AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She couldn’t speak.
He studied her. “You thought I was your father, didn’t you?”
Unable to lie—literally unable—she simply nodded.
“Sorry to disappoint you.” He smiled. “Would you like some tea?”
She shook her head, still trying to figure out what to say. Hell, what to feel.
“Does your father come here?” he asked.
She nodded.
“It brings back memories.” He looked around. “It hasn’t changed that much. That booth over there is where we did our homework. You father and I would climb on that lion. Mother used to scold us and say the lion would get one of us one day.” His gaze landed on the photo. “You know that’s your grandparents.”
His voice even sounded like her dad’s. Her chest tightened more.
“Why?” she forced that one word out. “Why didn’t you come to me earlier? Why did you send Chase and not come yourself? Why didn’t you save Chan?” Tears filled her eyes. “Why didn’t you go to the FRU when my father got arrested for murder? And why … why did you let Chase go see his parents in the morgue?”
He stared at his cup. “That’s a lot of questions.”
She brushed away a tear. “I deserve answers.”
He inhaled. “Where do I start?” He paused. “I did not come to you because you were connected to the FRU. I have reasons not to trust them.” He looked down again. “I wanted to save Chan.”
“Then why didn’t you?” Della sensed a decrease in the room temperature. She ignored it to listen.
“The last time I attempted to bond with someone, they died. My blood is no longer useful. Understand, it would have been unfair of me to ask Chase to bond with either of you. And I didn’t. One should only bond with someone you care about. You give up powers. You give up a part of your soul.”
Della recalled Chase telling her about Eddie’s wife, but she held back her words of sympathy and waited for him to continue.
He added a pack of sugar to his cup. Bits and pieces of tea leaves swirled on top. The spoon clinked against the cup. “I asked Chase to prepare you and Chan to face it on your own. Chase said Chan was too weak to survive even if someone bonded with him. It hurt Chase. He found you were strong. He felt you might survive it. But you intrigued that boy.” Her uncle smiled. “He would tell me some of your antics. I heard it in his voice. I knew he would do it, even before he knew.” He held up his cup. “He said going in that you were going to fight him. He had you pegged.”
Her uncle paused again. “Let’s see, what was your other question? Oh, yes. The morgue? Now there is a question I did not expect. But I like it, because it tells me you have stopped fighting the bond.”
“That is yet to be seen,” she said, remembering how Chase had pulled away again.
“Okay, how can I explain the morgue?” He looked up. “Not my brightest idea. But as someone who had to walk away from my family, I had no closure. So I offered him this choice.”
Feng picked up his tea and took a sip. “There, are you happy? Now I’d like to hear about—”
“You forgot one.”
He arched a brow.
In the corner of her eye, she saw Bao Yu sitting in the booth. The one they had done homework in, staring. Just staring. She was young, and had some books with her. Did she recognize Feng?
Pushing her aunt from her mind to focus on her uncle, she leaned forward. “Even if you don’t like the FRU, when my father got arrested for murder, why didn’t you step forward? All of this would have gone smoother. Instead of wasting our time looking for you, we could have been looking for Stone.”
“I told Chase that if it appeared my brother would be convicted, I’d come forward and confess to the crime myself. To the police, not the FRU. I’ve already figured out how to make it believable.”
Della sat there, her heart aching. “It would have been nice if Chase would have shared that with me.”
“He probably didn’t because he swore that wouldn’t happen.”
Della shook her head. It didn’t matter why. It was just another secret he’d kept from her. Another lie.
She met her uncle’s gaze. “What is Chase hiding from me now about his meeting with Kirk?”
