Jessica opened the box with care. She took out a yellowish piece of paper which was aged by time. The receipt marked the date on which they had broken up. She noticed the price of the item – it was almost a month of his salary then. She peered into the box and saw the bits and pieces of a broken watch. She remembered his fury on that day.

~ Flashback ~

"Who is that man?" he shouted at her. She had never seen him in such fury before. She knew by instinct who he was referring to.

"Is he your sugar daddy?" he continued to shout at her before she could answer.

"He is my father, not my sugar daddy!" she raised her voice at him too.

He paused for a moment. He knew she was from a well-to-do family but it had never crossed his mind that she was a daughter of a tycoon. "Damien Hsuan, the property magnate is your father?" he asked her.

"Yes, he is my father." she admitted to him.

"Is it fun for you to go out with a poor guy?" he asked sarcastically to her. His inferior complex was acting up.

She did not understand him. She shook her head at him.

"Are you so bored with the courtship from the rich young men that you are seeking excitement from dating a poor guy? I supposed this must be an eye-opening experience for you." he made it clearer to her. His pride was hurt.

"No! I never had such an intention. I just didn't know how to let you know." she tried to explain. She had wanted to tell him that she was from a rich family but she was worried that he would not accept her as a friend because she knew how proud he was. And, she wanted to be even more than a friend.

"You don't know how to let me know because you are worried that I would want your money. Your father is rich but it does not mean that I would want his money!" he said hostilely to her.

"It's not my fault that my dad is rich. I know you are not with me because of money." she reasoned with him.

"Ha! How do you know? If you really believe in me, why would you hide the truth from me? Do you take me as a fool?" he fired the questions at her.

"No, I never took you as a fool. I trust you. I want to be with you." she said to him. She was desperate to make him believe her.

"You trust me? You want to be with me? Once you realise the hardship of being poor, you would be gone with the first rich man that you meet again." he retorted her.

"Why can't you have faith in me? Why can't you let go of your pride? I love you for who you are. I don't care or need the money." she appealed to him to understand.

"You don't need the money because your dad has tons of it and they will be all yours!" he snapped at her.

"If my father’s wealth really matters so much to you, why don't you ask me who my father was first before taking me to your bed last night?" She was getting frustrated with him.

"Why should I ask you when you are just one of my flings?" he retorted her.

"Am I just a fling to you?" she asked him, not believing he had not felt for her at all.

“Of course, just like I’m another one night stand to you.” he replied her in a straight face.

He was her first man. He asked her the night before during their act of passion and she had given him her affirmation. Now, he was suggesting that she slept around, as if she was a wanton woman. She could not believe this was happening. Her head was spinning. Her heart was in pain. Her tears burnt her eyes but she was not going to let them out. She wanted to raise her hand to slap him but she was not going to stoop to his level. She stormed out of his apartment.

He threw the box at the door after her.

~ End of Flashback ~

She still felt the hurt from his words and accusations. Some wounds would never be fully healed.

The image of him making out with the secretary in the pantry flashed across her mind. She closed her eyes tightly; she clenched her fists till her nails dug into her palms; she shook her head forcefully. She told herself not to go down this memory lane ever again, not when she had already made the choice.

The "whys" and "what-ifs" did not matter anymore. It was good enough to know that he had felt for her. This was all that she wanted to know.

(06.05.2007)