Chapter 36: Chapter 36

“Hart, can we talk?”

They had just had a sumptuous dinner cooked by Sierra. Hart found that Myra’s mental condition was a lot better than the night before. He glanced at her soft eyes, pondering if everything could return to how it was before.

If only he could hit the reboot button on the computer and they could return to those times in Bali, where it was just the two of them….

No Jake. No Waley. Just the two of them, running….

He had to do what he could to forget about Waley. No matter what happened between them, he had promised Myra first. His late mother had often taught him Chinese idioms, and one was, ‘a man’s word is equivalent to great treasure’. This was an idiom that existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and his mother had hoped any promise from him would be absolute.

What was between Waley and he had to be just an obsession. If she didn’t resemble Milla, then maybe he wouldn’t even be attracted to her, he said to himself.

But hadn’t he developed feelings for Myra for the same reason?

Stop, Hart. You can’t go on like this. He recalled the mental image of Myra with her eyes red and puffy back in the old mansion, and his heart broke.

Myra lay on her side of her bed, clad in only a thin nightgown. Her lips pursed together innocently as she looked deep in thought. Finally, she spoke in a most guilty tone.

“Hart, it would kill me, but I have to tell you this. I… I’ve cheated on you, Hart. I’m sorry. Please, I didn’t know what got into me that night. I…. I slept with Jake.”

He said nothing, but listened to what more she had to say.

“I didn’t have the courage to tell you that night. I was afraid you would leave. The guilt is killing me from inside, Hart. Slap me, hurt me, but please, don’t leave me.”

“Myra, I never said I was going to leave you.” He held her in his warm embrace and gazed into her eyes. “I want you, Myra. Be the last woman in my life. I don’t care what happened between you and him, as long as I can be your last.”

She froze at his words. He added, “I’ll end things with Waley. You have my word.”

“Are you for real, Hatta Baderan? You would do all those for me?”

“Remember what I told you at the old house. Think about all those married couples, do you think they have never made mistakes?”

“I….”

“Myra, stop living in the past. I told you before, I will not let Jake Yu have you. And now, even if he has your hand in marriage, he will never get your heart or your body. He may have had you in the past, but it changes now.”

“Hart, do you mean?”

“I’ll see to it he keeps to the terms of the political marriage. And tomorrow, we’ll meet my lawyer friend. He’ll draft you an agreement to make the marriage valid, yet only stays as a political marriage.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Hart, thank you. But there’s one more thing I don’t know how I can tell you. But with time, I will.”

He dried her tears gently before laying her down on the bed and nuzzled her tenderly with his nose.

“I look forward to you taking the reins in our relationship, baby. From now on, there will be no more third person. Jake Yu is just your partner in a political marriage, no more. I’m the only one in your heart. And you will be my one and only, Myra.”

This decision was for the best. He hated chasing after love, which he had with Milla, even though she was the one he loved most. But both Waley and Myra weren’t Milla. Milla was dead and nothing could ever change that. Since leaving for Myra, Waley hadn’t called him. She even disappeared without a trace. He didn’t want to care if the woman had an ulterior motive by seducing him and making him lose his mind.

She trembled and looked at him with uncertainty before he cupped her cheeks and kissed her with all his might. Whatever hesitance in her gradually dissipated as she returned his flaming kisses with fervour. What followed came smoothly, like he expected. She moaned his name, allowing them to become one. No barriers, just her skin on his. It felt heavenly.

But then, there would always be that lump in his throat that bothered him: his infertility. He had always wanted a child, but would that ever become a reality?

Or would it just drive her to leave him?

He closed his eyes and focused on her needs instead. Tomorrow, he will officially end things with Waley. Then everything would return to normal.

That night, Myra turned out to be the most passionate lover he ever had. She allowed him to do things to her in bed that she didn’t normally. But it also made him wonder if she was just giving in to him to atone for her mistakes. To him, she felt so delicate and submissive.

Whatever it was, he would make them both fall for each other all over again.

…………………………………………………………..

The next morning.

Hart straightened his grey coat as he entered the conference room, expecting to see Waley as usual. He had prepared himself the whole night for this heart-to-heart talk. From this day onwards, he would have nothing to do with Waley, he reminded himself over and over repeatedly.

As much as his heart hurt, he had to do it. He had to get over his obsession with Waley and come to terms with the truth. Last night as they spent the night together, Myra had come clean with him about everything. She admitted she was drunk when she slept with someone else. That someone had turned out to be Jake. To his surprise, instead of feeling anger and resentment, he felt relief.

He was only a step away from intercourse with Waley. Had she not dropped the lamp on his head, perhaps he would have slept with Waley, as well. But his so-called affair with her needed to end now. He had to fulfil his promise to Myra, as she promised him to be faithful to him. Myra would sign the papers with Jake to be his wife only in name.

After that, they would continue their relationship with each other. Myra had turned Jake down. In time, she would make Jake understand she had moved on, although the man wasn’t getting the message.

He couldn’t blame Myra, after all this time. Waley stole his heart and tempted him more than once, but she was an unhealthy obsession. This, he hoped, was the end of him and Waley.

The ergonomic chair turned around, revealing a sitting female figure dressed from head to toe in black. Hart almost stuttered in nervousness.

The woman was stern, even with a smile. He realised she was a director of the company Waley worked for, Mrs Hoo. Never, for once, would he think he would meet her so quickly? It also surprised him, for someone so senior in rank to be making a personal trip to meet him.

“Waley has resigned. From now on, our CEO will be the one to deal with you, Mr Baderan.”

She lifted the lid of her notebook computer and flipped it so it was facing Hart. With a gasp, Hart recognised the man smiling back at him.

“Jake Yu?” He clenched his fist behind his back, while appearing to be in a jovial mood.

“Well met, Mr Baderan.”

Jake looked smart with his hair slicked back and smiling deviously.

“You are the new CEO of Summeris Technologies?” Hart looked back unbelievably.

“Correct. I trust I have no obligation to tell you everything on my resume. You can find it all online,” he taunted Hart as he pranced in front of the camera.

“Since when?”

“Five hours ago. Thanks to a deal by Miss Yuna Kim.”

Hart just stared solemnly at Jake. By now, he looked even sterner than Mrs Hoo. He could barely absorb the fact Waley, who worked so hard on the project, was gone and Jake had taken over. But given Waley was just a coordinator, why did the CEO need to step in himself to be responsible?

“Mr Yu, let’s talk about work,” Hart adjusted his tie as he eyed the man on the screen. “Miss Waley has been slogging herself off for the project, worked day and night endlessly to produce some results and now, you are telling me she’s gone?”

The more he spoke, the more he seemed infuriated.

Jake was as cool as a cucumber. “She left before I came. But according to the employee records, she submitted a two-month resignation notice. So, the fact is that she resigned way before she got to work with you.”

Hart was speechless. An empty feeling lingered within him, leaving him displeased as if something was missing from his life.

Get a grip on yourself, Hart Baderan, he reprimanded himself.

Forcing a smile, he said, “All the best to our partnership.”

“All the best,” Jake replied, clicking to end the conversation. Mrs Hoo also took her leave, so only Hart remained alone in the conference room. After a few minutes, the front desk receptionist tapped on the glass door to call Hart.

“Mr Baderan, there’s a lady at the reception looking for you.”

Waley? His heart soared as he hurried towards the reception.