You, CEO’s Secret Wife

These were the same hands that had wrapped around her when she was screaming for joy, the same fingers that had stroked her hair as she was falling asleep. This was the same musky scent that had invaded her surroundings whenever she leaned against his shoulders or buried herself in his chest. Everything about his grip felt familiar–like greeting a long-lost lover. And it still felt as warm as Jian Yun had remembered.     

    

Those were the days when she had thought that their love was meant to last a lifetime–that they would be together till their hairs turned grey. It was the same sentiment that all her friends had shared, and it was a hope that she had held onto ever since they had finally started dating. He was everything to her, and she thought that she was everything to him.     

    

Who would've thought that reality had different plans for them?     

    

Squeezing her eyes shut, she struggled to shake him off. "Let go."     

    

"I will never let you go! Not like before." Xu Haiyang hugged her even more tightly, and suddenly the warmth that she had felt turned biting cold. It was then she remembered that things weren't the same anymore–that his mistakes could never be so easily forgotten. After everything he had done to her, she wasn't going to back down over a simple grasp.     

    

Her eyes narrowed, and her voice became colder. "I said, let go!"     

    

"I know you hate me, and I don't blame you," he begged, hugging her. After everything that had happened, he couldn't bear to let her go any longer. There was something about her aura and softness that had made him feel at home, that had comforted him even in the darkest of nights. "But I really was forced that night. I never wanted to do that. Please. Can you find it in yourself to trust me?"     

    

Snorting, Jian Yun whirled around to look at him. "You know what?" A mocking smile slid into her lips. "If you've said this six years ago, I would've believed it. Hell, I would've gotten back together with you if it really was just all a misunderstanding. But six years had passed. What else do you want me to say? It's too late, Xu Haiyang! Give it up already!"     

    

The man had turned pale from her words, and his eyes flashed with unconcealed pain. His mouth opened and closed, looking similar to a fish out of water. He looked like he wanted to say something–anything to hold her back, but it seemed that even he was at a loss for words.     

    

With a sigh, she raised her eyebrows. "If that's the only reason you called me here today, then we're done. I'll be leaving now."     

    

"Yunduo, I'm sorry!" Xu Haiyang protested. Just as she was about to leave, he quickly blocked her way, refusing to let her go until he said everything that he needed to say. "What happened that year–it was all orchestrated by someone. I–I know it! It really was all a set-up. Just please, listen to me!"     

    

"Well, can you tell me who that person is then?" Jian Yun snapped.     

    

"I really can't tell you!" At the sound of her retort, he gritted his teeth and reeled back.     

    

"Well, if you can't say, then there's no point of you talking about it, right?" She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. As far as she was concerned, this was just another one of his excuses that he purposely threw at her. Besides, even if what he said was true–that he was just set up on purpose, he was still the one who chose to sleep with Lin Lanlan. If he didn't want to, would someone knife him and force him to take off all his clothes and push him into the bed to sleep with her? Even the thought sounded ludicrous.     

    

At the sight of his helpless face, she sighed. It seemed that the man she had loved for so many years was nothing but a coward with no sense of responsibility for his actions. Oh, how the tables have turned. "I honestly didn't come out today to listen to you make excuses like this," she slowly said. "But since you've already brought it up, then let's get to the point–I don't want to bring up the past anymore. It doesn't matter. It happened, and I'm already moving on from it."     

    

"Then does that mean you're willing to forgive me? Can we still be together?" Xu Haiyang's ears perked up in anticipation.     

    

"Forgive?" Jian Yun stepped backwards, shaking her head. "I can forgive you, but we'll never be together!"     

    

"And why?"     

    

"Because you make me feel sick!" She sneered. Thousands of emotions flashed in her eyes as the same memory replayed at the back of her mind like a broken video recorder.     

    

How could she ever forget the time they had slept together? How could she ever let go of the fact that he had taken Lin Lanlan's side rather than his own girlfriend on this matter? He had stood against her that day. Was it really that hard to imagine that she didn't want to stand with him today? After everything that he had done to her? To their relationship?     

    

At her words, the light in his eyes crumbled, and Xu Haiyang could only helplessly stare at her from afar.     

    

"We better not see each other again in the future," she stated. Jian Yun didn't regret coming to see Xu Haiyang today. Although she may not have gotten the answer that she had initially wanted, at least it was enough for her to wave off the past. Now, she realized, that the past shouldn't be something blindly avoided. And it was the time that she stood her ground and face it rather than just simply running away like all the times she had done before.     

    

"Are you saying this because you have a boyfriend?" Seeing as she was about to leave, Xu Haiyang immediately rushed forward and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. Flames danced in his vision, and he clenched his jaw. "I've heard from Lanlan that you met a rich man. Is it because of him that you're not willing to get back together with me? Well?"     

    

Upon hearing his accusation, anger rose in her chest. She shoved him backward, and her eyes flashed in response. "Who the hell are you to care about who I'm seeing now?" Jian Yun demanded. "What? Do you think that in the last six years we've been together, I'd wallow in the corner of my room and wait for you to come back? Do you think I'm just that freaking desperate? Who the hell gives you the right to think that way?"     

    

Xu Haiyang's eyes widened in panic. "I–no, that's not what I meant–"    

    

"Lanlan–you must be on good terms, aren't you? You even took her all the way to America? Actually what I really wanted to ask is this–who the hell gave you the nerve to return and ask me to reunite with you?" Jian Yun had never felt so angry in her entire life. At first, she really didn't want to bring up the past, wanting to leave it just that, but she couldn't help herself any longer. She just wanted to know how this man could be so shameless in demanding her as if she was some kind of toy he got to play with whenever he grew bored!     

    

"No, you're wrong," he intercepted. "We weren't together when we left the country. In fact, we live in different states. We really are just friends."     

    

"Shut up!" Screaming, she shot him one last glare. "I already said what I needed to say. Don't you ever meet up with me again!"     

    

Without another word, Jian Yun finally stomped away. At this point, she no longer cared for his excuses anymore. She was done!     

    

After walking a few more steps down the field, she noticed a small shadow squatting behind the bushes. Furrowing her eyebrows, she called out, "You can come out now. I'm done here."     

    

"I really didn't mean to listen in, but it's just–your voice was so loud, and I thought something had gone wrong, so I..." Wu Wenjing immediately jumped up from the bushes as she tried to explain her side of the story. Her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Uhm...should we go?"     

    

"Let's go." Nodding, Jian Yun raised her head. "I don't want to come back here ever again! The place is dead to me!"     

    

She said it loud enough for Xu Haiyang to hear.     

    

"At least you've thought things through now." Wu Wenjing finally heaved a sigh of relief. Throwing an arm around her friend's shoulders, she led Jian Yun down the paved sidewalk.     

    

This time, Xu Haiyang didn't chase after her. Once they had gotten into the car, they silently drove off into the night.     

    

Wu Wenjing wanted to say something as she was driving, but she couldn't help but hesitate. She didn't know whether or not to tell her friend about the fact that she had just seen Huo Liancheng's car parked by the Qing University Lake. However, upon glancing at the gloomy expression on Jian Yun's face, she decided against it.     

    

After all, she was already in a bad mood. If Wu Wenjing were to drag President Huo into the conversation, that certainly wouldn't do any good for them.     

    

"I don't want to go back," Jian Yun suddenly said half an hour later. "I'll sleep with you tonight."     

    

"Then I'll call Yanyan and tell her, okay?" Wu Wenjing took out her Bluetooth headset, dialing Luo Yanyan's number. "Knowing her, she's probably worried to death."     

    

Jian Yun didn't bother to listen to what they were saying. She leaned back against her seat and tilted her head slightly to look out the window. It was already dark. Upon seeing the beautiful lights and bright greeneries, she had to admit that the night scene had always been so gorgeous in the City. Although the heater inside the vehicle had been turned on, why does her heart still feel so cold?