"Lily, is there still no news about Rex?" Abby is concerned. After so many years, they have a child but
haven't got married.
Lily frowns and says in an upset tone "I didn't ask. I guess he doesn't want to be disturbed since he
chose to leave."
"Then what about you?" Abby grabs her hand. "Don't only consider the others. Try to take care of your
own needs. Go see him if you feel upset."
"Then what?" She says calmly and helplessly, "It won't help except for making us more upset."
It's not that she doesn't want to see that man. She misses him like crazy every day. His figure, his
everything, all these linger in her head. No one knows how much determination it takes to restrain her
impulse.
"Then you just wait like this?"
"Yes." Lily picks up the glass in front of her and takes a sip. "Six months. I promised him."
Six months.
It's neither too long nor short, but enough to torture one's heart.
Abby is worried about Lily. Lily is so tense every day like a violin string tuned to its tightest state. With a
little bit of strength, it will break. Abby is afraid that Lily won't withstand the pressure.
"Have you thought about other possibilities? What if something unexpected happens in six months?"
Abby is not being straightforward, but Lily understands what she means and is prepared. "Then I'll keep
waiting until he comes back."
Her remarks about leaving with their son if he doesn't come back after six months are purely said in a
moment of anger. After so many years with that man, how can she let go of him?
Abby is surprised at her determination and is somewhat worried. "Lily...."
"Abby, I know you're worried, but I love him so much that I can't control myself." Lily interrupts in a soft
voice.
She understands Abby's worries. She understands them all. But in a relationship, there is always
someone for whom you're willing to give up everything.
The light above her head falls on her face and sparkles at the bottom of her eyes. Abby sighs, "That's
right. We have feelings. Who can be so cold-blooded and heartless?"
Lily holds Abby's hand, her gentle voice firm as a rock in the noisy environment. "There's always
something out of control in one's life. Rex has happened to me. I’m blessed to have met him. I'm willing
to give my everything to him."
They keep chatting. It's been long since they talked so much. Lily feels a little relieved. The private
room is not big, and the restroom is outside. She hasn’t drunk much and felt tipsy. She gets up and
goes to the restroom when she bumps into someone unexpected.
"You really know how to enjoy life, Lily. Coming out for a drink at night? It must have cost you a lot to
drink in the private room." The man who speaks is tall and sturdy. He's over 1.8 meters tall with dark
skin and an expression full of ferocity, definitely not a good person.
Lily knows him. He's the leader of the decoration team she hired earlier. The team did terrible work and
tried to raise the price. She had to fire them and hire another team to finish the work. She didn't pay the
balance due. She has been kind enough to pay part of the fee for such terrible work.
But now....
Lily takes a step back and is sober. "Anything wrong?"
The man smiles maliciously. "How forgetful of you! You haven't paid off the decoration fee. My workers
can't wait any longer."
Lily realizes that he's here to ask for money. Her face turns cold. "I've paid as I should. Why do you
think I still owe you?"
"You haven't paid the balance due."
"Why do you still have the nerve to ask for the balance due?"
"Isn't it normal to ask for money for your decoration?" The man's face turns white in anger. He raises
his tone and argues unreasonably.
Lily doesn't want to argue with him, "OK, if you think the money I settled for you is unreasonable, you
can go through legal proceedings as I said before. We've signed a contract. You can sue me."
"You!" How can the man not know it? He has been in the business for many years and always does as
little as possible work. Seeing that she was a woman who had no company, he did even less work. This
is normal for him! Who knew this woman was a lawyer and used law to counterattack!
If this dispute goes through the legal process, he won't have the law and the facts on his side.
The man's gaze goes around Lily a few times. He wants to play an unreasonable trick. "Anyway, you
have to give me the money today, or I'll have someone smash your shop!"
"Alright, then go." Lily is not afraid at all. After being with Rex for a long time, dealing with such a
person is easy. "I'm afraid you'll lose even more in the end."
It's the simplest to deal with such a person who only knows force with wit.
The man sees her calmness and reckons it's not very possible to get the money back tonight. Just as
he is thinking about what to do, Lily rushes toward the restroom behind him.
Perhaps he's too anxious. He grabs Lily's arm with so much strength that it feels like she's beaten by
two chains.
She cries out in pain and tries to get away. "What do you want?"
The man is panicked and enraged by her reaction. He throws her against the wall. Lily doesn't stand
firm and hit her head. Tears flow out as she feels the pain.
At this moment, two men in black shirts appear from the end of the corridor. They're sturdy and strong,
unlike the man who asks for money.
The man's arms clawing Lily's body are twisted behind his back before he can react or see the two
men's faces.
"It hurts! It hurts!" he cries out like a boar about to be butchered, "Who are you? Let go of me!"
No one pays attention to his screams. One of the men bows respectfully toward Lily and says, "Are you
alright?"
Lily is frightened by the accident. "I'm fine. You guys are...."
"Mr. Ryan sent us here."
Mr. Ryan?
Lily realizes. "Ryan?"
"Yes."
"How did he know I was here?"
The man turns and looks around. "It's a long story. You can ask him."
They're his subordinates, so they can't talk too much. Lily understands and doesn't make any further
inquiries. She thanks them before going back to the private room. Behind her comes the man's plea for
mercy, asking her to let him go. Lily ignores him and enters the room.
"What took you so long?" Abby is about to go out to look for her.
Lily is afraid she'll be worried, so she doesn't tell her. "There was a long line in the restroom. Let's go.
It's late, so how about sleeping over at my place?"
Abby also wants to spend more time with her. "Alright."
The next morning, she doesn't have to get up early to take care of the kid since it's the weekend, and
Abby is still in bed. At 8:15, she goes to the courtyard and calls Ryan.
The phone rings twice and a hoarse voice sounds. The person is apparently not fully awake. "Hello?"
"Did I wake you up?"
With a single sentence, she manages to silence the man on the other end of the phone. After a while,
he become a bit more awake, "No, but it's time to get up."
"You're back?"
"Yes, it's been a while."
She doesn't ask him why he didn't tell her he was back, and Ryan doesn't mention it either. After five
years together, they understand each other well.
"Let's have dinner tonight. It's the weekend. Adair can go too."
Lily speaks first after a long silence.
"Alright."
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