ANYTHING METEOR GARDEN YOU RECOGNIZE, I DO NOT OWN.

Chapter 10: stay

Lei had been sitting silently next to the bed, patiently waiting for her to wake up. It was only 5 AM but he couldn't sleep. As soon as she stirred, he spoke.

"We need to talk."

She opened her eyes sleepily and took in his still form. He was already showered and dressed.

She winced as she gave a stretch. "Can it wait until I've showered?" she asked, not the least bit perturbed at the seriousness of his tone.

"I've already run you a hot bath…" he volunteered.

She looked at him in surprise. "Thanks." she answered before she got up and off the bed, dragging the sheets with her into the bathroom.

Lei was left in the bedroom thinking about his next course of action. He'd gotten up quite early, unable to sleep. He'd lain awake all night holding her close and listening to her breathe. They'd

made love again during the night. He hadn't brought up her engagement and neither did she.

She was clad in his robe when she finally came out of the bathroom, toweling her hair dry. Lei held out his hands towards her.

"Here…let me…" he offered as he took the towel off her hands to take over drying her hair.

She sat down between his legs, her back towards him. They stayed that way for several minutes. She had her eyes closed as he dried her hair gently behind her.

"There…" he finally said. "I think that's dry enough."

"Thanks." She answered as she moved away from him to sit on the bed.

He pulled the chair in front of her and sat down again. "We didn't take any precautions." He went straight to the point.

She didn't show any reaction. She just stared at him quietly.

"Aren't you worried?" he asked.

"Is that what this is about?" she answered.

Lei didn't say anything for a while. Finally, "Tell me." he said.

"Tell you what?" she pretended ignorance.

"Why did you really come back?" he asked, willing her to tell the truth.

She looked at him for the longest time before she spoke, averting her gaze so she didn't have to meet his stare.

"I'm getting married." She answered, as if that explained everything.

Lei ignored the pain her words evoked in him. "Who is he?"

"Does it matter?" she shrugged.

Lei wanted to shake her but he controlled himself. "So what is this then?"

"My last fling?" she made her statement sound like a question.

"I hope he's not the kind who minds not being the first." He retorted, unable to help the note of bitterness from creeping in his voice.

She looked at him sharply. "He loves me."

"Congratulations." He muttered sarcastically.

"Why are you doing this Lei? I would have thought you'd be glad."

"Glad? You're marrying someone else and you think I'll be glad?"

"It's not like you love me." She said quietly.

"I told you I loved you."

She laughed. "Do you?" she asked skeptically. "Don't kid yourself Lei."

"What happened to you?"

"You really want to know?" she asked, looking at him without any hint of emotion on her face.

"You were right." She admitted. At his look of confusion, she continued, "I bought you because I wanted to get back at you. It didn't seem fair that you'd managed to get on with your life without ever looking back, when I've spent mine…" she broke off. "Ten years…" she whispered. "Ten years I've waited…"

"I've waited for you to come back to me…." She averted her face as she spoke. "I told myself, he didn't mean. He still cared for me…surely he'll come back…maybe next year…or the year after…or the year after that…but you never did…until finally, I got tired of waiting. And then I heard about that auction. It seemed as though the fates were mocking me…giving me a chance to be with you again…"

"I'm sorry…I didn't know." Lei willed her to look at him again.

She ignored his apology. "How could you? You were too busy mourning her."

"I…" Lei couldn't continue.

She laughed without humor. "Do you know how painful it was to read the liner notes in your CD? To listen to your music and know that she'd been your inspiration? To realize that she mattered to you more than I did?"

Lei had no explanation.

"We were each other's anchor for the first twenty years of your life Lei…how could you have forgotten?" Although she spoke without emotion, her face reflected her anguish.

"You let go first." Lei couldn't help but raise the past as his defense.

She closed her eyes at his words. "Well, aren't you glad that I did?" she asked as she opened her eyes to look at him intently.

"Don't marry him." He told her flatly.

"Why not? So I can spend the next ten years waiting for you again?" she laughed.

"No."

"No?"

"No. So you can spend the next years of your life being with me." Lei's words echoed between

them.

"He loves me." She reasoned.

"You love me." He countered.

"And a lot of good that has done me…" she mocked him.

"I love you too."

She didn't react. Instead she stood up and picked up her clothes off the floor. "The week is up.

You're free."

"Don't do this."

"I'll go get dressed." was all she said just before she went into the bathroom.

Lei was left sitting, staring into space, unable to believe that she was really leaving. He didn't know what else to say to make her change her mind.

Finally, she came out of the bathroom all dressed and ready to go. She looked at him silently for several minutes before she walked slowly towards the door. She reached for the doorknob.

"If you walk out that door, I won't come after you." He said quietly.

She stopped at his words. "Goodbye Lei." She whispered and turned the knob to open the door.

"Stay…" he whispered.

But she'd already left.

***

Ximen woke up reaching for her…

…and encountered nothing but space.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked. She was not there. But the imprint of her head on the pillow was still visible. He strained his ears to listen for her movements. Nothing. He sat up quickly as his heart started to beat erratically all of a sudden.

"No…" he thought. "Please…" he begged the heavens as he scrambled off the bed and went to the bathroom to look for her. He struggled to contain his panic as he saw that it was empty.

With feet suddenly feeling like lead he walked towards the closet. He reached out to open it, afraid of what he might not see. "Please…" he whispered again, hoping for the sight of her clothes hanging next to his.

His legs almost gave out.

He slammed the closet door in reaction and walked out of the bedroom quickly to scour the rest of the cottage. She wasn't there. Only her scent lingered to tell him she'd been there at all. He looked out of the window and swore violently. She'd taken the car!

He could only stand there dumbly. Numbly. Unaware of the cold. Unaware of his nudity. Unaware of everything except the fact that she'd left him.

She'd left him!

Again.

Several minutes had passed before he could make himself move. Before he could muster the strength to walk back to the bedroom to get dressed. He'd stood under the shower for the longest time trying to contain emotions that were threatening to choke him.

He was already dressed and waiting for the charter plane he'd called to pick him up when he finally saw it.

He slowly walked towards the table next to the bed to pick it up.

It was a note.

Written in her near little script.

With trembling fingers he opened it, and read.

"Ximen,

Our week is up so I'm letting you go. I would have said goodbye in person but I guess I'm not cut out to be player like you. It was fun while it lasted though wasn't it? Don't worry, I'm leaving your car with Shan Cai. Take care of yourself.

Xiao You"

Ximen couldn't help it.

He ripped the letter to shreds.

How dare she? He was Ximen Zhong er Lang! He was not some nobody she could dismiss with such a paltry note! He deserved better! It wasn't as though she was anybody special! Who did she think she was? Didn't she know that women scrambled for a chance to spend time with him? She should be thanking her lucky stars that he'd even deigned to give her a second chance! How dare she!

But he could only hold on to his indignation for so long…to his anger, even less.

Why didn't she give him a chance? Why did she leave so soon? Why didn't she stay?

And in minutes, he found himself on his knees.

Picking up the pieces…

…of the note…

…and of his heart.

***

As Lei and Ximen stood outside their respective cottages, staring into the waters and waiting, two women arrived within minutes of each other at two different airports.

The taller of the two women queued at the Narita International Airport terminal bound for Paris, France.

The other, at the Taiwan International Airport terminal bound for Toronto, Canada.

FIN

***