Imperfect Desires 327 Just Got Dumped

"I'm turning my back on you? Are you sure you're not talking about yourself?" Nora was taken aback when Ah-Si turned around to face her. His eyes held so much accusation and she couldn't even decipher what she actually had done wrong.

"Can't we just talk like the good friends that we used to be? Why are you letting a single mistake come between us?" 

"Mistake? Mistake!! Why is it always a mistake when you say it?" Ah-Si was on the verge of exploding but he kept his voice down because they were in the middle of a bookstore. There might not be many people but he wasn't intending on disturbing others. "Even after four years, I'm just a mistake to you?"

"That's not what I meant," said Nora in a strained voice. "You're engaged to someone else, I shouldn't have taken you to the room when you're drunk. I'm sorry! But trust me, what happened was not my intention at all."

"Of course, it wasn't your intention otherwise you wouldn't repeatedly call us a mistake." He sounded hurt and confused with his own feelings as he couldn't stop himself from speaking out. Holding her arms in a tight grip he looked at her dangerously, "I told you that I broke my engagement. I told you that I'm in love with you. And yet in the morning, you said it was all just a mistake!"

Nora's eyes widened in shock. "Y-you mean when you said all that... You actually meant to say it to me? Wasn't that just the alcohol talking?"

"Who else was there?" gritted out Ah-Si angrily.

Nora shook her head back and forth frantically. "No, I mean to say... I thought you're drunk and you meant all those words for your fiance. That's why I was so confused. I never meant to call you or us a mistake. Do you have any idea how much I have loved you all these years?"

Ah-Si scoffed to himself at her words while she continued, "I don't know what or how you misunderstood it but I never had any feelings for Dylan. The other day when he told me how you're still under the impression that I like him, I was shocked. I never tried explaining before because I thought it'll complicate our relations.h.i.+p if you knew that the one I love is you. How would I know that it will lead to such a big misunderstanding?"

Nora kept talking in a daze before she recalled something and looked back at him. "Ah-Si, did you really mean it when you said you love me?" She tried to look into his eyes which he avoided. "Tell me. Just once more. Can't you say it one more time?"

"What difference would it make?" he retorted in half-annoyance and half-dispair. "You and I have drifted apart. We're no longer the same people."

"But I'm still standing right there. I still am in love with you." 

Ah-Si sneered at her words. "You have a weird way of showing your love then. Because if your intention was hurting me then you've perfectly done that." He took a deep breath before saying, "Besides I don't love you anymore."

"Then why are you still holding my hand?" questioned Nora and only then did Ah-Si noticed that he was still holding her hand which he abruptly let go. "You still love me and this time I'm certain of it."

"Isn't it too late though?" Ah-Si shot back. "Whether I love you or not wouldn't really matter at this point... I just want to spend my life with my daughter."

Leaving Nora frozen still to her spot, Ah-Si turned and left the store without looking back at her. He didn't want to turn around, he knew if he did he won't be able to hold himself back. But he had to be strong. For himself. For his Ava. 

He still remembered that night vividly. He broke his engagement which was actually his grandmother's arrangement and going against her was a huge step. He still went against her wishes and broke off the engagement because he wanted to tell Nora freely that he was in love with her. 

Because of Dylan's stupid game, he drank a bit too much and everyone thought he was sulking because of his broken engagement which in reality held no importance to him. Except for the fact that he wanted to use that engagement as a bridge to pave a cordial path between his father and his grandmother. 

While he was drunk, he wasn't drunk enough to the point of not knowing his own surroundings. He knew it was Nora who took him to the room and he also knew how he finally gathered up his courage to confess to her. He confessed with his words, with his actions, and yet she was telling him now that she thought all those words were meant for another. 

He hated it whenever she said that it was a mistake. He still remembered the morning after, she was already gone when he woke up and when he tried contacting her, she only replied with, 'I'm sorry, Ah-Si. I know it wasn't supposed to happen. It was just a mistake. You don't have to worry about it.' It boiled his blood but he still kept waiting for her. However, she never showed up. 

After being tired of his waiting for a month, he chose to leave the country. He didn't want to stay behind at this place which just reminded him of her. 

"Yo!! What took you so long?" 

Ying's voice broke Ah-Si's trance and he was brought back from his painful memories. He looked over and saw his daughter snuggled up against Ying's chest as she was lightly snoring. The sight instantly warmed his heart. Then he noticed the shopping bags in Ying and Cali's hands and his brows twitched.

"Are you planning on buying the whole mall?" 

Ying looked at him thoughtfully, "Not a bad idea. But for now, I'm happy with this much. She is my one and only niece, I need to buy the best for her."

"You look so comfortable with my daughter that I'm actually surprised that this is the second time you're meeting her," said Ah-Si suspiciously.

Ying conveniently chose to change the topic as she said, "Oh, look at the time. Let's rush back now." She definitely wasn't gonna tell him that she had sneaked up on this girl way more often than he could imagine. That was a little secret between her and her little niece. Besides, saying it out loud sounded creepy and stalkerish. 

As they were walking out of the mall, Ying leaned close to him and inquired, "Ah-Si, are you crying?"

Ah-Si was startled by her question. "No, I'm not. Why would I be crying?"

Ying shrugged her shoulders as she answered, "I don't know, I just thought you looked like someone who just got dumped or something." She patted his shoulder and added, "But if you really do want to cry, I can lend you my shoulder. Also, I'll keep my lips sealed and you won't have to answer any question."

"Ying Jie, you're really something," he shook his head at her while she acted nonchalant about it.