The words that spilled from the bartender's mouth pained Blair's heart to the core. 'Wesley proposed to someone else.' "How... How did he propose to the woman called Patty Chang? I mean, what did he say?" she continued to ask, suppressing the sadness in her heart. She never knew Wesley would be that romantic. A proposal. Who would have thought?
"Well, nothing in particular. He just put the ring on Patty's ring finger, but that gesture was enough to get tears falling. She couldn't wait to say yes. Everybody in D City knows that Patty is head over heels in love with the guy. I bet that she would've proposed to Wayne if he hadn't done it first. So, Wayne didn't need to do a whole lot," the bartender blurted out. Since Blair had paid him a ton of cash, he poured out every fact that he knew.
He kept prattling on about the gossip and rumors surrounding Wayne and Patty. But his words landed on deaf ears. She was immersed in her own sad thoughts.
She didn't need any more information now. All she knew was that Wesley was married to a woman named Patty.
She reached for the ring that Wesley had given to her. She'd hung it on her neck like a pendant. A sardonic smile crept along her face as the ridiculous fact sank in.
When she took the sleeping pills that night, she'd worn it then, too. Because she wanted to leave this world with the most precious thing in her life. But this man bought another ring and gave it to another woman.
To make sure the bartender was straight with her, Blair paid off a few other waiters. She still couldn't believe the story. Much to her disappointment, she got the same answers.
Wesley did get marriage licenses for Patty.
Oh, to be precise, it was Wayne who married Patty.
But in Blair's mind, Wayne or Wesley, it meant the same. They were the same guy. Wesley did everything, though. He was Patty's husband now.
The next thing Blair knew was that she was already outside the night club. She couldn't even remember walking out of it.
Without a specific destination, she wandered along a street near the club, just like the first time she visited the city.
She walked to the same footbridge where she saw Wesley and his men last time. But this time, there was no one in camo fatigues, or uniform for that matter. And more importantly, no Wesley.
He was busy flirting with his new bride in the club.
A ton of dark thoughts flooded her mind. For a moment, she was overwhelmed by the urge to jump off the bridge and end everything.
But then she thought of her family. Her grandfather, aunt, uncle and Joslyn. She remembered how sad and worried they were when she first committed suicide. 'No, I can't do that. I can't make my loved ones worry about me again, ' she told herself.
She kept walking and stopped in front of a pawn shop. After a moment of hesitation, she made up her mind and walked in.
A few moments later, she came out.
The ring and bracelet were no longer hers. She'd sold them to the pawn shop.
She didn't see any reason to be good anymore. She wouldn't pay Wesley back for the 300, 000 dollars. She'd keep the money she got from the ring and bracelet, and use it to travel the world. She would be swimming in boyfriends. She had suffered enough loving Wesley. Life's too short. She vowed to lead a happy and relaxing life.
The next day, Blair flew back home. As soon as the plane touched down, she got a call from an unknown number.
But she didn't answer it.
The person on the other side called a few more times, but she rejected them all. If she didn't know who it was, she wasn't going to answer it.
Finally, whoever it was gave up.
Two days later, she got a call from Cecelia. She called to tell her what Wesley told her. "Blair, what you saw is all fake. It's Wayne Chen who's married to Patty, not Wesley. Wesley has only one woman in his heart. That's you, Blair. He's loved you for a long time, and will do so forever."
Cecelia's voice sounded nervous. She had written down her son's words on a piece of paper, in case she'd miss something.
But Blair didn't feel anything after hearing all that.
She still couldn't accept the ironic fact that when she committed suicide for him, he was alive, loving another woman. She couldn't get over the fact that he married Patty, fake identity or not. She couldn't understand why he didn't let her know he was alive, after surviving the explosion. Why was it so important for him to propose to Patty first instead of giving her a call? Didn't he realize she was weeping over him because she thought he was dead?
And why in the hell would he marry Patty? Was that part of it? What kind of mission was that?
Cecelia expected Blair to leave Wesley a message. But no matter how she comforted Blair, the girl didn't have anything to tell her son. Instead, Blair said, "Aunt Cecelia, thanks for taking care of me. I won't forget you and will visit you whenever I have a holiday. But please, stop talking about Wesley, okay?" The mere mention of this name pained her heart.
Cecelia wasn't angry or disappointed. On the contrary, she supported Blair. "I get it. I got your back. You've waited for him, loved him and worried about him for so many years. It's payback time."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: True Love Waits