Chapter 21 Torn

ELAINE barely slept. Even before the sun rises she was able to finish cleaning up the broken pots on the pathway. She was expecting to see few blood stains there so she tried to calm herself but she found no traces of blood. Jack was not badly hurt then.

After cleaning up, she checked her phone. She had one missed call from Marco. She texted him a few hours ago that she won’t be filing a case against Jack. For sure he’s going to persuade him but she already made up her mind.

It was six in the morning when Tan came out of his room. Elaine smiled, she had finished preparing their breakfast and Tan still have enough time to eat a meal with her.

“Good morning. Breakfast is ready. Are we going to eat first or you’ll shower first?”

Tan throw her a quick glance. Elaine checked herself. She decided to wear a pair of loose pyjamas to hide the wound and scratches on her body. She even removed the gauge on her hand after cleaning it with povidone-iodine.

“Stop cooking for me. You’re wasting electricity.” Then he turned away and entered the bathroom.

Elaine sat at the chair in front of the table. She wanted to pat her shoulders and assure herself. Tomorrow is another day.

Tan has taken a bath and was now shirtless when he came out of the bathroom. Elaine lowered her head when he threw him a quick glance. She warned her eyes not to follow his strides to his room. Then she heard his bedroom door close.

Her eyes shot at his bedroom door. A wild idea was playing right in her head. Should she just seduce him or force him to make love with her? Perhaps that would be simpler. Maybe doing so would make him realize he still wanted her.

Elaine shook her head to erase the ferocious thought. Who did she think she was? Would Tan’s feelings change once she successfully lured him in bed?

More importantly, she wasn’t confident she could seduce Tan. Her body would pale in comparison to Janine’s. The latter had an hourglass figure, soft and flawless skin while hers was… Elaine closed her eyes and shook her again.

Tan was all dressed up when he emerged from his room. He was holding on to his briefcase. Elaine remained seated in front of the table, watched him walked towards the main door – without a single word.

Just like the foods she wholeheartedly cooked, the breakfast she prepared for him today would end up being spoiled. Sighing, she stood up to get herself a plate. She just finished eating when she heard the doorbells.

She found Marco who had a serious expression on his handsome face outside the gate. She let him in.

“You were not answering my calls so I invited myself. If you haven’t made up your mind yet, I’m still willing to drive you to the precinct.”

“Thank you, Marco, but I don’t want to complicate things. I am okay and I wasn’t badly hurt.”

“What if he comes back? What if he’d do it to someone else? That asshole deserves to be in jail, Elaine.”

Elaine shook her head. “You don’t understand. I don’t want my husband to know. I don’t want him to know – “

Elaine stopped in mid-sentence. She must stop talking if she doesn’t want Marco to know either. She had been working hard to bury those facts to oblivion. She could not afford to let anyone know. Not until she’s ready to forgive herself.

Elaine knew she could not hide the truth from Tan forever. If that time comes, she must be ready to face the consequences. She would be the happiest woman on earth if Tan forgives her and accepts her again despite everything. But she was afraid she’d break apart once he could not.

“Your husband deserves to know what happened. You don’t have to carry the burden on your own shoulders. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who wants to pick it up and carry it for you.”

Marco was right, Elaine knew it but she could not help but doubt – just as much as she doubted herself. This nice guy here sure doesn’t know what she’s going through. Burdening Tan, again and again, was unfair to him. And she could not afford to see him going through hardship because of her.

Marco sighed in defeat. He clearly saw the rejection and finality on her pretty face. “If you want a drinking buddy, call me,” he said and turned to walk away.

“Can you wait here for a while? I’ll just pack a meal for you. You can eat it during your lunch break.”

Just like that, Marco’s face lights up. Elaine opened the gate and let him in.

“Why did you cook so much?” he asked, surprised upon seeing the food at the table. Elaine was in a daze for a moment. There were 6 pieces of sausages, four hard-boiled eggs and a vegetable salad on top of the table.

“I usually cook for five. For my husband and for the garbage collectors who usually comes before lunchtime.”

Liar. She’d just do that starting tomorrow. Elaine handed him the lunch box.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling. Elaine smiled back, he really looked genuinely happy. Then he noticed her hand covered with gauge.

“Does it still hurt?”

Elaine checked her hand then shook her head. “Not anymore.”

“That’s good to hear. I’ll see you later.”

Elaine walked him out of the house. She smiled, waved back when Marco waved goodbye before getting in on his car. She just entered the house when she heard a phone ringing.

She checked her phone and realized the call wasn’t coming from her phone. Her eyes darted on Tan’s bedroom door. He must have left his phone. Should she get if for him? What if the call was urgent? The thought made her decide to walk towards Tan’s room and rotated the doorknob. She was expecting it to be locked as usual but she was surprised to have found it wasn’t.

She picked up the phone she found at the top of Tan’s working table after a few seconds of hesitation. “Danielle” was the name saved as the caller. Was she the same Danielle she knew?

Danielle was Tan’s cousin. She was the only child of Alissandro and Angel De Marco. Elaine answered the call. Danielle was surprised when she told her who she was. Then she ended up inviting her to her twenty- eight birthday. Elaine promised to attend. If she wants to win Tan’s heart back, she needs to try to get close to his family again. And Danielle was an old friend, it won’t be hard to ask for help from her.

Elaine was about to put the phone back in its place when it bells. There was one message from Janine. Elaine heart ached when she accidentally read the message.

I missed you, Tan. Don’t make me wait.

She bit her lower lip. Are they still seeing each other? Elaine turned around when she felt someone’s presence on the door. Elaine felt her heart thump when she found Tan looking at her… Then his eyes went down to the phone in her hand.

He slammed the door closed, crossed the distance between them in two long strides. Elaine gasped when Tan snatched the phone on her hand.

“Get out.”