Take My Breath Away

Locking her iPad, Blair scoffed bitterly at herself. After a long while, she picked up her phone and called her best friend. "Joslyn, I'm tired of begging for Wesley's love."

The sadness in her voice did not escape Joslyn's ears. 'Huh? She wouldn't stop bragging about how nice Wesley was to her a few days ago—he'd wash her panties by hand, peel Chinese chestnuts for her, buy her designer bags... But why is she like this now?' She asked with the utmost care, "Bless, what's going on?

"Joslyn, I'm pretty sure Wesley doesn't love me at all. I think he's being nice to me because he feels like he has to." 'Maybe because of Uncle Adalson. Maybe because I was pestering him. Maybe because his family members like me...'

"Bless, chill. Start from the beginning," Joslyn said. Her friend was struggling to understand what was going on.

Blair sensed that Joslyn was quite nervous, and giggled to calm her down. "Hey, don't worry about me. It's bad for the baby. I'm used to him being a jerk. Yeah, so I'm done with him."

As a conservative woman, she had given him her most precious thing—her virginity. But instead of asking her to be his girlfriend, he left only a note and a box of morning-after pills. She felt used, unwanted, like a whore.

"Bless... You... Maybe you should talk to him first. Give him a chance to explain..."

Blair shook her head. Then she realized that she was on the phone, so she said, "I don't think so. Things won't change. I don't want to be in that situation again."

Joslyn was really worried about Blair, and she had a hunch that Blair meant what she said this time. Blair seemed like she'd made up her mind.

Even when she had proposed to Wesley in front of his unit and got rejected, she didn't give up hope. This time, it was like all hope had drained from her.

"Where are you now? What you need right now is some good company to take your mind off this."

"Please don't! Think of the kid. I don't want something to happen to you. Believe me. I'm okay." Blair tried to sound cheerful.

However, Joslyn didn't buy it. Hartwell wasn't home now, and she was pregnant. So going alone was probably a bad idea. After mulling it over for a while, she offered, "How about this? I'll take Hartwell's mom along." Natalia had been taking care of Joslyn during her pregnancy.

"Joslyn, listen, you're really overreacting!" Blair said helplessly.

Joslyn knew this was hopeless. Now that Blair insisted on staying alone, Joslyn could only let her be. She took a deep breath and said, "All right. Maybe I am. So what's next?"

"I have no idea yet. But first thing's first. I need to move out." Blair looked around the apartment that she had lived in for quite a while. She really loved this place—she thought this would be her future home.

"Great! Then you can move in with me. We can be roomies again! It'll make your aunt and uncle happy, too. They wouldn't like you living alone."

"No, no, no. I'm not moving into Uncle Adalson's house. And I wouldn't be alone. I'll live in the company dorm. Two girls to an apartment, it's not that bad." Blair didn't want to cause trouble for anyone. What was more, she wanted to stay on her own. She'd had someone around for so long, she wasn't sure she could.

Knowing what Blair was thinking, Joslyn sighed with profound resignation. "Okay. Call me if you need me. I'm really worried about you."

"Come on! I was okay after my parents were gone. You think Wesley is more important than my parents to me? Nuh-uh. Don't worry, I plan to be around when you give birth."

Joslyn knew Blair was a strong woman despite her slight build. "All right," she said.

"It's late. You better go to sleep cause your baby's probably sleepy. Good night," Blair said.

"Night, Bless."

After hanging up, Blair went back to her bedroom, climbed into bed and closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about anything. She was tired, tired of all this, tired of Wesley and his hot and cold attitude. She fell into a dreamless sleep.

In the office of Wesley's supreme commander

Wesley stood solemnly in front of General Zhao's desk. He pressed his lips tightly together and said nothing.

The gray-haired old man banged on the application forms on the desk and stared at his favorite soldier. He used to be proud of Wesley, but now disappointment was written all over his face. "You want to get married? Now? Your immediate superior may have signed these forms, but I won't. Don't ever think about it. Besides, they need the signature of your wife-to-be. No matter how many times you come to me, I won't sign them. Get out! I don't want to see you right now."

"I won't leave unless you sign them." Wesley had been waiting for three days to see General Zhao. But the old man refused to see him, knowing what he wanted. Today, Wesley seized his chance and burst into his office.

"Bullshit! Wesley Li! You're going to be deployed soon! If you survive, you'll probably get promoted. You are already pretty high in rank. If you get promoted, everyone will be jealous. It's a great honor. But marriage? That'll slow you down, distract you. If you fail, you might die and it could put your family in danger. Have you thought of that?" The old man's anger grew. He had dark fantasies of pointing a gun at Wesley. He just couldn't believe that Wesley would fall for a woman like that.

"Yes, I have." Wesley had thought about a lot of things for the past few days.

The old man wanted to crumple the papers and smash the wad into Wesley's deadpan face. "You think she's untouchable because she's Gilbert's granddaughter, don't you?"

"Yes." Wesley admitted it honestly.

The old man was shocked by his reply. "Get lost! Now!" he roared.

Wesley, however, didn't budge. He stayed rooted to the spot. "Not until you sign them."

"And what if I don't?" General Zhao's voice sounded calm this time.

"I won't leave then."

"How dare you!" He threw a pen at Wesley.

Wesley didn't dodge. It just bounced off him. When the pen hit the floor, he bent over, picked it up and put it back on the desk.

The old man trembled in anger. "I'm going to call your grandfather!" he threatened.

"He wants me to get married soon. He is more eager than me," Wesley said in a matter-of-fact tone.

The old man was rendered speechless.

After taking a long while to calm himself down, he still tried to persuade Wesley, "Have you ever thought about this? If you get married now and then go to D City, what if something bad happens to you? Are you willing to let her be a widow then? How about this? After you come back from D City, I'll immediately sign them."

Wesley knew the old man was doing this for his own good, but he couldn't afford to wait another two years. "I won't go to D City unless you sign them," he insisted.

"Damn it! Are you threatening me? Wesley Li, do you still remember you are a soldier? You've been served in the army for many years. Soldiers follow orders without question. You forget that? Get lost and write that sentence ten thousand times!"

"I'll do it after you sign them."

The old man felt Wesley was hopeless. Pointing at Wesley's nose, he shouted with red eyes, "Aren't you afraid of being demoted?"

"I'll accept any punishment as long as you sign the papers."

The old man couldn't believe his ears. 'How did Adalson's niece bewitch him so completely? He doesn't care about his career. He doesn't care about moving up in rank. And even the threat of demotion won't stop him!'