"Jianjun, are you okay? You seem lost" His worried mother asked.

He raises his head to look up at her. He had no idea when she came to his room because he had been so lost in thought.

"Mum. When did you get here?" He asked.

"Few seconds ago. I knocked but you didn't respond" She said before sitting on the chair opposite the bed he was sitting.

"What is wrong? Is this about Changyu again? When are you going to stop brooding?" She asked in genuine concern.

He used both hands to cover his face. Took in a deep breath and released it slowly.

"Why did we never think her 'Song' was that 'Song'?" He asked in frustration. "Why did she have to lie about her family? I don't... I don't just understand" He dropped his hands from his face to look at her, hoping she would have an answer for him.

"Things would have been different if we knew she was from that family. I wouldn't even have accepted her as an apprentice. A lot would have changed. So you shouldn't blame her for hiding it. And stop living like this. Everyone is worried about you. Especially your father."

Jianjun nodded. "I'll be fine" He said in a low voice.

She sent him a small smile before covering one of his hand with both her hands.

"I am really sorry. It's all my fault. But....you really have to stay away from her. You don't want her parents coming to cause a scene at the restaurant again. They might do something worse than that next time."

He raised his head higher and tried to blink back tears.

He remembered how she had pleaded with him the previous week to run away with her.

How she had cried and accused him of not wanting her because he didn't agree to it.

His dream had been to become a chef along side his wife in his parents restaurant—just like his parents. It had never been to run away from everything because he was scared.

Should he have run away with her instead? He was beginning to rethink.

He had waited in front of her gate for hours, two days ago. But they told him she didn't want to see him and sent him out. When he refused, he was beat up. He still had those bruises even now as he spoke with his mother.

He could no longer hold it in. The tears spilled out. His mother embracing him made him sob even louder.

"Wh..at...what if... I never see her again?" He asked between sobs. "I..want to see her.. see her everyday"

"Jianjun please..." His mother pleaded. "I like her also. But she is out of reach now. I know it's hard. But you'll get over it. We'll all help you"

He pulled away from the hug after a while and sniffled. "I'll just go get fresh air" He forced out a smile before leaving.

He left the house for the restaurant that night. It was the only place he could think of going to. It was the place that held most of the memories he had with Changyu.

"Brother Jun..." He heard a soft voice call him immediately he entered.

'How nice would it have been if that voice was Changyu's' He thought as he turned around.

"Helene? What are you doing here by this time?" He tried to sound natural. Not wanting her to know he had been crying. She also had tears on her face with bloodshot eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked moving closer to her.

She kept trying to suppress her tears but she couldn't. She gasped repeatedly before finally bursting into tears.

"She...she died. Esther.... Esther died."

Esther was the 5 years old girl Helene loved so much. Apparently, she had been ill with an incurable disease. Nothing could be done about it and so she died.

"I..watched her die.." She continued to cry but in a muffled sound now. She walked closer to him an hugged him even as she continued to cry.

Jianjun felt her pain. Maybe because he was going through his own ordeal. He really needed the embrace.

The two broken people found solace in each other's embrace as they both quietly sobbed.

**

Jianjun woke up with tears sliding down the corner of his eyes. He used his phone to check the time and found it was slightly past 5am. He sighed.

Ever since the moment he heard Changyu was in the country, he had been having dreams about his past.

He wondered how she was doing. If she was out of the hospital. If she had eaten anything. He wondered why she looked so pale. A lot ran through his mind but then, he remembered he shouldn't be worried about her.

He would be an unfilial son to his parents if he did so.

He looked at the direction of the room where Sara and Joreen was sleeping. Sara had come in really late. He wondered the kind of 'delivery' and 'item' that would make her stealthily walk inside the house when it was past midnight.

She always worried him. Right from when she was little.

He knew Sara was able to take care of herself. He had enrolled her in various fighting classes from the moment she clocked 5 to when she turned 16. He knew she could fight. Her personality even got worse after the year she suddenly disappeared.

But he still couldn't help being worried. She was still a woman. What if she got into the hands of bad guys? She had been able to beat up a group of boys a couple of times when she was younger but he wasn't sure she would be able to beat up a group of grown men now.

There was a lot to teach her. And one of them was her manners. She had to learn to speak properly to people so she won't be getting into trouble.

So, he made up his mind to enroll her in the best manners and etiquette class he would find.

He stood up and went inside the kitchen. The best thing to do at a time like this was to cook.

***

Changyu looked nothing like her previous self that appeared before them just two nights ago.

She was wearing a black sweater dress with a big faux fur coat that were perfectly shielding her from the cold. A black jean trousers and boots with a heel, making her look like a total baddie.

She looked nothing like the elegant CEO many people knew her to be. Her love for jewelries remained. She was wore whatever jewelry that went best with the outfit. A necklace, earring and designer ring. Her hair had been shortened to a Bob which ended just below her chin. A few strands of her completely dark hair were already turning grey from the root. It was the only evident to show she was in her mid-fourties instead of the late twenties that she was looking right now. She had a mild make-up on.

But her facial expression was entirely cold.

The Song family were all shocked to see her looking like this. Her PA had done a good job informing all members of the Song family to make sure they were present that morning in the mansion.

Even her sister's husband and daughter were there.

"Let's go in" She said before moving past all of them. Not bothering to say 'Hello' to anyone.

They all willingly followed her. Her parents were tensed because they knew whatever she was here for wasn't good. And it actually wasn't.