Yan Xiaojun was in his office giving instructions to his secretary when Wu Lina's message arrived. Seeing the familiar name, he opened the message excitedly, disregarding what his secretary was saying. But when he read it, he felt his world collapse. He was dwelling on the hope that Wu Lina will come back to him as a friend, if not as lover. But he realized that he was so naïve that when that last piece of hope pulled away as he read the message, his confidence shattered into fragments more than the number of the stars in the galaxy. He wanted to beg, plead, get down on his knees and tell her that his life had meaning when she was around. He felt bitter and empty.

He picked his coat from the chair and walked out of the office much to his secretary's confusion. Clutching the jewelry box inside his coat pocket that he had been carrying around with him ever since he had thought of proposing to her, he walked out with his mind creating a barrier to the surroundings. His face couldn't mask his misery. He had so many girlfriends, he changed them like he changed his clothes. But today he became a person he never wanted to be. The bitterness rose in his mouth and before he could reach his car, he vomited.

While driving back to his home, he remembered that when Ying Yue had invited him to the party, he asked Wu Lina to accompany him to show Ying Yue that she was no more a part of his life and that Wu Lina had taken an important place in his life. However, he never expected that Yang Xinyu would be present there. Yang Xinyu had stared at Wu Lina intently, which he noticed fearing that Yang Xinyu would advance towards her.

How naïve he was…

Had he known that Wu Lina and Yang Xinyu were already in a relationship, things would have been different. But the matters of hearts and destiny were unexplained in this world.

He had dropped Wu Lina at her office and went back home. It was the next day that Ying Yue had stormed in his office. She was so jealous that she confronted him angrily and informed him that she knew that Wu Lina was Vladimir Yankov's daughter.

"I know that Wu Lina is Vladimir's daughter. You stay away from her. If Vladimir comes to know about her, he will take her away to Sofia. And who knows if he will harm you?" she warned him.

Yan Xiaojun got up from his chair with a menacing look on his face. He came near her and stood in front of her. Pointing a finger at her face, he growled, "Don't utter a word about Wu Lina from your filthy mouth again. I will distort that pretty face of yours if you do that."

Without backing, she said, "If you don't stop seeing her, I will call Vladimir and let him know the whereabouts of Wu Lina."

Yan Xiaojun couldn't hold himself and slapped her tightly across the face. "If you mess with Wu Lina, there will be dire consequences."

Ying Yue instantly clutched her aching face as blood trickled from her lips. She started shaking in fear. What a cruel man. All she did was to love him. Yet he dared to hurt her.

"You will regret this!" She glared at him before storming off.

Ying Yue clenched her fist while looking at her reflection in the car's rear view mirror. Her once pink flawless cheek was now bruised because of him. She couldn't stop tears flowing down her cheeks. He had really hurt her. And for what? For a woman who never loved him? Her gaze turned dark the moment she remembered his words. Right! This is all about Wu Lina! Wu Lina here! Wu Lina there! This is Wu Lina's fault!

She leaves his office, and made a decision to take her revenge.

Few days later, Yan Xiaojun gathered his courage to tell Wu Lina his true identity and propose to her at the same time.

That day, he woke up early and dressed in a blue-cuffed shirt and white pants. Clean-shaven and well groomed, he looked every bit of a gentleman. Excitedly, he drove to her apartment before she could leave for the office. While he waited at one of the traffic lights, his gaze falls on the newspapers that were placed in a stand out the shop. A familiar face on the papers made him apply the brakes of the car. Slowly, he walked towards it and opens the front page to see the bold and beautiful images of Yang Xinyu and Wu Lina holding hands in an amusement park. The papers had announced that they were in a relationship.

Yan Xiaojun pressed his hand on his mouth and stumbled back. So it was true! She did have a boyfriend and it was none other than Yang Xinyu! His worst fears had come alive. In that moment, he grew weak. His hope for her coming back to him had fixed his soul, his mind and that was also his emotional cure. He felt as if he was caged into misery forever. He wanted to rebel and rage against the bars of misery. His love for her was so complicated that there was no escape route. He was pained to the point of becoming emotionally starved and slipped through the bars that were created that moment around him.

From that day onwards, he had taken to drinking so that his empathy would wither. He wanted to slide into mental anesthesia. His soul was being sucked out bit-by-bit, everyday.

---

Today he saw the WeChat message from Wu Lina, he felt powerless. It was over. Or was it?

His secretary who watched him deteriorate everyday didn't stop him that day either when Yan Xiaojun looked at the message and walked out of the office with pained eyes. 'I hope the young master gets what he wants. It is difficult to see him in so much pain these days.'

Yan Xiaojun drove to the nightclub at the 'House of Fengs'. He knew that she was staying upstairs in the penthouse. Although he could never appear in front of her, that was his solace. Every moment spent with her had become a painful memory.