"In the spirit of full disclosure, I would like to tell you that I had an enlightening conversation with her where she didn"t really hold back the real intentions with which she has come back to you," she told him on a huff.Suddenly she was rethinking the wisdom of coming and having such a frank talk with Wei. Maybe she should have thought of a better, subtler way of conveying this to him. But her Irish temper almost always got the better of her.
Nonetheless, it was too late now for any sort of strategy and she never did have any patience to play games! Might as well say everything directly.
"Interesting. So what did Jia Li have to say about me, us?" he asked, bemused.
Sam truthfully narrated the entire conversation, including the part where she had claimed to sleep with him every night in the recent past.
"Please don"t misunderstand me. I just wanted to gauge her reaction to the news about your proximity to another woman. But guess what, she didn"t even get jealous or try to fight it out with me. If I was to a.s.sess her reaction at the time, it looked like she was plotting something. Maybe she wants to use this info and emotionally blackmail you. I am telling you that…" her tirade was cut by Wei.
He shushed her.
"Calm down. At this rate, you shall begin to hyperventilate within seconds and I don"t know how to administer CPR. First, Jia Li is not my woman. Sometime ago, I had hoped that she would be but now I know otherwise. Second, she is one of the most selfless person I have ever know so I would appreciate if you don"t misunderstand and bad mouth her, without knowing any better. Third, why are you so interested in my affair suddenly? And lastly, I wanted to have this discussion when I returned from office this evening but you came here instead. I think we should talk about what happened last night," his last sentence carried a serious undertone to it.
Sam looked at him in consternation.
"d.a.m.n, did I make a fool of myself in front of that person and Wei just now? NOT HIS WOMAN? Come to think of it, I actually never asked her whether or not she was his girlfriend. I simply a.s.sUMED in my jealousy. Can the Earth just open up and swallow me, now? Wait a minute, why does he look so serious when he wants to talk about last night? Is he feeling guilty about it? No, I don"t want to know…" the monologue went on in Sam"s head for a few seconds while Wei waited patiently for some reaction from her.
"I, uh, I was just looking out for your interest like the way you have been doing for me. I didn"t mean to be nosy or hurtful. I am sorry if I ended up offending you. As for last night, it was a consenting act between two adults, so there is nothing to discuss except if you are willing to talk about a repeat of the same," she decided to adopt a blasé att.i.tude.
Wei softened his expressions in front of her brazen act. He knew that the previous night was a lot more precious than just casual s.e.x for both of them. But there were things which he needed to say out aloud lest he hurt her.
"Samantha, I think last night was extremely special. And I am not trying to seek or offer excuses for it. But I believe that you are meant for a really special person, one who places you at the centre of his universe and fills it all with love and happiness. Unfortunately, I am not that person. I am someone struggling to come to terms with the rejection of his own love. I HAD a person at the centre of my universe and now I can"t keep her there because she belongs to someone else. I do not know if I will ever be ready to give that place to another person and I don"t want you to waste your time and affection on someone like me. So…" Sam came and put her palm against his mouth, stopping him from saying anything further.
"Who told you that I am looking to replace someone else in your life? I don"t want the love which you have acc.u.mulated for another woman. All I want is an opportunity to prove to you that life does give us another chance. And that I don"t want to be the centre of your universe, only a happy part of it. So, are you willing to give me, give us a chance? Maybe we can start by being friends first?"
Though the words were different but they reminded Wei of the first confession of his love which he had written to Jia Li, years ago...