peacefully at such a close distance was more than she could ask for.

She sucked in a swallow of air as she steadied herself. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she heard his phone beep again.

Janice panicked and sat up straight. Finally, she gathered the courage to pick up Malcolm's phone from his side because she wanted to put it on vibrate so she wouldn't be disturbed again.

However, when she grabbed the phone, she accidentally pressed the 'unlock' button and the screen lit up. All of a sudden, a few text messages he had received popped up on screen in front of her.

"Malc, I think there is still a lot of room for improvement about what you've said before. I've printed out all the proposals. Why don't I come over to your place in the morning? I hope you don't think that would be inappropriate."

But, you have to take care of your wife. I need you to defend me if she gets jealous and loses her temper. I am not too keen on confronting your wife. I'd much rather talk about the next step our families need to take to keep our cooperation running successfully."

Suddenly, Janice's body went stiff as if it would snap at any moment.

Mostly because she didn't know who had sent these messages.

Although she had been married to Malcolm for two years, she knew nothing of his friends. Judging by the casual manner of the messages, it wasn't hard to see that Malcolm must have had a good relationship with the sender. In fact, they sounded too close for Janice's liking.

Every fiber of her being wanted to unlock the phone and see how Malcolm spoke to this girl. She wanted to know whether Malcolm behaved in the same way he did with her or whether they were so close they could be considered best friends.

But when she typed in the code, she was asked to try again. Janice entered '0604' in a hurry, but she was reminded again that the password was wrong.

All her fear and anxiety exploded inside her at once.

Suddenly, she remembered that there was no turning back between her and Malcolm No matter how hard she tried and struggled, their relationship felt almost like a soap bubble.

Just as Janice was lost in thought, a cruel and sarcastic voice took her by surprise.

"Janice, I have abandoned everything from the past; my passwords, habits, and you..."

After saying that, Malcolm stood up, grabbing his phone from her hand and went to the guest room, leaving Janice in bed sleepless and disappointed.

When Janice opened her eyes the following morning, it was already ten past eight, leaving her only fifty minutes to get to work.

She quickly washed up and went downstairs to have breakfast. But when she arrived in the dining hall, she saw a gut-wrenching scene.

Malcolm was sitting at the table with an unknown woman. There was a rare smile on his face, and his eyes were soft. Every bit of his demeanor crushed Janice's heart.

Having noticed her standing at the bottom of the stairs for so long, Malcolm shifted his eyes towards Janice and said,

"Why are you standing there?"