His sister’s namesake.
He stared at it long and hard. Bittersweet pain ripped through him that his kid was named after his sister, and somehow, this felt like fate, making sure he was her father. He had never thought of having kids, but in his heart, he knew if he had ever had a daughter, he would have called her Yuelin. However, realizing that Meilei thought it had been her right to take it still angered him. He would never have forgiven her if she had been San’s.
“Talk to me.. this is killing me, Kai.” Anna was relentless, unable to do anything except sit in disbelief and heartbreak, and Kai finally turned to her.
She should have left when he asked her to.
Anna was devastated.
Anna swallowed hard, her mind racing, and a flicker of realization crossed her mind.
Kai didn’t confirm, but he didn’t react either, and Anna knew she was right.
He had loved her enough to leave a permanent scar on his heart. One deep enough to turn a normally calculated and calm professional into a petty man who wanted to ruin his reputation to settle a score with her. Five years on, he still was wounded enough to keep all women out of his heart.
“She’s the girl you stayed here for, right?” Anna had always wondered what possessed him to take a full year here after coming home to see Yuelin for her birthday. It was meant to be a short trip, and he had zero plans to study elsewhere. He and San together for a homecoming weekend where they had grown up as young kids. Only for both to stay. They had only graduated and still had so many avenues to pursue. Given the international position Kai’s father wanted him to fill, it had never made sense to her.
He was a dad.
She knew him so well that he was not the kind to hold petty grudges or let them consume his life. This had to be major and cut so deep he couldn’t heal.
Anna broke down and sobbed.
Rubbing his face, Kai blew out air and slumped down in the nearest seat, staring at Anna for a long moment and experiencing the burden she sometimes caused him. Guilt tore at his stomach, given he knew about her feelings for him but had no headspace.
This news, side-swiping him off his feet, somehow was now about her and how she felt about it, which made irritation rise.
Kai didn’t have an answer. His plans were as messy as his brain, and he had no clear view of the future. He needed to breathe and let all this sink in.
A week ago, he knew only that he wanted Meilei to suffer as much as he could make her before he walked out of her life a second time and never look back.
“It’s too soon. I’m not ready.” Meilei turned, gripping Yue with all courage fading away, and moved to retrace her steps back to the car. Internal flight response kicked in, but Ling grabbed her by the back of her jacket, hauled her to a standstill, and spun her around to face her again. Yue hadn’t attempted to move and watched them with wide-eyed silence, gripping her Princess Dolly in one hand and pressing it to her cheek. She wasn’t nervous; she knew who Mr. Xuchen was and wanted to play. She didn’t understand her mommy being scared.
Ling was right. Staying out of court and trying to be amicable was their best position. They could refuse him at any time. They could monitor and be right there. Yue would be safer.