Chapter 1 Reunion

"Ah!"

Bella Song found herself somewhere dark. Only the eerie glow from the streetlamps illuminated the place. Out of nowhere, a woman, covered in blood, slowly limped towards her. The woman had disheveled hair and her eyes burned with hatred. She spoke but her jaws barely moved. "You! I died a remorseful death because of you! You'll have to die in a miserable way!"

"No! Go away! It's not my fault. I didn't do anything wrong to you!"

Bella Song suddenly woke up. It was all a nightmare! She was covered in cold sweat. She couldn't tell how many times she had found herself waking up from a bad dream. Deep inside, she knew that this was all because of what she had seen in the past; that man and his accusations had haunted her ever since.

She stared at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and hurried to the bathroom. Her clothes were drenched with sweat.

Today was supposedly one of her rare, God-given day-offs, but the manager, Randy Chen, asked her to accompany him to a dinner party. He insisted that it was her business plan and it would be best if she was present when the plan was being discussed among the attendees.

The truth was, she just wanted to spend this rare holiday with her son. After all, she only had the weekends for rest and family time. She would have even less time to be with her family if she worked overtime.

She finished packing up and quickly took her son to Louise Yun's coffee shop. She smiled apologetically at her friend and said, "Louise, I'm really sorry I have to bother you again."

"No, not at all! Don't think about it, Bella. I love taking care of your son. We're good friends." Louise Yun beamed at her friend, but when she saw the concerned expression on Bella's face, she couldn't help but ask apprehensively, "Bella, you don't look very well. Today is a weekend. Where are you off to?"

"I have a business meeting to attend. Oh, you don't have to worry. I swear I'll be back soon enough!"

She had no idea about what waited for her at the party.

Bella Song had already finished drinking several wine glasses. She turned around and whispered to Randy Chen, "Manager, when will the party end?"

They left the private booth so that they could talk.

"Why are you in such a hurry? The big guns haven't even arrived yet!" He glanced at her and flashed a smile. He had an evil plan in order to get promoted.

"Manager, I have other plans for tonight. Can I excuse myself from the party, now?"

"Bella, are you telling me you're giving up this month's bonus pay?" His expression grew more serious. He was aware of how important money was to her. Just as he expected, she lowered her gaze almost immediately. She looked completely dejected.

He tried to comfort her. "I know you don't like to be here and neither do I. If I could only sit at my office all day and wait for my paycheck, I would've done that already. Unfortunately, I still have to go to parties and meetings to interact with clients and business partners. As my subordinate, can't you think about my situation?"

"But..." Bella Song wanted to say something more but stopped herself.

"That's right, don't say anything. Go inside the washroom and fix yourself. You look too pale. You'll embarrass us later if you go out there looking like this!" He gave her a stern look, threw away his cigarette butt, and returned to the booth.

Bella Song looked herself in the mirror and applied makeup. Despite her looks, she was breaking down inside. She was still haunted by the nightmare she had earlier. The thought of that incident and that man's hatred had clawed its way to her soul. She felt very guilty.

Louise Yun had reminded her many times that it was not her fault, but Bella Song couldn't stop blaming herself. If only she hadn't witnessed that scene, everything would have been fine. She wouldn't have had to leave her hometown, and she would have had a chance of being in love.

She brushed away her worries and rubbed her cheeks until they were pinkish. She finished applying her makeup and soon made her way to the booth.

She had just entered the door to the booth when she was stunned by what she saw.

Standing at the center of the booth was a man like no other. His face was chiseled to perfection. His deep set of eyes and lush eyebrows commanded everyone's attention, and his dark hair glistened in the evening lights. His every move was elegant and noble at the same time.

He seemed untouched by time. On the contrary, he looked more impressive and handsome than she remembered.

"Bella, there you are!"

Randy Chen approached her from the crowd wearing a grin. When he was near enough, his grin turned sour and he scolded her in a low voice, "Remember what I told you? Always smile and be polite! This is not the first time that you've attended a party with me. Why are you acting so careless?" Having assured himself that Bella Song wouldn't be making any further mistakes, he relaxed a little bit. A malicious grin spread across his face.

"Manager, I'm sorry!" Bella Song apologized.

She followed him back to their table. Unfortunately, she was seated right next to an obese, middle-aged man. As soon as she sat down, the man offered her a wine glass. The stranger took the opportunity to brush his fingers against her fair and delicate hand when he handed her the drink.

"You…" Bella Song would have immediately shaken off the man's hand if not for Randy's stern gaze. He was warning her not to cause a scene or else it was the end of her.

She was left with no choice but to swallow her pride. She distracted herself by thinking about the handsome gentleman at the banquet.

She was a pretty attractive lady so it was no surprise that plenty of guests gave her a toast. Unfortunately, it also meant having to drink one glass after another.

After having about seven or eight glasses of wine, she couldn't take it much longer. She was starting to feel sick. The man next to her, Mr. Wang, offered her a toast. She barely contained herself from belching when she politely declined the man. "Mr. Wang, I'm really sorry but I can't afford to drink another glass."

"Miss Song, I know you can still drink some more. It's still early. How could you be drunk already? Waiter! More wine, please!" The waiter brought a fancy bottle of red wine and placed it on the table. Mr. Wang addressed the fine-looking gentleman next to him, "Am I right, Mr. Su? Miss Song drank too little. It hurts my feelings."

Not a word escaped the other man's lips. Instead, he took a sip of his wine.

Bella Song noticed his coldness. She assumed that he must have still been harboring a grudge against her. Throughout the party, she had thrown several glances his way, but he completely ignored them. Was she such a heinous woman for him to treat her so coldly?

Teary-eyed, she stood up with the bottle of wine in both hands and said, "Mr. Su, can I offer you a drink?"

Russell Su just stared at the wine bottle. His eyes wandered to the fine, and he turned a deaf ear to her offer.

'He's avoiding me like I'm some venomous snake!' she thought. She finally surrendered any attempt to woo this man. She raised the bottle to her lips and gulped its contents. Everyone, except Russell Su, was amused at her boldness.

No amount of divine intervention could stop her from emptying the bottle of wine.

Randy Chen looked around and smiled awkwardly. He didn't know what to say. Just then, he caught Mr. Wang's lustful eyes staring at Bella Song, and he was relieved. If there was one person who must be pleased tonight, it was Mr. Wang.

"Fabulous! Miss Song is a really bold lady. I like that! Randy, this is the first time that you've brought her to my party. You should've brought her to me a long time ago," Mr. Wang playfully remarked. He gazed lustfully at Bella Song from head to toe. She had the ideal body of a woman in her prime, a pair of charming brown eyes, and straight, jet-black hair. The longer he stared at her, the more he coveted her. Just a while ago, he was worried that Russell Su would develop a crush on her, but from his reaction, he understood that he had no interest in this lady.

Russell Su would only look at something that fascinated him.

"Excuse me. I have to go now." Bella Song ran to the washroom. She was breathing hard and was completely exhausted when she got inside. She thought about how he hated her for all these years and how he would just sit and watch her get drunk and be flirted around by strange men.

Tears welled in her eyes. She leaned against the wall and slowly slumped to the floor. She kept her gaze up to stop the tears from running down her cheeks. She didn't want to look like a complete mess.

A few minutes passed by. She recovered for a bit; however, her eyes were still red and puffy. She had just walked out of the washroom when she saw the handsome gentleman pass by the door.

"Russell, wait!" Somehow, she mustered the courage to call his name. What she didn't realize was that her voice was full of longing. His name sounded so sweet.