Siren Song 187 Guilt I + II

The whole time Chang had planned to use Natalie as her trump card, she had not felt troubled. When she had sent private detectives to investigate her and found out she had an illegitimate son with Robert; all she had thought was that she finally had an advantage over him. Not just that she could have revenge against the both of them for the hell they had put her through.

Seeing Justin's face fall and his avoidance of her eyes, though, she felt hurt.

'Does he think that I did the wrong thing?.. Did I do the wrong thing?' Unable to place the source of her discomfort Chang looked down and searched inside herself while holding the firm hand on her shoulder, leaching the comfort from it.

"I think I disappointed Justin with my actions. Do you think that I did a wrong thing as well?"

"No, I would have done worse in your shoes. I would not have given her the freedom to even have her child and to live in peace. The child would have been her carrot to do as needed to begin with."

"Oh my god. That's seriously heartless. Could you really do that?" Shocked to hear him say something so callously Chang looked up at him in wide-eyed horror.

With his gaze fixed forward away from her, Chang couldn't see what was passing through his eyes; but through the hardening of his jaw she saw he meant it.

"Had I known that this Natalie Martin had been involved I would have taken appropriate measures with her as well."

"What are you saying? Are you saying you would have gone and beaten her up too?"

"No. I am just saying there is a multitude of ways to make a person suffer, and had I known that she had been apart of yours along with your cousin; I would have given her a taste as well."

Giving him a disapproving look, Chang snorted.

"I'm sure you would have, I'm glad you didn't though. We still don't know yet if your vigilantism earlier is going to come back to bite you in the butt."

"I am not worried about that, so you should not let it worry you any further." Taking his hand from her shoulder Jian lightly rubbed the furrow of her brow until she relaxed it.

"This is just a difference between you and me and that's fine, you are you and I am me. You are also a boss now Chang and you will have to make what will seem like cruel decisions to others when weighing balances; if you have not already faced such things.

"Mm." Humming in agreement Chang studied her interlaced hands on her lap.

"Around when I first started managing, as a test, my grand-père told me to withdraw our investment from a small business. The business was a small bakerythat had not been turning a favorable profit for a number of years, yet was continually borrowing. My task was to not only deny our continuance but also to demand repayment in full from the last five years. Before doing as he told me, I looked into the place in secret.

"It was an adorable place ran by an older couple and their daughter. Unfortunately they did not advertise well enough, and were rather outdated in their menu options but everything they made was delicious. Looking at the small place, I realized if I did what my grand-père told me to do it would completely collapse and that family would be ruined."

"So did you end up doing it."

"Yes. I did as my grand-père asked of me. After work that day though, I turned around and privately gave them a private loan with my own money and hired someone with my own money to help them turn the business around. It took everything that I had, and I struggled to keep things up for awhile."

"You are too soft my love." Sighing Jian gave her a gentle look as he brushed a hair behind her ear. "Though I am glad you are not hard like me. Sometimes I fear that I can be too hard.. " Trailing off his words, Liang Jian Amal gave her a hint of a smile as he spoke not realizing it was allowing his words to be misinterpreted.

Wrinkling her brow and pursing her lips Chang pushed Jian away from her.

"Eww, seriously?"

"What? What was that for?" Confused to her expression and actions Liang Jian Amal couldn't begin to figure out what was going through her head.

"What 'what'? Don't act all innocent with me Liang Jian Amal, I know you're anything but! Did you seriously just bring up your-your thing when we were talking seriously." Flustered Chang pointed at the area on his pants, a hint of a flush coming to her cheeks as she admonished him.

"What? No. I was being serious Chang. Though if you would like we could seriously discuss it-"

"No thank you!" Cutting him off before he could finish, Chang wished she could have bit off her own tongue before she spoke and started him up.

"Or better yet, I could demonstrate for you-"

"No!!" Seeing his hands reaching for his belt buckle she reached hers out first to try to stop him only to see his hands had only moved slightly.

Looking up she saw his smirk and tensed while feeling herself burn up.

'Ugh, we've done far more than this, how does he still make me feel just so-so awkward.'

"Mm, I love when you're so proactive, but we should save that for later as we were discussing serious things." Taking her frozen hands he put them back on her lap. "I'm afraid I have to stop you or I will be tortured more than I can bear."

Unable to say anything in response, Chang tried to pull herself together again while avoiding his wolfish gaze.

"Hey just relax it's not like I am going to eat you, at least right now anyways, and only if you beg for it." Hearing his teasing words she looked up and gave a wordless glare to his toothy smile.

"Heh. Just relax and take a deep breath. Let yourself be at peace Chang, you did as you had to while still maintaining your bottom line. That' s a fine line you are choosing to walk, and I commend you for that. It would be easier than you realize to ruthlesslesly deal with your opposition."

"I just can't do that though."

"I know that. You do not need to explain to me. Giving her a soft smile he cupped his hand to her cheek. "Just remember that all is fair in love and war, if you have declared a personal war on your cousin you will have to see it through thick and thin. Your hands will be dirtied."

"I am willing to do as I have to now. It's why I made the call and decided to put my plan into action. It just sucks when I see my friend look at me differently after telling him."

"Your friend lives in a different world from you now."

"But I've never felt that way before. " Instantly Chang protested to his words vehemently.

"Really?" Arching an eyebrow Jian asked her again his eyes probing hers.

"No wait you're right.." while she wanted to immediately reject his words, she remembered. When she had first met Jian; and for the longest time after Chang had felt like she lived in a different world from him.

"Uh-huh. I see you see what I mean. You have different responsibilities, pressures, and rules around you now."

"But how do I make Justin see that?"

"He either will or won't, do your best, but don't take it too much to heart if he doesn't. It is just the way things are sometimes "

"Hmm." Nodding her head Chang processed his words. "I need to go talk with him then, I'll try my grand-père again in a bit."

"Take care of what you need to do, I'll give you two some time alone."

"Thank you Jian."

"You do not have to thank me." Smiling gently at her he shook his head lightly.

"No, I want you to know how grateful I am. And for so much more than just this." Holding his hand, she gave him a tight smile trying to convey all that she meant and felt with it.

"Go talk with your friend."

"I will, thank you." Smiling over her shoulder Chang peered around her house for her friend.

"Chang."

" Hmm?" Hearing his voice from behind Chang turned back.

"Were you able to turn around that dying business?"

"Yeah actually, they started turning around a few months after I hired the marketing manager to help them. If I get a chance I would love to take you and Justin there. They even renamed it, in honor of what I did. They wanted to call it Charmaine's, but I asked them to make it something different."

"What is the place called now?"

"La Fleur de Prunier."1 After hesitating to swallow the small hard lump in her throat that rose Chang answered in a quiet voice. Without waiting for his response, Chang headed to the kitchen to talk with Justin, not seeing him anywhere else.

Chapter end