“Yixing-“

Michelle smile turned into a frown immediately, when she noticed the person standing at her room’s door. Yixing had promised her to come back soon after meeting up with her father, for reasons he had failed to disclose. She felt they had been hiding something from her, both Yixing and her father. Her father seemed extremely convivial with her fiancé and it puzzled her. She remembered how angry he had been when she had made her wishes about marrying Luhan known. However, he seemed to have taken Yixing’s proposal quite well, he had even dropped in for a visit, chatted and laughed with his prospective son-in-law.

She had been inwardly delighted to witness that; as much as she disliked her father, she did yearn for his acceptance, and him accepting Yixing meant a lot to her. Yixing had asked her to give her father a chance, he had told her that he felt rather remorseful and wished to mend their broken relationship. She had been hesitant to do that, she believed the man had been given enough time to fix his mistakes. But he hadn’t utilized it. She was neither cold nor warm towards him, she tried her best to be cordial as Yixing had been around, urging her give him a chance. And of late, she found it hard to go against Yixing’s words.

It was as if she had been completely smitten with the man, she longed to spend every passing minute with him, even though it had led to friendly, childish disputes with Nana. The older woman had been jealous, not because the younger girl had taken her son away; she wished the girl would spare some time for her too. She had always reminded her how she had been just like a daughter to her and apparently it had been a great change to spend time with her, than being around her lovable yet annoying son.

“Hello, Michelle.” Michelle sighed before turning towards her best-friend, who had walked in through the doors.

“What do you want?” she asked bluntly, making her displeasure evident. Just when she brought herself to forgive him, he seemed to do things that hurt her more. She had been extremely angry at what he had done, not for calling her insane, but for hurting Yixing.

Luhan sighed softly before taking a seat next to her bed. He had spent the past few days thinking about his actions. He knew he shouldn’t have said those harsh words to her, but he had been tremendously disgruntled to see her with Yixing. He didn’t like the idea of her with another man; she was supposed to be his. He had met her first; it should have been him in Yixing’s place. But Michelle professing her love for Yixing made him realize that he had lost her. And he had nothing else to blame but his own mistakes. Had he been courageous enough to admit his love and take a risk, she could have been his.

He knew it was too late now. He had lost her to another man, another man who didn’t hesitate to tell her he loved her. The least he could do was to fix whatever was left of their friendship.

“I’m sorry, Michelle,” he said earnestly, placing his hand on top of hers. He didn’t miss the bright gold ring on her fingers, which was nothing but a sign that she belonged to another man and not him.

“Apology not accepted.” Michelle looked at him sternly, lips stretching into a wider frown and eyes bearing distaste. She was tired of this, of him messing things up and asking for forgiveness later on. In a way, she felt relieved that she had Yixing now; she wouldn’t be trapped in Luhan’s terrible love-hate cycle anymore. She realized his biggest flaw was his fickle mind; it had cost them their beautiful friendship. It had caused him to hurt both the girls; she couldn’t even imagine what Liling might have gone through on her wedding day. She hoped the other girl would visit her once, so she could ask for forgiveness and fix things between them.

“Michelle, look, I know I shouldn’t have said those things, but I had been jealous,” he confessed. “I felt jealous seeing you with another man.”

“Well, that other man is my fiancé now, Luhan. And I’d appreciate it if you left us alone.”

Luhan nodded softly, although the girl had her head turned away from him. It hurt him to see this hostile side of hers, but he believed he deserved it. Not only had he hurt her, he had even accused her of lying when she had been pregnant with his own child. He felt as if he was being punished for his mistakes, the mistakes that had cost him his unborn child’s life.

“Can’t we still be friends? We’ve known each other for so long, Michelle, it would be a shame if he drifted apart just like that.”

“Just like that?” Michelle turned towards him with an evident scowl on her face. “You hurt me Luhan, on numerous occasions. You did nothing but flaunt your relationship with Liling, despite knowing how much I loved you. You accused me of lying when I told you I was pregnant! You didn’t once care…you didn’t care at all,” she gasped, trying hard not to sob. She had been nothing but forbearing towards him when all he did was hurt her. How could he expect her to forgive him so easily?

“So, please stop pretending like you value our friendship, when it’s quite evident that you don’t. You’re a selfish bastard.”

“But I love you,” he exclaimed. “I’ve always loved you, Michelle.” He leaned forward with bated breath, cupping her cheeks gently. He had to let her know, he had kept his feelings buried for so long. He felt she deserved to know.

∻∻∻

“Mr. Yang?” Yixing walked in to the old man’s office carefully. He had been there a plenty of times, his job as Mr. Yang’s secretary demanded he spent most of his time in his office. Mr. Yang had been a fairly strict employer; he expected his job to be done on time. And when he was impressed, not only would he sing endless praises, he’d also give them a small gift. Yixing respected the old man; he had always come across as an esteemed, sensible man.

He remembered the first time he had walked in to Mr. Yang’s office, it had been a day after his father’s death and he had shut off his mind to concentrate only on finding a job. He had been a twenty year old student, who still hadn’t completed his studies; he knew his father’s untimely demise meant he had no other choice but to find an employment and forsake his studies.

 He had been nervous, he hadn’t been given enough time to prepare. Mr. Yang had scrutinized him in every manner before asking him why he had come. He had answered him honestly, about his father’s death and his widowed mother and how he had to take up responsibilities. He hadn’t known what to make of Mr. Yang’s expression, but he’d believed he told him enough to earn his trust.

“I have a vacant secretarial position,” he had said looking through his gold-rimmed spectacles, “you can start working from today. But you shall complete your studies alongside.” Yixing had bowed repeatedly in gratitude towards the wealthy man.

“Ah, Yixing!” Mr. Yang exclaimed, settling his pipe aside, “Take a seat, young man.”

“Mr. Yang,” Yixing bowed politely before taking a seat.

“It feels like yesterday when you walked in through those doors asking for a job,” Mr. Yang chortled. “Your earnest behavior was the first thing that struck me.”