Take My Breath Away

Blair had only asked for three days of leave. She should have been back to work now. Since her mobile phone was ruined in the constant downpour and flash flood, she hadn't been able to reach her superior to extend her leave. To her co-workers, she was a no-call no-show. She was worried she might get fired for it.

She had planned to thank Wesley in person with Miller after she recovered. But she didn't have a phone number yet, so the matter had to be put off for a little while. The message to Wesley was her old phone's last gasp before the screen went black and it refused to turn back on. Miller had gotten her a phone, but it was up to her to get everything transferred.

One day, Debbie and Megan had a huge fight. Fed up with Megan's whining, Wesley went to Carlos' manor, insisting Debbie go to the hospital and apologize to Megan. To his surprise, Debbie got upset. She refused to apologize to Megan, and even implied there was a reason he was single.

What baffled Wesley most was that she thought Blair was his girlfriend, and that she'd left him over Megan.

Of course, he realized Debbie didn't have a clue what was going on. But Wesley didn't owe her any explanations. She wasn't his girlfriend, so he didn't care what she thought.

Later, after he drove Debbie to the hospital, Carlos showed up too. Though Wesley had a reputation as a tough guy, the way Carlos spoiled Debbie made him jealous. Not paying much attention to where he was going, he ended up at a certain housing complex.

This was where Blair and her fiance lived. And she was pregnant.

Or so Megan had told him. The girl claimed that she met Blair at the airport; Blair had told the man with her she was pregnant.

Wesley brooded silently for a whole afternoon after he had heard the news.

He scrolled through the images on his phone and found a picture. It used to be a photo of Niles and Blair, but Wesley cropped his brother out of the picture, so right now, it was just a pic of Blair, smiling.

Niles had sent him that one.

Six months ago, Niles had planned a trip to England. When Cecelia heard of it, she insisted that Niles visit Blair after he got there.

Niles didn't want to. But after thinking about it, he decided it was not a bad idea. He could check up on her for his brother.

Niles met Blair soon after he arrived at his destination.

Having lived alone so long in a foreign country, she was thrilled to see another person from her homeland. And the brother of the man she loved. Happy tears welled in her eyes. She was super nice to Niles then, taking him out to dinner and showing him around, looking after him like her own little brother.

When the two of them grew tired and took a break, Niles took out his phone and suggested that they get a selfie together. Blair agreed gladly and posed for the camera.

Later, Niles secretly sent the picture to his brother. "Why did you send this to me?" Wesley asked. But the next second, he opened the picture in a photo-editor and cut Niles out of it.

Niles told Blair he was sending the picture to his mom. She believed him.

The soldier pondered this over a cigarette. When the cherry had grown so large it threatened to burn his fingers, he put it out in the ashtray and started the engine, ready to go home. Then a cab came into view and ground to a halt at the entrance. A man in his thirties got out of the cab. His face caught Wesley's eye.

'Isn't that Blair's fiance?'

A woman Miller's age also emerged from the vehicle. Then they walked into the housing estate together, arm in arm.

One thing particular struck him: that wasn't Blair! After a brief moment of confusion, he realized what was going on.

He thought she was happy. Now he knew she wasn't.

Complex emotions filled him. Part of him was glad while the rest of him felt sorry for her. He didn't know which one affected him more. When a dull pain shot through his heart, he knew the answer.

He called someone on his phone and asked him to call Blair.

Blair was at work when she got the call. It was from an unknown number.

"Blair Jing, your fiance had an accident. He's at home now," the person at the other end of the line told her. 'An accident? He's supposed to be at work.

When did this happen?'

By the time Blair had more questions, the person had already hung up. She called back and was told that it was a payphone. The mysterious caller had left. She went to her boss and asked to leave early. This was a family emergency, after all. She hurried back home to see if Miller was okay.

Once the bus stopped, she hastily got off and dashed into the housing estate. Wesley followed quietly behind her, worried that she might be distraught and need some comfort.

The shabby door of the apartment wasn't soundproof at all. Maybe too horny, Miller and the woman didn't even make it to the bedroom. Blair could hear everything standing outside the door.

However, she wasn't sad, because she wasn't in love with Miller. She never loved him.

And she felt bad about that. Maybe it was her fault he was having an affair.

A few minutes later, the room quieted down. Blair opened the door and walked into the living room. The room was empty. From the sounds, she realized that they had gone into Miller's bedroom.

When she closed the door, she figured the two might get startled by the noise. She was right. She could hear both of them discussing this. She heard the girl say, "Expecting someone?" Miller mumbled something about how Blair was supposed to be at work. Blair could sense how flustered they were.

She gave them enough time to get dressed. Then, she said his name. "Miller."

Before Miller could open the bedroom door, she barged in and saw the woman, who didn't have enough time to hide.

Miller tried to stay calm. "Blair, listen to me. It's not what it looks like. This is my boss. We're talking about work."

Blair sneered. 'He can't even admit it. Does he think I'm stupid?'

As if to cover his guilt, before Blair responded, Miller shouted, "She's here for work, dammit! Why don't you believe me?"

Blair glared at him in disbelief. 'He's the one who cheated. And now he's mad at me? Do I look like that kind of girl?' she thought angrily. "Who talks about work in the bedroom? The bed's not even made! Think I'm an idiot?"

This was the first time she'd screamed at him. By then, Miller had realized his mistake. He was not only a liar, but slow as well.

He lowered his voice and said, "Blair, let's talk."

"No need. We're done. Bye." Blair pulled the engagement ring from her finger and threw it at him. She stalked into her bedroom to pack her things.

Miller followed her into the room. Watching her pack, he got anxious. "It's not my fault. You wouldn't let me touch you."

He and Blair had been sleeping in separate rooms the whole time. Once, he got drunk and came back late. When he stumbled into her bedroom and tried to make love to her, Blair pushed him out.

Blair kept silent. There was nothing left to say.

"I know you like Wesley," Miller continued.

Blair was stunned. 'How does he know?'

The look on her face made him feel better. He continued through gritted teeth, "You were painfully obvious. You followed his Moments on WeChat and spent a lot of time checking his updates, even if he hardly posted one. What's up with that? You deleted all your chat history, except for his. Your wallpaper has a cartoon soldier on it. There's no wriggling out of this one."