Epilogue : 3 months later…

A/N: Anything you recognize from Meteor Garden, I do not own. But the plot and the words are mine though so I'd appreciate a holler before you distribute it in any shape or form. Thanks. =)

***

At a church in Barcelona, Spain, an Asian man with slightly overgrown hair, clad in white polo shirt and slacks looked on from a distance as a newly-married couple descended the steps. From his vantage point, he really couldn't see the couple's faces very well. He could tell though that the bride was smiling, as was the groom.

"Aren't you going to go congratulate them?" a voice came from behind him.

He didn't react. He just continued staring at the couple until they both got into the bridal car.

"Are you with the bride or the groom?" the voice persisted.

He still didn't speak.

"Well, the reception will be held at the groom's estate. Do you know where it is? I could take you there if you want." The offer came helpfully.

When he still didn't speak, the person shrugged, "Suit yourself," and left him alone.

He hardly noticed. His gaze was trained on the church as the rest of the wedding party scattered to leave. When he'd seen that everyone had left, he slowly walked towards the church. He stood by the steps for several minutes before he decided to make his way inside.

***

Somewhere in Toronto, Canada, an Asian man sat at an outdoor café just before sunset. His long hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and he wore glasses. In front of him on the table sat a cup of black coffee. Untouched. He'd been too busy staring at the woman sitting on a bench across the street.

She was also Asian, with long fine hair, loosely gathered into a braid. She wore a baby tee, capris and flip-flops. She seemed to be waiting for someone as she kept on looking at her watch every five minutes for the last hour or so. He knew because he'd been staring at her for that long.

He wondered who she was waiting for. A boyfriend? A friend? He fought the urge to walk up to her and ask. It wouldn't do to show himself to her. At least, not yet. He was startled out of his intense concentration when the street lights suddenly lit up just as a car pulled up in front of her and from out of the back seat came the person that she'd been waiting for.

An expression bordering on pain crossed the face of the man across the street as he took in the scene before him As he took in the way her face had lit up at the sight of the newcomer. As he took in the way she'd jumped up and quickly embraced him. He looked on as the two bent and leaned towards the car as she talked to the driver. He was afforded a better look at the newcomer when the car pulled away and they both straightened.

He was wearing a suit. A little on the thin side but anyone could tell that he was very good looking. He too wore glasses and like her, also had Asian features. They could pass for siblings but the man across the street knew she had no brother. So who was he?

***

He took in the flower arrangement along the pews as well as the other items that indicated that a wedding had just taken place. He started walking towards the altar but then changed his mind. He turned left instead and walked towards the side where the candle offerings were located. He fished for a coin inside his trouser pocket and lit one candle.

He had never been a religious person. But he found himself praying.

For strength.

So that he may learn to forget about her.

He had no idea how long he stood there, staring at his candle's flickering flame. It could have been seconds. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours.

Finally, he moved. He took a deep breath and started walking. He was nearly at the church's main door when he heard it.

"Lei?"

***

The cell phone resting beside the untouched coffee suddenly rang, shaking the man from his reverie.

"Hello." He answered.

"Where are you?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Why do you ask?" he wondered.

"She's worried about you." The voice answered.

"Tell her not to worry. I'm not about to commit mayhem here." He reassured the other man dryly.

"I'm so sorry."

He laughed. "It's not your fault."

"But she knew…"

"I don't blame her. Go reassure your wife Ah Si." He wanted to end the conversation quickly.

Ah Si sighed loudly. "Take care Ximen, okay?"

"I will." He answered and hung up.

***

Lei slowly turned around and searched for the voice's owner…

…and saw

…her.

"What…" he couldn't continue. What was she doing here?

"You came." She said the words as though she couldn't quite believe he was actually in front of her.

He walked slowly towards her as though afraid she'd vanish before his very eyes. His gaze, focused on her face.

"You didn't?" he wondered aloud.

She shook her head.

"Why?" he asked, not moving.

She licked her lips in nervousness. "I…"

He couldn't help it. He reached out to touch her face.

"Shh…" he whispered just before he bent down to give her a kiss.

A gentle kiss.

A healing kiss.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" It was her turn to say the words he'd asked of her back then.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think that you're still in love with me."

He pushed her away indignantly. "You wish."

She laughed. "Admit it. You still love me."

"So what if I do?"

"I still love you too." She admitted.

He pulled her into his embrace and kissed the top of her head. "I thought you'd married him."

She shook her head as she too wrapped her arms around him. "I couldn't…"

"Do you know what you've put me through in the last three months?" he asked as he tightened his arms around her.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered to his chest.

"Marry me?" he asked as he pulled away slightly so he could look at her.

***

"What's wrong?" she asked as she felt him pulling on her sleeve.

"That man…" he pointed across the street at the café. "He keeps looking at us."

"What man?" she asked again as she followed his fingers. There wasn't anyone there.

"He was just there…" he scratched his head, wondering where the man had gone.

She laughed just before she kissed him on the cheek. "It was just your imagination sweetie."

He gave her a look of hurt. "It was not!" he pouted.

She sighed. "Never mind. It's getting late. We need to go now."

***

Ximen sat in his car, breathing a sigh of relief as he realized she'd nearly spotted him. He wasn't ready to face her yet. He didn't want anyone else to be present when he confronted her.

***

She could only look at him in wonder upon hearing the words.

"Please?" he added as he saw the tears glistening in her eyes.

She answered by taking something out of the pockets of her dress.

Lei looked at her curiously. What was she getting?

"Do you remember this?" she asked as she opened her palm to show him.

"You still have it?" he asked in wonder. It was the ring he'd given her when they were young. He'd made it out of aluminum foil and the very first broken string of his violin.

She nodded. "Would you…?" she trailed off.

With trembling fingers, Lei reached out to pick it up gently from off her palm.

She responded by holding out her left hand, palm down.

Slowly, reverently, he slid it into her ring finger.

He'd cried when he'd realized he'd made it too big for her fingers then.

Now, it was her turn to cry.

But not for the same reason.

This time it did fit.

Perfectly.

***

She was tired. All she wanted to do was go to bed and fall asleep. She looked at her watch and saw that it was already 10PM. She had just finished taking a shower and was wearing her favorite sleepwear. It was a man's white shirt. His shirt. She'd packed it accidentally the last time they'd been together and had decided to keep it. It was one of two keepsakes she had of him. The other one was in the other bedroom.

She was checking if she'd locked the front door properly when the bell rang. Who could be visiting her at this late hour? Maybe it was her mom. She often dropped by late at night to bring back things that had been accidentally left behind at their house.

"What is it this time, Ma?" she automatically asked as she opened the door.

"Hello, Xiao You."

"Ximen!"

***

A/N: mangagurl, lei_and_jing_4eva, fruityjuice98, fresher, Lei_and_Jing_, Haruka Minamino, Deldrem-wicca, piglet, Toinks, rui_shu, goodietwoshoez, cuppajava, Trevtrev --- THANK YOU for reading this & leaving your comments =)

I've actually posted this story in another site so I'm posting the rest of it all in one go. To you and all the others who've read silently so far, I hope you enjoy the story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Oh and sorry for the formatting in some of the chapters, I had some problems with them and wasn't able to go back and fix them (due to time constraints). Anyway, thanks again and I hope to hear from all of you soon =)