Faded love 14

Chapter 14 

In the dream, 

I stood on the crest of the waves, 

hearing him call my name. 

Every time the tide broke, 

I was drowning again. 

I thought I had forgotten him. 

But dreams never lie. 

The next morning, 

I went to Z Group. 

The top-floor meeting room was empty again. 

As I pushed the door open, 

he turned from the window. 

White shirt. 

Two buttons undone. 

Eyes calm-too calm. 

“Thalia, you’re late.” 

“Sorry. Traffic.” 

I tried to sound even. 

He smiled faintly. 

“You were never late before.” 

My chest tightened. 

That line was too familiar. 

Three years ago, he had said the same thing. 

That day, I was three minutes late. 

He had looked at me coldly and said, 

“Wendy, you have no sense of time.” 

“Mr. Zhou,” 

I said now, voice like ice, 

“please respect my time-and my identity.” 

He walked closer. 

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11:34 Sat, Oct 18 

“Identity?” 

He whispered, 

: 

“You changed your name and thought you could change your fate?” 

I stepped back. 

“Mr. Zhou, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist. 

His grip was so tight it cut into my skin. 

“You really don’t know?” 

I drew a breath and pushed him hard. 

“Let me go.” 

He didn’t move. 

Just stared at me, 

his voice hoarse, trembling: 

“Wendy.” 

That name- 

a blade across my chest. 

I wanted to laugh but couldn’t. 

“You’re mistaken.” 

He smiled- 

a broken, manic smile. 

“You died in front of me three years ago. 

And now you stand here telling me I’m mistaken?” 

“Mr. Zhou,” 

I said coldly, 

“dreams and reality-please tell them apart.” 

“Reality?” 

He laughed under his breath. 

“Reality is-I see your scar, 

I touch your hand, 

I smell your scent, 

and your eyes still tremble when you lie.” 

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11:34 Sat, Oct 18 

My heart slammed against my ribs. All my reason fractured in that instant. 

“You’re insane,” I whispered. 

“Yes.” 

His voice was low, resigned. 

“I am.” 

He said it so quietly, 

as if stating a simple truth. 

Then, suddenly, 

he caught my shoulders. 

His strength pinned me to the wall. 

“Tell me why.” 

“Why did you lie to me?” 

My breathing came fast, uneven. 

He was too close- 

: 

so close I could see the red veins in his eyes, 

hear the unsteady rhythm of his heart. 

I said nothing. 

“When you died,” he rasped, 

“I knelt by the sea for three days-no food, no sleep. 

They said your body was gone. 

I didn’t believe them. 

I went back every day, 

waiting for the tide to fall, 

for the waves to part. 

But you left nothing. 

Not a single strand of hair.” 

His voice broke, 

rough as gravel. 

“Do you know what that does to a mind? 

How it rots reason, piece by piece?” 

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11:35 Sat, Oct 18 

He looked at me, eyes burning. 

“I thought I had already gone mad. 

Then you came back.” 

Tears stung my eyes. 

“I’m not Wendy.” 

“You’re not,” he echoed with a laugh, 

“then why is it that when I’m near you, 

I can breathe again?” 

I shut my eyes. 

“Rory, please let me go.” 

He was silent for a long moment. 

Then he stepped back. 

“Alright,” he said softly. 

“I’ll let you go.” 

I froze. 

He turned away. 

“Go.” 

I almost ran out of that room. 

When the elevator doors closed, 

the tears finally fell. 

I thought he had truly let me go. 

But that was only the beginning. 

That night. 

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