Chapter 1
Yan Jane stared blindly at her computer screen. She squeezed her eyes shut, drew in a long breath, and tried to release tension as she exhaled. Opening her eyes, she couldn’t help but glance at the wall clock. Nine o’clock. Yan Jane knew her grandfather would worry about her working late, but it was the only way for her to shut herself away from the outside world and pretend that she was okay.
Yan Jane stood up restlessly and went to the window that overlooked the street. “Damn him!” she said out loud. The intensity in her voice shocked her. It’s been five years since everything happened, but she will never forget the scene of the night she lost everything. Her fingers clenched into a fist, trying to hold back her emotions. The trauma of having her entire universe crumble down had been too much for her to handle. If not for the therapy sessions and the support of her father, maybe she would have committed suicide a long time ago. Shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath, just like her therapist had taught her, she looked at her reflection in the glass window and smiled. Her smile did not reach her eyes, but no one would notice if they were around.
“I’m okay. See, I’m still alive, and that is the most important thing,” Yan Jane murmured. She doesn’t remember how it started, but anytime she remembers what happened and gets depressed, she will take a deep breath and smile. As if her smile could solve everything. She walked back to her desk and shut her computer off. Picking up her purse, she left the building of the multibillion-dollar company that she owns.
Sitting in the Audi A3, Yan Jane didn’t immediately start the car. She felt lonely and depressed tonight. She had worked her ass off this past couple of years to distract herself, but she continued to feel empty. Now, this emptiness was consuming her. Tonight, she will allow herself to be Feng Jane for once. “Wish me luck, Love,” she whispered as she stared up at the sky as if she was talking to someone up there and started her car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was Friday night, and the club was full of many people. Lei Zoe kind of figured that it would be on a Friday night. Just as she was about to enter the club, she bumped into someone.
“I’m sorry,” a mellow voice said in front of Lei Zoe. Raising her head, she sucked in a deep breath as she stared at the woman in front of her.
Everything about her redefined perfection. She was not wearing a sexy outfit or a short dress; she was wearing the exact opposite, a business suit. Lei Zoe never knew a business suit could make a woman this beautiful and sexy.
Yan Jane felt self-conscious as she stared at her without blinking her eyes. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at her. She was beautiful; she had this elegant and noble appearance, and her commanding presence made it difficult for people to ignore her.
“Beautiful,” Lei Zoe whispered.
“Pardon?” Yan Jane asked confusingly. ‘Why was this woman behaving so strangely?’ she thought to herself.
Realizing that her actions were weird, even to herself, Lei Zoe awkwardly laughed.
“Sorry, I was asking if you’re okay.”
“I’m fine and sorry once again,” Yan Jane said as she bowed and turned away. She then walked inside the club, completely ignoring the woman.
Lei Zoe stared at her back. She didn’t believe in love at first sight. But for the first time in two years since her girlfriend left and her brother died, Lei Zoe had just found another woman attractive. Can that be because she has been celibate for too long, and now her hormones are acting up?
She shook her head as she entered the club.
-IN THE CLUB-
“So, the prodigal daughter isn’t horny again tonight?” Lei Zoe shrugged when she heard what her friend, Heny Liu, had said. She has been too busy the past few years, even to find a woman sexually attractive.
She had invested everything in her work because she wanted to make her brother proud. Ever since her brother died, she knew that she couldn’t be as carefree as she used to be. She had hated her brother for leaving her alone in this world. Her brother had promised to always be there for him, but because of a girl, he died. Was the girl more important than her? She has wanted revenge on the girl and has been searching for her for years, but it is like she never existed.
Heny Liu gave her a friendly punch to the arm. Bringing her back to the present, she said, “Girl, that is the third chick you turned down today. You keep looking around as if you’re looking for someone. What is wrong with you?”
Lei Zoe was too lazy to talk to her. She thought once she saw other girls, her hormones would kick in, but no girl had excited her like the woman she met at the entrance. Now she is bent on finding her, but she can’t even see her shadow, it is like everything was an illusion.
“Check that out, man f **k!“. Heny Liu exclaimed as she let out a high-pitched whistle.
On the dance floor was the woman she had met at the entrance. She was in her little world as she had her eyes closed and seemed lost in the lyrics and rhythm of the song. Dancing in a suit would look weird, but no-no actually, it was the hottest thing she had seen in years. She had let down her hair, put on her red lipstick, and opened a few of her buttons, showing off a bit of cleavage. To drive you insane. It makes you want to open all the buttons and unlock the mystery hiding in that suit.
Yan Jane raised her lips in a sly smile when she opened her eyes and saw the woman she met at the entrance staring at her. Holding her gaze, she offered a close-mouthed smile that appeared highly seductively.
Lei Zoe knew right that she had sold her soul to the devil, but man, she had no regrets looking at the woman in front of her.
Yan Jane looked at the woman she met at the entrance and smirked. She saw the desire to conquer in her eyes, and she felt good about it. Even though she had gotten tons of proposals from men and women before, she knew they only wanted her money. But the look in this woman’s eyes was different. It was as if she had finally found something that she had been looking for, and now she wanted it with all her might. She watched in amusement as she approached her. Just as the woman was about to reach her, a petite blonde appeared in front of her.
Lei Zoe frowned when she looked at the person blocking her view.
“Hey, Gorgeous. You want to buy me a drink?” the woman said as she batted her fake eyelashes, pushing her breasts to her side.
“No,” Lei Zoe replied.
“So cold. I like that,” The woman’s tongue snaked out to touch the top of her lips.
Lei Zoe winced. She was losing her temper. Lei Zoe didn’t understand why these types of women tried so hard, wearing those tight dresses that they can barely breathe in. She appreciates the magic effect of makeup, but using too much makes them look like clowns. She hated it.
“Hey, babe, where have you been????”
Lei Zoe widened her eyes in surprise when she saw Yan Jane, who had placed her hands on her shoulder. Jane smiled at the dumbstruck look on Lei Zoe’s face and turned to look at the woman.
“Miss, is there something my woman can help you with?”
Jane coldly asked as she scrutinized the lady in front of her with her eyebrows hunched together. Seeing the icy demeanor of Yan Jane, the lady snorted, glared at Jane, and left the place.
“Stop looking at me like that, Weirdo,” Yan Jane sarcastically said as she turned to Lei Zao.
“You can’t blame me, right? It’s not every day that I meet such a charming lady like you, Love.” A smug smile spilled from her lips as she winked at her. Jane rolled her eyes at her, ignoring her cheeky reply.
“If you have finished your speech, Weirdo, you can buy me a drink. I just saved you from whoever that was,” Jane said distastefully.
“It would be my pleasure, Love.” Lei Zoe wrapped her hands around her waist and walked her to the bar counter.
Heny Liu looked at her friend, flirting with a girl, and opened her mouth in surprise. She is shocked because ever since her brother died and her sister left him, Lei Zoe was the coldest and the most indifferent person she had ever met. ‘So who is this person who was shamelessly flirting with a girl?’ Heny Liu shook her head helplessly as she left them alone.
Lei Zoe looked at the woman, who was busy drinking and sighed. Since she brought her here, she has completely ignored her existence, and all her focus was on her drink. She was questioning her charm.
“That’s enough. You have already drunk enough,” Lei Zoe said as she tried to take the glass from her hands. Jane pushed her hands away as she gulped down the rest of her drink.
“You’re supposed to accompany me to drink, not stop me,” a confused frown marred Jane’s forehead.
An awkward silence fell between them. Lei Zoe said nothing as she stared at the woman sitting beside her. She knew she was hurting because she once had that look in her eyes. Suddenly, she saw tears in her eyes. Lei Zoe raised her hand to wipe the tears that had fallen from her eyes.
“You... I’m not crying. Something fell into my eyes,” Yan Jane said as she turned to look at Lei Zoe. “Only weak girls cry, and I’m not weak. I’m a beautiful, successful, and happy woman,” she said. Jade erupted into laughter after she said this. It felt like she repeated a programmed message that she had embedded in her brain to keep herself stable. She poured more wine into her glass and raised it towards Lei Zoe. “A toast... hmm - for being strong,” without waiting for Lei Zoe’s response, Yan Jane drank her wine in one gulp. She looked so broken, sad, and crushed that Lei felt her heartache for her.
Her shoulders slumped in defeat; Lei could see that she was a woman who had always acted like she was strong and would not give away the amount of pain buried inside her. But the withdrawn look in her eyes gave her away, telling an unconventional story. Lei Zoe looked at the woman who was drunk and sighed out loud. She didn’t even have time to ask her what her name was or where she was staying. She guessed that she would have to stay with her tonight.
Zoe called her friend to look after her as she went outside to call her driver. Just as she was about to enter the club again, she heard her phone ring. Looking at the caller ID, she groaned in annoyance. She knew her mother would complain about not bringing a wife home yet. Running a frustrated hand in her hair, she picked up the phone.
“Mom...”
If Zoe knew that picking up the call would make her miss her little temptress, she would never have picked it up.
