Abelle- A Chinese Romance

Forgive and Forget (Part 10)

"S-S-Scandal?" I choked out. Jack drinks the rest of his coffee and then eats the last of the cream cakes on the table. All the while he does that, in my mind I'm digging up all sorts of possible answers in how this could happen to Chelsie and Jack. Why was Chelsie involved in a scandal? I thought she really loved Jack..maybe it was some harmless flirting that caught the media's attention..... Or Jack could have been part of the scandal, oh why would he be?!? So this probably why Jack didn't want me to fall for James because then it would be seen to the public as a "scandal." Jack waves his arm to catch the waitress's attention. When she reaches our table to clear the cups and plate, Jack stands up and says, "Let's go outside Abelle." He strides out of the cafe door before I can say anything else. "Hey, wait up!" This time I'm the one that's doing the running. After keeping up the pace with Jack for 20 minutes, he stops by a stone bench and sits down. The bench looked familiar to me, then I realized we were at the same spot from yesterday, where Jack peered out across Victoria Harbour.

"Sit and we'll talk some more," Jack answers plainly. I take a seat beside him and then he says, "So, do you have any questions now?" I sure do. I give Jack a meaningful look and ask him, "But how did you know it was a scandal or not? Maybe the press lied about it and threw out some rumors for the public to feed on! Come on, Chelsie loved you Jack! She wouldn't throw her relationship with you away like that!" Jack crosses his arms and legs before saying, "Believe me, I did try to believe her. But it...was so hard Abelle. The paparazzi got shots of her from leaving a club with a man on her arm. Tell me that's not real!" I stared at Jack whose face was red with anger and emotion. "Did you know who the man was? Maybe she was drunk and got dragged away by some---" "The man was Zhengfei Quan, he's the great-great nephew of Zhengfei Ren, the founder of Huawei Technologies Co." I can't believe the man Chelsie was spotted with actually had relations to the man who made my phone brand. "But why would Chelsie do that? What did she tell you?"

Jack stares up at the cold gray sky and mumbles out, "She tried to prove her innocence to the public, but after three days she gave in." I imagine Chelsie speaking into a reporter's microphone saying, 'Yes I was with a man in a club a few nights ago.' "So...I don't know if that makes Chelsie a well...gold digger or not, but how come no is stopping Chelsie from marrying James if that happened three years ago?" Jack glances at me for a second then looks away. "I guess....if the Chan family approves Chelsie for James, then it's no problem right? Though the past with me and Chelsie hasn't been brought up by the press yet, doesn't mean that people have forgotten Abelle. Chelsie may still encounter some of our old memories together from what other people say to her. Though because she is in protection on the Chan family, no one can go against what she did three years ago." "Then Chelsie left a big hole in your heart, didn't she?" Jack nods his head silently and we both say nothing after a while. "But, if she's happy with James, then I guess I should feel happy for her. People keep going on around how 'great' a couple they are. It bothers me that they use that as a headline in the tabloids." I still can't believe Chelsie would do such a thing really. I didn't think of her as party type much, she could have been drunk. Then if James knew this about Chelsie...why would he still be engaged to her? He has to know that Jack was Chelsie's ex, he's got to.

"Was I your next girl after Chelsie?" I question honestly. Jack puts his arm around me and pulls me closer. I'm about to protest when I see a couple walk by with their cameras. They spot us waved and even got a snapshot of me and Jack close together. Then they left us in peace. "That was close," I say as the walking couple was out of sight. Jack gives me a squeeze then says, "Your question about being my next girl? Well, after Chelsie left the picture I started to hook up with some other friends I knew but it wasn't serious. When my mother asked me about getting engaged to you, I agreed." I get up from the bench and put my hands on my hips. "Why did you agree right away? You don't even know me!" Jack looks at me boredly and replies in a soft voice, "I thought that if I could love you Abelle, all my pains of Chelsie would go away. It did for a while, I was healed by your smile, your laughter, and your charming personality. But then.....you crushed me Abelle. You decided to leave me for James! On what special reason? Oh right, because he was your childhood friend and romance blossomed inside you to make you fall for him. I still don't see how you could just leave me hanging on for so long without saying anything!" Jack glares at me for a long time. He's right, I should ahve told him earlier. Right from the start I should have confessed to him about how I felt.