Chapter 317: The beginning of their separation
Jinhai lowered his gaze to look at her tear-stained face. His heart broke apart.
He wiped her tears with his thumb, but Nana slapped his hand away. “I don’t need your concern.”
Jinhai was utterly confused. On one side, he just wished to take Nana away with him and lock her somewhere from where she would never be able to run away.
But on the other side, he couldn’t see Nana in pain and tears.
His obsession for her was in a war with his sanity. The thought of separation made him shudder in fear.
“Nana, I love you. I can do anything for you, but don’t ask me to live without you…”
Nana felt tired. She listlessly stared ahead with a deadpan expression.
“Alright.” Nana’s voice was almost inaudible. “Do whatever you want. I don’t want to argue with you anymore.”
Her indifference hurt him even more.
Nana said nothing further and opened the door. She slowly sat in the car and shut the door hard.
Jinhai silently laughed, his eyes glistening in tears. He sat on the driver’s seat and drove the car away.
—
An hour later, the car came to a stop. Nana was dead silent the whole way.
Nana raised her head and looked at the side, and she slightly widened her eyes in surprise.
Liang villa.
She said nothing. At that stage, she thought that Jinhai would take her back to Liu villa.
Jinhai clutched the steering wheel.
Nana spoke after a long time. “So what did you decide? How many days am I allowed to stay here?”
Jinhai clearly felt the jab, but he didn’t mind it. He was ready to bear all the insults and humiliation.
He shut his eyes. “L-live for how much ever long you want to.”
It was really difficult for him to make this decision. It was hard not to flip out again like what happened at the beach. He let his possessiveness take over him at that moment. He hated himself for forcing the kiss on her. He hated himself for scaring her like that.
Nana laughed. “Really? Since when did you start to care what I want?”
Jinhai slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. “…Nana, can you not give me one chance? Please?”
Nana didn’t respond.
“Nana!”
They heard a voice and saw Liang Xiao Dan rushing towards them. Nana opened the door and got out.
She hugged her daughter and exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Weren’t you going to come tomorrow?”
Liang Shin and Liang Zou also came outside.
Nana tried hard from not breaking down. She buried her face in her neck.
“Nana! Oh, I know that she must want to surprise us,” Liang Shin grinned.
Liang Zou was over the moon with this pleasant surprise.
But Liang Xiao Dan found something wrong. She heard her sniffling and felt wetness on her neck.
“Nana, dear? Are you all alright? Are you crying?”
Liang Zou and Shin looked startled. “What?”
Jinhai stepped outside.
Liang Zou asked, “What is wrong, Jinhai? Why is she crying?”
Shin narrowed his gaze when he saw Jinhai, not replying. “Tell me what happened? Wait. Did you two fight over something?”
Liang Xiao Dan and Liang Zou worriedly looked at him.
But then Nana softly said, “Please…let’s go inside.”
The three looked at each other in bewilderment.
Wasn’t everything fine with them until yesterday?
“D-dear tell us what happened? We will talk about it.”
Liang Zou couldn’t see his daughter in such a state. “Jinhai, what is this? What the hell went wrong? Did you do something?”
“Mom, Dad, please! I don’t want to talk to him anymore. Let’s go inside.”
They panicked, seeing her so distressed. It seemed to be a big fight between them. They didn’t want to make her any more worried, so they nodded.
“Yes, dear! We will go inside. Don’t cry, okay? It’s not good for you and your baby.”
Still, in her arms, Liang Xiao Dan slowly started walking away with Nana towards their villa.
Shin warily looked at Jinhai. He was just as mad as his father. One look at Jinhai, and it was enough to tell him that he was guilty of something. The cause of their fight was Jinhai.
Liang Zou warned. “I will make you regret it if I come to know that you have hurt my daughter.”
But Jinhai said nothing. He saw Nana go inside, and with every step of hers moving away from his, he felt his heartbreak into pieces. The farther she grew, the more lifeless he became. The more the distance grew wider, the emptier he felt inside.
“Nana…”
—
Inside Liang villa, Liang Xiao Dan settled Nana on the bed. She patted her head. The father and son silently stood behind and watched her.
“You must be hungry, right? Mom will cook a nice and tasty dinner for you and my grandchild. You will love it.”
Shin thought to lighten up the mood.
“Haha. Mom, are you sure it would be tasty? Remember that you had burnt our lunch one time? Dad and I couldn’t even recognize what dish you prepared.”
Liang Zou immediately understood his son’s intentions.
“Right, Xiao Dan. I love you, and I can eat anything you give me, but I guess it would be too hard on Nana. Plus, she is pregnant too. We don’t want to make her sick.”
Liang Xiao Dan naturally understood what they were doing.
“Y-you, father and son! You two always team up against me! It was just one time! I don’t cook bad!” She made a wronged expression and pouted.
She looked at Nana as if she suffered a grave injustice. “Did you see Nana? They always do that. But now you are here, so the mother and daughter pair will teach this idiot duo a good lesson!”
“Hah! Nana will be on our side. Sorry mom, but you will definitely be left all alone when she tastes your food. And mom don’t forget that she is a chef. You mustn’t embarrass yourself.”
Liang Xiao Dan glared at them.
They took a glance at Nana and checked if it worked, but it didn’t have any effect on her. She still laid there expressionless and blank.
Their shoulders drooped in sadness.
Nana slowly said, “Mom. I am not hungry. I…can you leave me alone for some time?”
Liang Xiao Dan protested. “But dear it isn’t good for you-“
Liang Zou quietly put his hand on her shoulder. He shook his head.
He smiled. “It’s alright, dear. We won’t force you. You must be tired. Rest for the night. But if you ever feel hungry, then just call us, okay?”
She absent-mindedly nodded.
“Xiao Dan, Shin. Let’s go. Let her rest.”
They hesitated but sighed. They went out and closed the door behind them.
Coming a little further, Shin gritted his teeth. “Dad, what must have gone wrong? It didn’t seem like a small fight to me. Did you look at Nana? She looked so lifeless and blank!”
Liang Xiao Dan agreed as well. “Zou, he is right. I have not seen Nana that distressed before. Should we talk to Jinhai?”
“No.”
Liang Zou looked stern. “Nana didn’t want to talk to him, so we shouldn’t either. She might get hurt. Let it be for tonight. She looked too tired. We will ask Nana tomorrow. Don’t worry. We are always with her. If there is something wrong, then we will always stand by her side.”
—
Nana was blankly staring at the space ahead, thinking of what happened tonight.
As the memories of all the time until now flashed past her mind one by one, the tears trickling from the side of her face grew more and more.
She started to gasp as she couldn’t hold them back anymore. The distance between them right now was hurting her as much as it was hurting Jinhai.
When she remembered how he forcibly kissed her, she felt a strange fear envelope in her chest.
At that moment, she really thought as if it was someone else. The obsession in his gaze was so clear and evident that it really scared her.
It was a few hours when Nana started to feel a little breathless, so she got up to take some fresh air. She didn’t feel to sleep.
She walked towards the window and opened the window panes. A breeze of fresh and cold air kissed her wet face. She took a deep breath, and it calmed her down just a little bit.
But as her gaze went down, she froze.
Jinhai was still standing outside at the same place. He hadn’t moved an inch since she went inside.
And he was looking back at her.
He straightened up as he saw her. His smile faltered a little.
Nana immediately tore her gaze away. She quickly stepped back and closed the window.
Jinhai felt a pang of sadness.
“Nana…”
He leaned back on his car and looked at the starry sky in a daze.
On the other side, Nana leaned on the window frame. Her shoulders trembled.
It was the first night of their separation, and only a few hours were already hurting them both so much.
How were they going to face it ahead?