My steps faltered, a desperate urge rising within me to offer some defense, some justification for my actions. Again, she felt a profound listlessness.
The way he described this marriage alliance, one would think he was venturing into a dragon’s den, a tiger’s lair.
Unbeknownst to him.
Reborn into this life, how could I possibly surrender myself to fate as I did in my previous existence?
When Marcus‘ mother uttered the name of my betrothed, ‘Charles Lee‘ of the Lee Group, the memories of a bygone era came flooding back.
Him?
We had crossed paths in my previous life.
口
ག་ད་དང། ༥༡་་་་རལ་ཀམ། །
7:37 AM
6
02
That year, my son had just reached the tender age of three.
Marcus Chase, in a rare display of affection, proposed a trip to Japan to celebrate my birthday.
Overjoyed beyond measure, I even, in my foolish excitement, endured a sleepless night before our departure.
It was only upon landing that I saw Summer Sue waiting to greet us.
I stood there, utterly stunned.
Ah, Summer Sue happens to be sojourning here. I trust she will graciously act as our guide for the coming days.
An unnatural tremor laced Marcus Chase’s voice.
A bitter laugh threatened to escape me. Summer Sue, perpetually studying in America, inexplicably sojourning in
Japan? Preposterous.
one.
Confined within the hotel walls, we engaged in the most ferocious quarrel of our shared history.
As Marcus Chase slammed the door in his wake, I glimpsed a furtive smile playing upon his lips.
In the desolate days that followed, I could not reach him, my calls unanswered.
Summer Sue’s Twitter updates were frequent, and with a near–masochistic compulsion, I clicked through each
Vaporous tendrils clung to the bathroom glass, obscuring a man’s back, the rumpled sheets, a crimson mark
upon her collarbone…
I understood then that all which was destined to occur, had.
On my birthday, after consuming an entire bottle of sake in solitude, I stumbled from the hotel.
Wandering aimlessly in a daze, a street pulsating with garish lights and deafening music ensnared my attention.
Unbeknownst to me then, it was Japan’s infamous red–light district, a haven for iniquity.
Scarcely had I entered when a man speaking Japanese accosted me.
Then, my arms were seized from either side, and my feet were abruptly lifted from the ground.
The two men gabbled between themselves before hauling me toward a van parked at the curb.
The haze of intoxication cleared almost entirely in an instant.
I shook my head wildly, kicking and flailing, desperate to break free.
The man on my left reached out and patted my hair, and in that instant, my limbs turned to lead, devoid of all
strength.
I bit down hard on my tongue, fighting to stay conscious, and whispered in despair.
“Help, help..”
A split second before being shoved into the car, the two holding me were suddenly kicked away, sent sprawling
to either side.
My body went limp, and I collapsed against a solid chest.
A powerful arm encircled my waist, and the subtle aroma of cigar smoke filled my senses.
“Daring to kidnap our people, you’re courting death.”
