The Gorgeous Ex Girlfriend

London

"Ok, I give up, Don"t take her to all these places but can you atleast bring her to New York slightly early? You can do some local sightseeing, dine at a few places and then attend the reception . Melissa and I can join you one of the evenings, if you like . Just don"t let go of this opportunity to spend some quality time with her . That"s all what I am asking you to do," Eric implored .

Hui looked at the earnestness on his friend"s face and was deeply moved by it . He knew that Eric wanted his happiness . But how could he explain to him that he knew deep in his heart that Jia Li was not going to be swayed by whatever he may do . He had seen her countenance that evening in Sudan .

Still, a part of him urged him to just use this as an excuse to spend some time in her company . It was tempting! 

"Ok, done! Now get out, I have work to do," he said brusquely .

Eric threw a punch in the air in jubilation and stepped out before Hui could say anything further to him .

One week later

"Are you ready? I should be under your building in ten minutes," Hui"s voice held impatience .

Jia Li smiled at the thought of her boss being forced to go on a trip filled with social interactions rather than excavations, animals and scanty population . Though Eric had asked them to fly down a week in advance, both Jia Li and Hui had decided to go only two days prior to the function .

She had just put down the phone when it rang again . This time it was Shanghai calling .

"Jia Li, I want to quit on him . He is an absolute mean guy . I don"t want to love him anymore," Sam"s voice wailed through the cellphone .

Smiling at the younger woman"s theatrics, Jia Li asked, "what happened now?"

Ever since Jia Li had come back, Sam had taken it upon herself to call her atleast once in two days on some pretext or another . Apparently, the ice breaking which had occurred that night at the dinner table, had caused Sam to form an irrevocable attachment to Jia Li .

"Nothing has happened . That"s the problem . He is neither moving ahead nor letting me move any further in the relation," she lamented .

"Uh, I thought that you guys were already at the deepest level of connection . How much further do you want to go?" she teased Sam .

"Jia Liiiiiii, stop with your innuendos . I meant emotionally . Every time that I wish to speak with him about the future, he clams up on me . Is he having second thoughts?" her worried words came through the call .

Sighing, Jia Li sat down next to her still open suitcase and replied, "Sam, you have got to give him time . This is fairly new for him . For all his flirting image etc, he is a conservative and old fas.h.i.+oned guy when it comes to love . He will take it slow and you will have to develop a lot of patience with him . He is yet to heal completely . There are no shortcuts . And also, this time will never come back . What"s the hurry? Enjoy it and cherish the man next to you . He is one in a million . "

Sam was quiet at the other end .

After a few beats of silence, she asked, "were you never tempted to accept his love? I can see how much you like him . "

This was a conversation which Jia Li didn"t wish to have with Sam but it was also necessary to have it, if for nothing else then to just to lessen her insecurity .

"We are all different kinds of people . Some of us are born to share our affection, some to just save it for one person . After committing a number of mistakes over a long period of time, I finally realised that I belong to the second category . I have absolutely zero love to give to any other person, howsoever much I try . It is meant for only one man and one man only . He is one of the most imperfect guys in my acquaintance but unfortunately, my heart is a poor judge and didn"t take into account any relevant parameters except my feelings when choosing him above anyone else . So, no, even if I had wished at some point to have those feelings for Wei, I could have never developed them . I am simply incapable . And it is my loss because he is such an amazing guy . Which is why you should not have any second thoughts and just continue to be with him . Now, I have a flight to catch and a really irate boss waiting for me downstairs . So, I am going to go now . All the best to you!" with that, Jia Li put down the phone .