In the Stars

Chapter 11

'Don't you think it's time you came home dear? It's been six months.'

'As I have said before, I will never live in the same house as her again, Daddy.'

'But I miss you dear.'

'Thank you Daddy, but you see me at work, and I eat lunch with you every day.'

'Except on the weekends. The house is so lonely without you.'

They are sitting in her father's favourite restaurant, eating a fancy lunch, on a Wednesday afternoon.

'Look at it this way Daddy, I'm 23, so I'm grown up now. I'm living alone...well technically with Jia, but I'm learning how to take care of myself, without Mrs. Feng and the rest of the staff running around after me. Trust me....it's much better for my sanity this way.'

'Well when will you talk to your mother again?'

'I don't know...I can't answer that right now.'

'Do you still....think about this boy?'

Yue swallows hard, emotion flickering across her face, her eyes looking lost. The wind gets knocked out of her, every time someone mentions Dylan, the pain palpably fresh, as if it were yesterday. Her father, seeing her reaction, says,

'I'm sorry...I should not have brought him up.'

'It's fine Daddy. It's fine.'

'I just want you to know... that I understand what you are going through.'

Yue looks at him disbelieving, but smiles gratefully. She is lucky to have such a kind hearted father. Once he got over the disastrous announcement from his wife, that his little girl was no longer a virgin, he began to empathize with Yue's obvious heartbreak. This is why he has allowed her to leave home without putting up a fight, much to his wife's disgruntlement. Yue's dad reaches for her hand and squeezes it.

'I'm not just saying this you know...' He gets a faraway look in his eyes. 'Yue...when I was a young man of 21, I fell in love with a woman...not your mother. Her name was Meixiu. She was the most beautiful, gentle and compassionate person I had ever come across in my entire life. She understood me, made me feel special, and was so, so funny. I never laughed so much, as I did with her. We were together for 5 years. I wanted to be with her forever....the only problem was....she was the housekeeper's daughter...and I was the heir to Shen Enterprises. When my parents finally found about our secret relationship, they did everything in their power to separate us. I even ran away to another province with her. My parents threatened to cut me off and disown me, but I didn't care. After a few months, the money I had, started to run out....I got scared that I wouldn't be able to take care of her. My father had so many connections in the business world, so I couldn't get a job in what I had trained for in school, so I had to find jobs that didn't pay much..... It was hard for me.'