Married to his secret crush

There was a long pause from the other side of the phone and just when he thought that the woman would not make any comment on his statement, as usual, she spoke up, ''And what good will it do you if you continue holding grudges against a person who is no longer there in this world? You tried to irk her with everything when she was alive. It has been two years since her death and you are still...'' the woman sighed, ''...you are still taking revenge for what she did. But is the revenge worth it? Are you just not ruining yourself in the process?"      

''I hate her,'' he said within a beat, tears welled up in his eyes and he glanced at the sky. He loved her and missed her too.      

''I know you do and somewhere I hated her too. Your father was in depression for years because of her. But don't forget that she gave birth to you and somewhere, I can't blame her. For your mother, your father was not the one just like for me, my ex-husband was not the one. We meet many people in life, believing that they are the ones we will grow old with. But then we grow up, people change and we end up walking out of those relationships because of betrayals, lies, or simply because it didn't work out. Then we go through a phase where we are determined to stay away from love and relationships. Yet eventually, we start craving all of it despite the walls in our hearts. At one point, you meet someone at the most unexpected time, in the most unexpected place who stirs your heart and tears apart the walls you built around yourself. And eventually, you just know that you can never let them go.''     

''Are you talking about how you fell for dad?" Mu Shen chuckled, ''That was a long rant though.''      

''Ugh... Tsk,'' He laughed when she clicked her tongue, ''But it's true. It happened to me. I was in a loveless marriage though I married that man out of love. Before I met your dad, I had no faith in love anymore. But then my heart wavered. I knew I was a married woman and he was a married man but my feelings for him were pure. We were business partners. To avoid problems, I kept them in my heart till your mother revealed that she cheated on him... sigh...My boy, love is not complicated. When it happens, it happens and you know it. It feels neither forced nor wrong. You don't fake your laughs and you can't stop it at all. If you hurt them, it hurts you more. Maybe your mother's way was wrong, but she found the right person for herself and she could not help it despite her circumstances.''     

Mu Shen was not certain. Things could have been done in a better way if she had put some effort into them, ''Or maybe not.''      

''Xiao Shen, as long as you are sure that you won't end up with regrets then do whatever you want. But always remember that regret leaves nothing in your life except for a huge hollow in your chest,'' she hung up as soon as she finished speaking.     

Mu Shen glanced at his phone blankly. Was it that difficult to converse with him? Why did she have to hang up...?      

He leaned back on the reclining chair and tilted his head to the side, looking at the terrace attached to his.      

...      

Li Shuang locked the door and walk towards the elevator, dragging her suitcases with her.     

She had just taken a few steps when her footsteps came to a halt and she turned around to look at the door next to hers.      

She stood rooted to her spot and glanced at the closed door for quite some time before stepping inside the elevator.      

After reaching the underground parking, she arranged her luggage in the car's trunk before walking towards the front.      

After getting inside the car, she threw her phone and wallet into the passenger seat.     

Li Shuang let out a soft sigh before leaning her forehead against the steering wheel. Maybe this was for the better. She convinced herself again. He was... maybe just a crush.      

With that thought, she inhaled a deep breath and stepped on the accelerator.      

''AHH!"      

'Screech'      

Li Shuang stepped on the emergency breaks and the car came to a screeching halt.      

She glanced at the man standing in front of her car, her lips parted in disbelief.      

 ''Do you want to die?" She opened the door and walked towards him.      

''I... swear I was not trying to commit suicide,'' Mu Shen panted as he leaned forward, placing one hand on her car and the other on his knee.      

His hair was in a mess and his body was all sweaty which made his shirt cling to his body tightly.     

She hated how her throat ran dry at the sight of his current condition.      

''Wh-Why are you like this?"      

''Someone was there in the elevator. I had to run here before you leave...''      

''You ran... all the way to here from the 18th floor?" As he nodded, she blinked, ''Why...? And how did you know that I'm leaving,'' she did not remember discussing it with him.     

''I overheard your conversation with your grandfather,'' Mu Shen straightened up and combed his hair with fingers before he stepped towards her, ''...But I swear I was not eavesdropping on purpose.''     

''And you came all the way here to say goodbye? You know...'' She stepped away from him and turned around to walk towards the car, ''...There is no need for any such formality.''     

He grabbed her hand and tugged at it and she ended up losing balance. He wrapped his other arm around her waist to save her from the fall.      

Li Shuang's heart sped up as she felt him hugging her from the back. But he was quick to let go of her and she realized that he was just saving her from the terrible fall that was about to happen.      

Mu Shen intertwined their fingers and twirled her around, looking into her eyes, ''If I say that I lied earlier about my feelings, then will you give me another chance to come clean?"      

''You...'' Li Shuang blinked, ''What if I don't?"      

''I will fight for the chance till you give it to me. How does that sound?"      

''Why would you even do that?" Li Shuang tried to move her hand from his grip and he let her go.      

She was disappointed for a moment but in the end, she did not show it on her face.      

''The first time when I saw you in the dormitory, I thought that you are the most beautiful woman I have seen in my entire life,'' he said with an expression that highly resembled hers, ''And every meeting that followed, I found myself stealing glances when you were not looking. I like the way your nose would scrunch up ever so slightly when you would eat something you don't like and how your lips would twitch when you heard something funny. I admired the way you broke up with your long-time jerk of a boyfriend, without a shred of hesitation. I like the way you act unruffled by almost everything even when the tiniest thing bothers you easily. I like everything about you that you tend to hide, knowingly or unknowingly.''      

Her heart skipped a beat.     

Li Shuang's lips parted, ''I...''      

''Shhh...'' He pressed his finger on her lips and looked at her with so much adoration that she felt herself melting, ''You're magic and I swear to god that you had me hooked around your fingers since who knows how long. But I never thought of myself as someone worthy of you. You are too pure, too precious for someone like me. That's what I thought. I've always believed that you deserve someone better...''      

Her bottom lips stuck out, forming a little pout and he laughed. His hand moved to the back of her head, his fingers raked inside her hair as he stepped closer to her and pressed his forehead against hers.     

Everytime she tilted her head to look at him, he had the urge to do this. ''...But look at the kind of guys you end up with. They are no better and it will break my heart to see you around them. So, in the end, I decided that I am going to make myself better for you.''      

The corner of her lips twitched and she bit her bottom lips to hold back on the smile, ''That sounds something like you are taking pity on me...''      

He laughed when she stomped her heels on his shoe, ''You're mine now. No boyfriend, or suitor making a wall between us anymore. Not like I would let anyone do that. Not anymore.''      

''So, you are saying....?" Li Shuang blinked innocently, acting unaware about where it was going.      

He stepped back from her and dropped to one of his knees, ''Li Shuang, let's date,'' he extended his hand towards her.      

Her heart was showing no signs of calming down anytime soon. She glanced at the red rose in his hand and her brows tugged together.      

''Uh... I had to rush here before you leave and had no time to arrange flowers so I plucked one when I was running down the staircase,'' he cleared his throat.      

''You stole flowers from someone's house?"      

''Well, they are keeping it out on display and I had no other option.''      

Li Shuang blinked, ''There are CCTV cameras everywhere. What if you make it to headlines again?" she leaned back on the car and laughed, throwing her head back, ''I can even think of the headlines. 'Presenting the superstar as a flower thief' or...''      

''I don't mind them as long as they mention who I stole the flower for,'' he interrupted her.      

She stopped laughing and glanced at his serious face, ''Stand up first,'' she whispered after a few minutes.      

He did as he was told.      

She glanced at the rose in his hand, ''Why did you reject me that day?"      

Mu Shen's grip tightened on the rose.     

''Hmm?" she glanced at his face.