Chapter 12 — He Only Woke Up After the Divorce

I will not tell you that I have changed, because hollow words hold no weight.

I only want to ask you one thing.

What is it?

His hands rested upon the table, his knuckles whitening as he clenched them, before he forced his grip to loosen.

Would you be willing... to let me pursue you again, from the very beginning?

Not the way I did before.

No tailing you. No surveillance. No coercion.

If you say we should not meet, we will not meet. If you tell me to get lost, I will vanish from your sight.

But as long as you have not told me that you do not need me...

I will always be right here.

The sunlight filtered in through the window, spilling across the surface of the table. I bowed my head, staring into my oat milk latte. He even knew that I had recently changed my preferences. Perhaps Chau An had told him, or perhaps he had simply committed it to memory during those long periods when he had followed me. Regardless of the source, he was watching me now. He was looking at me in a way I had never seen before. It was not a look of possession. It was a look of supplication. I lifted the latte to my lips and took a sip. The temperature was perfect. The sweetness was just right.

Bui Dien.

Yes.

You have one chance.

Only one.

If you ruin it, there will never be another.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. Then, upon the face that had remained cold and unyielding for an entire month, a slow smile began to form. It was subtle, held back by restraint, yet his eyes shone with a startling brilliance.

Agreed.

One time is all I need.