Trapped

Chapter 10

Yue stood at the balcony of her hotel room at W Shanghai - The Bund. She stepped out to get some fresh air as she felt suffocated all of sudden. But as soon as she looked down to see the view below, she immediately knew she made a mistake.

Her room has a view of the Huangpu Park.

Where she and Dylan met three weeks ago.

Where her heart, which she thought can't be hurt any further because it is already broken into pieces, has been pounded and grinded until it was reduced into fine powder, never to be whole again.

She felt her insides clenching as the scenes from that night played in her head again. And then she just felt tears running down her cheeks.

Yue hastily wiped her tears and closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to stop the waterworks that never seem to empty. She mentally berated herself again for feeling this way. She should be strong. She should not feel hurt. She should not cry over someone who doesn't even care anymore.

Okay. Dylan has tried to see her and talk to her. But she adamantly refused. That is why she's staying in a hotel now instead of at her house. Too many memories. And she doesn't need to be reminded of those any further.

She has declined a lot of meetups with their friends. Because she knows the lovers will be there. And she can't handle being with them. That would be like subjecting herself to torture.

Lately, Yue is feeling alone and isolated. She only got to meet with Xiaowen and Jiaqi at times. She missed being with all of her friends. Sometimes she wishes things were as simple as before.

She was lost in her thoughts when she heard her mobile phone ring.

The display showed it was her dad calling.

"Hi dad," Yue said, trying to make herself sound a bit more cheerful. "What are you doing so early? Isn't it 3 a.m. where you are now?" Her dad is in California. And Shanghai is 15 hours ahead from Los Angeles.

"I'm at home now. And I wanted to surprise you sweetheart. But I am the one surprised when I arrived and you're not here. Your Aunt Ling said you've been staying in a hotel? Why?" Her dad's deep booming voice said on the other line.

"You're home? But I thought you would not be back until next week!" Yue avoided her father's question. "I will head home now. I'll see you in a bit. Bye dad." She ended the call, collected her purse then went out of the hotel room to go home.

***

Yue knocked on his dad's home office before entering. She saw him standing near the windows, looking out at their garden. When he turned around and smiled at her, Yue couldn't help it. She rushed to her dad and hugged him. It felt good to be in her dad's embrace. The sadness and frustrations she has been feeling all this time came bubbling up the surface. She just found herself crying it all out.

Her dad hugged her back then stroked her back to calm her down. "Yue, what's wrong? What happened?" Her dad said, his worry evident in his voice.

Yue shook her head, still crying. "Nothing dad. I just missed you." She said, That is not totally a lie. It has been more than two months since they saw each other in person. She really misses him.

But she couldn't tell him the real reason why she is so miserable now. So she just cried. And thankful that he did not probe further. He just held her until her sobs subsided.

Yue let go of her dad when she felt calm enough to face him. She wiped the traces of tears on her face then smiled at him. "So why did you cut your trip short? Missed me that much?" She then laughed.

"Of course of course." Her dad said, then patted her head fondly as if she's still a little girl. "But are you sure you're okay Yue?"

"Yes I am okay dad. Don't worry about me. I'm just happy you're here." Yue said. "So what's the real reason you're back so soon?"