It Wasn't A BlackMail
“Do you need money?”
“No!” Her eyes widened on how she could talk about money matters so easily. She can’t get used to Ellise frankness.
“I do need something from you, but it’s not money.” she bit her lower lip for she was feeling embarrassed asking her friend for help. “I’ve been staying here in Madame Bae’s house for more than two weeks, I can’t continue to be a freeloader, you know?” she twisted her hands on her lap, not meeting Ellise’s eyes.
“I’m sure Madame Bae does not consider your presence in her house as a hassle. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“It’s still inappropriate to abuse other people’s kindness. So, I asked Aunt Joy and she said you could help me.”, she swallowed the embarrassment she was feeling for she didn’t have much choice.
“Hmm, I think I know what she was talking about. Let’s go!”
“Where are we going?”
“Do you know how to drive?” she answered her question with another question. She started walking to the adjacent building from the main house. Madame Bae’s residence is a cluster of old buildings.
Each building has a designated use. The ground floor of this particular building, where they are heading was renovated to accommodate Madame Bae’s collection that she utterly loves. She swallowed a grin as she walked ahead of Dana.
“I don’t have the need to learn how to drive,” she answered matter-of-factly.
“Sheltered princess.”
“I’m not.” she stuck her tongue on her back.
“Do you have any preference for a car?”, she asked but didn’t wait for Dana to answer, “The key for the Exelero, please.” The man wearing a red changshan gave her the key without any question.
Not long, they are cruising the street in Madame Bae’s Exelero that purred beautifully under her hands. She chuckled softly, enjoying the beautiful machine. She was surprised and quite happy when she found out that Madame Bae has a car collection.
She loves fast cars! Or anything that could pump up her adrenaline. She stepped on the gas when they reached the highway and in less than twenty minutes, despite the traffic reached the East City. She parked the Exelero in her parking slot in the basement parking of her apartment building.
When she got out of the car, memories came like an avalanche. She shook her head to stop them from burying her. She glanced at Dana who just got out of the passenger door. She must be shaken by how fast she drove.
Yet, she didn’t say anything and followed her to the elevator. When they reached the 18th floor, was the only time she asked.
“Whose place is it?”
“Mine. You may use it at your own convenience. I don’t know how it looks like now though.”
They walked the quiet carpeted hallway up to the last door. She pressed her thumb on the door handle and it opened with a soft thud. Then she slid open the button panel, entered a series of numbers, swiped a card, and said, “Press your thumb.”
Dana was pressing her thumb on the electronic panel when DT came out of the red door. To say that she was shocked was an understatement. She felt her soul left her body.
When she recovered her bearing, “What are you doing here?” she angrily asked the man she was trying to avoid.
He said nonchalantly, “The door never forgets my fingerprint.”
‘The door never forgets your fingerprint because I never remove them from the system!’ she screamed the words she wanted to say in his face, but can’t.
Gritting her teeth, she turned to face Dana, “Can you a taxi back to Madame Bae’s house?” She didn’t wait for her to answer. She left without looking back. Her heart beating like she just joined a triathlon.
After her meltdown in Korea, she has been trying her best not to talk or be alone with him since they came back to Shanghai. Now, she found out that he still visits her old apartment! Her brain couldn’t wrap the newfound information. ‘Why does he have to visit her place, when she can’t take the courage to return to her apartment for she might lose her resolve.
“Ellise,...could you please wait up!” he ran the short distance between them before she could close the elevator.
“We need to talk,” he was panting when he entered the elevator.
“I don’t think we have something to talk about, DT. You already made your decision two years ago!” she wanted to slap herself when she heard the quiver in her voice.
“Listen…” he was about to reach her when the elevator opened and a man in a black suit join them. He pressed the lower basement too.
He hopelessly glanced over his shoulder. Urging the elevator to hurry up in his head. He can’t let Ellise have this misunderstanding with what he said in the press conference two years ago!
She knew that DT would talk to her, thus the moment the elevator opened she hurriedly got out of the elevator that she bumped the man in a black suit when he suddenly stopped in front of her to check the sole of his shoes.
DT pulled her away from the man, “Sorry.” he said, dragging Ellise to the side of the parking lot where his car was parked.
“Ellise, could you please listen!”, he said in exasperation. “I always come to your apartment. And knowing that you didn’t erase my access to your place gives me a slice of hope. That you would come back!”
‘Why would you wait for me to come back?’ the question was stuck at the back of her throat for she was scared to hear his answer, instead, she said, “Funny, you kept on coming back to that apartment when in the first place, I just blackmailed you to come.”
“You call ‘that’ blackmail? Missy, you could have blackmailed all you want, however, if I didn’t want to, I don’t think you can.”
Her eyes widened when DT closed the gap between them that she had no choice but to step back away from him. But she was staring straight to his eyes that she didn’t see that she shrink back to the column of the basement parking lot.
“It was neither blackmail nor pity back then. I simply wanted to be with you...just like now.” their faces were dangerously close to each other that she could feel his warm breath fanning her already flushed skin.
“D… oomph.”
His lips were pressed to hers, not allowing her to say anything.