by Cece Monét
The bottom line was that she’d improved their net profits already by ten percent in only one month. Now with Cheng’s full collaboration both at work and at home, she felt like they’d be an unstoppable duo, taking the world by storm. Even more importantly, he paid attention to her and their son as actual people.
Cheng had a nickname for her and really listened when she spoke. He cared about what their son was interested in too. Cheng had even gotten their son a cool piece of jewelry to reflect his namesake and Chinese heritage. He was considerate and he wanted her. He even genuinely wanted their enthusiastic, highly animated son around.
In the month since she’d really forced herself to pay attention to Brian, he hadn’t exhibited any of those characteristics. She was fairly certain that the same way she was bored and disgusted by his topics of interest, he was equally as uninterested in hers. He didn’t have a nickname or pet name for her, was not remotely interested in anything pertaining to her son and she’d begun to notice that he had a serious wandering eye too. Whenever she was out with him, Brian seemed to be checking out almost every other woman around them, except her.
In the end, she wasn’t sure why either of them was marrying the other. So when she saw how favorably Jayden responded to his father again tonight, she knew for sure. She’d gone to her room to return her engagement ring to its box so that tomorrow morning she could give it back to Brian.
Now she could focus her full attention on Cheng. Something she wished she’d had the courage to do sooner. They were in the hallway now, just a few feet from the door to her master bedroom, so soon they’d be at the point of no return. Yet Angela didn’t feel panicked about this night, since it felt like they were finally right where they were supposed be.
Cheng crossed the threshold to her bedroom and quietly kicked the door closed behind him before he placed her down gently on her bed. He kissed her softly and ran his hands through her hair. She would have thought that with all the time they’d been apart he would have been spurred on to a quicker pace by urgency, but Cheng took his time as he began to undress himself.
Angela supposed they did have all the time in the world now. She watched as he slid off his black slacks, before he undid the buttons to his short sleeve black shirt. He took off his black ribbed tank top and pulled off his socks so that he now stood only in a pair of heather gray cotton boxer briefs. Cheng’s body could’ve been curved from granite it was so lean and chiseled.
Cheng had definitely been working out a lot more these days than he had in the days when they’d been in HK together. His sculpted to perfection form actually began to make Angela feel a bit apprehensive about getting nude with him again. She’d kept herself up, but having a baby a few years ago had taken a bit of a toll on her body.
Angela’s body was softer, rounder and not nearly as unflawed now as it had been a few years ago. Her stomach especially was not nearly the same now, as pregnancy had definitely not left it as unmarred as it had been previously. Damn stretch marks.
Cheng climbed onto the bed and made his way over to her. He was so confident, masculine, powerful, sexy, and simply gorgeous. He moved with a control, grace, purpose and self-assuredness that was simply hypnotic. When he looked at her like that, how could Angela not feel desired and turned on to the point of near insanity?
Although when he tugged to start taking off her sweatpants, her insecurities flared up again. Cheng stopped, clearly having sensed her hesitation. He kissed her face then trailed his fingers through her hair and alongside her face then down her neck. “What’s wrong tian shi?” his words were a seductive, coaxing whisper.
“I… well… my body’s not exactly the same as it was before when we were together now that I’ve had Jayden. I just, don’t want you to be… disappointed.”
He smiled ruefully. “Trust me, that’s definitely not going to happen,” he murmured as he began to undress her again. The only light on in the room was the one coming faintly from her bathroom, so at least the room was only dimly lit.
Angela was still a little apprehensive as he undressed her down to her skivvies, but he didn’t look disappointed at all. In fact, as he stared at her now, he looked more reverent, in awe of her body really, than anything else. Cheng delighted in showing her his revelry was true indeed as he spent the next four hours repeatedly worshipping her body.
~
Cheng was pretty sure he’d died and gone to heaven, a feeling that fortunately for him didn’t subside even as he tried to pry one of his sandpaper-esque eyelids open. He’d been awakened by Angela’s alarm clock that went off at 7:00 am. He knew she was tempted to press snooze. She did in fact actually press the snooze button, but she still hopped up and turned off the alarm clock before the buzzer had a chance to go off again.
Angela looked wonderful all groggy and half sleep as she shuffled around her room. She had spent about ten minutes in the bathroom and came out showered, with teeth and hair brushed. She threw on clean underwear, bra and jogging suit and grabbed something he couldn’t see off her dresser that she put in her pocket before she slipped out of her bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her.
She must not have realized that Cheng had been awake and watching her movements from underneath the arm he had draped over his face. She really must’ve been serious last night, allowing him to sleep over and still not kicking him out now. Angela also must’ve really had the whole morning routine thing down too because Cheng only heard a little bit of shuffling around as she was getting Jayden ready and within another fifteen minutes they had left the house, so that she was gone by 7:30 am. Damn his woman was amazing.
Cheng mostly faded in and out of consciousness during that whole time that Angela and Jayden were getting ready before succumbing and going back to sleep. After all, he had expended a lot of energy just a few hours ago and he needed his beauty rest. He smiled thinking the only time he overslept was when he was spending intimate time with Angela.
Somewhere as Cheng drifted back to sleep now, he thought he heard a phone ringing, but he knew it wasn’t his. At least he was fairly certain that wasn’t his phone ringing in the distance. Oh well. Even if it was his cell phone, he was definitely going to have to call whoever that was back later.
~
Angela had only been gone about ten minutes for the round trip to drop her son off at preschool. She’d been so deliriously happy, distracted and in a hurry, that she’d forgotten her cell phone at home and thus, had missed her morning call with Brian. Much to her dismay, when she returned home, there the doctor was in the flesh sitting in his car, parked and waiting in her driveway.
Oh but she was so glad that they had never exchanged keys to each other’s places. She had claimed that she didn’t want to make Jayden uncomfortable, but in her heart of hearts, maybe she knew all along she really wasn’t ever going to marry this guy. Brian was still in scrubs and looked like he had just arrived and thankfully had seen her before he went up to knock on her door.
“Good morning. I thought we could grab a quick breakfast together,” he said cheerily when he saw her, though his smile faded quickly when he saw her corresponding expression. “What’s the matter?” he asked coming over to her, the doctor façade of concern masking his face. Had the two of them ever had a genuine moment with true feelings together?
Everything about their relationship seemed so fake in comparison to the ease and real interest that abounded when she was with Cheng. Angela bit her lip and fidgeted for a few seconds, stalling. She decided to stop hesitating and just take the most direct approach possible, since there really wasn’t any other way to handle this matter anyway. She took a deep breath.
“Brian, there’s no easy way to say this,” she began as she took the ring box out of her pocket. “So here it is. We definitely can’t get married. I’m sorry,” she said as apologetically and sympathetically as she could manage, before she handed the small white jewelry box over to him.
“What? What the hell is this? What do you mean we can�
�t get married?” he asked, clearly getting agitated as he got even closer to her then grabbed her arm, causing the ring box to fall to the ground.
“You’ve been putting me through the paces for more than a year now, leading me on and now you’re saying you’re not going through with it? After all I’ve done for you. Didn’t I give you the ring, wasn’t I even okay with you having a kid that’s not mine and gave you cart blanche to spent whatever you wanted on your fantasy wedding? Then you still think you’re gonna turn around and reject me?” Anger burned in his eyes as he gripped her arm even tighter with every word he’d spoken.
Angela had never been afraid of Brian before now, but then again she’d never seen this side of him either. Not everyone dealt well with being rejected and this was far from an ideal scenario. She got that of course. However, this scene in her front yard was getting out of hand. Trying to appeal to his more rational side, Angela said very quietly, “Brian, please let me go. You’re hurting me and you’re starting to cause a scene.”
It dawned on her suddenly that this was why Brian had wanted to marry her all along. He was an entitled, self-centered jerk and she’d basically been his doormat all this time, having gone along with the respectable façade. She had never disagreed with him, told him he was out of line or being inappropriate even during times that she knew she should have. Something told her to just go along with it and do whatever he’d wanted if she was going to marry him.
How else was she going to marry a doctor or anyone else of his so-called caliber as a single, unwed mother? In this very moment, however, reality was coming crashing back down on her. What had she almost done? She would have had this man, who now seemed like a maniac, living in the same home as her child?
No “good life” fantasy was worth being with a man like this or having to live a lie like this ever again. She realized now too that this was another thing that she admired about Cheng. He knew how not to let his emotions get the best of him in a destructive way. He was patient, thoughtful, kind and knew other people were not just pawns and objects he could use at his whims simply for immediate gratification.
She knew without a doubt that Cheng wouldn’t wait until they got married and then become an abusive prick. Angela couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen the writing on the wall sooner than this. She shook her head now, feeling like a complete and utter fool. Yet at the same time, she felt grateful because if none of this drama had happened, three months from now she knew she would’ve had to hide a hell of a lot more than just annoyance or boredom.
“You really thought you were going to be able to waste this much of my time and then just walk away? Just like that? Like I don’t even matter to you at all? What the fuck is this all about? Is this about another guy? Who is he? I swear I’ll kill that mother fucker.”
Angela tried to pull away, but Brian only grabbed on tighter. He was definitely going to leave a bruise on her arm, but she realized he was way too far gone right now to care. “Brian, please go ahead and get out of here before someone calls the cops. You really are causing a scene and I’d rather you didn’t.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your stool pigeon ass neighbors calling the police. How long do you think they’ll hold a doctor anyway? An hour?”
Angela recognized his attempt at trying to intimidate her with his status in the community. “Take your property, both your car and your ring and go now,” she said in her sternest, most authoritative voice. Brian of course, didn’t budge.
In fact, Brian suddenly seemed to be studying her face, searching for an answer there. Angela was worried now that this situation was going to get a whole hell of a lot worse before it could get better, and she for one didn’t want anything else to do with this matter. Lord, if she’d known he was such a psycho, she never would’ve gone out to dinner with him in the first place, let alone eventually agreed to become his wife. Damn Internet dating.
“Wait, this is about your kid’s dad isn’t it? You started acting real funny about a month ago when you said he first came to town. Are you screwing him?” Brian asked getting right in her face, madder now than ever.
Just as she was trying to figure out an escape route that she could manage without anyone getting hurt or arrested, all hell broke loose. She now heard running behind her coming from the direction of her front door and Brian started to cuss as he flung her to the side. The next thing Angela knew she was on her ass in her own driveway and two grown ass men were having a brawl in her neat, tiny front yard. Good thing this day had started off way better than it was going right now.
Chapter Eleven
If there was one thing that Cheng couldn’t tolerate, it was men who put their hands on women out of violence and disrespect. He’d never done that shit and knew no one else had any good reason to ever do it either. So when something just seemed to be calling out to him, some kind of instinct that screamed at him to wake up and go downstairs to check on Angela, he barely took the time to throw on his pants before he sprinted to the front door.
When he saw another man had grabbed her and looked to be threatening violence against his woman from the peephole, he rushed outside like a freight train. He didn’t really think about it, Cheng had simply reacted and gone into full on protection mode. No one, but no one was ever going to harm or even threaten the mother of his child, his baby, or him while he was still here on this Earth and there was still breath left in his body that he could use to defend his family. That was probably why Cheng was doing his level damndest right now to kill this man he had perceived as a threat to his family.
Now fueled by a righteous fury, Cheng was really going to work on this guy, employing many different fighting techniques he’d learned over the years. Cheng hadn’t worked this hard to allow anyone to destroy that which he held most precious and sacred. So it could only have taken an act of God, or maybe in this case just three armed police officers, to keep Cheng from obliterating that other guy altogether instead.
~
As the officers kept Cheng subdued and both men separated from one another, a female officer pulled Angela to the side and asked her what was going on. Angela identified herself and told the officer, “I dropped my son off at preschool and when I returned home, that man, Brian Donovan,” she pointed to Brian who was now sitting on the curb with his nose dripping blood and talking to another cop, “was parked in my driveway.
“He’d come over unannounced to ask me to go to breakfast with him. I declined, because I decided I didn’t want to marry him. Then when I tried to give him his ring back to officially break off our engagement, he got belligerent. He grabbed me by the arm and wouldn’t let me go, refusing to leave even when I asked him to repeatedly.” Angela pulled up the sleeve of her jogging suit to show the officer the bruising on her left arm.
“Ma’am that is absolutely unacceptable behavior and I’m sorry you were treated so badly. Had anything like this ever happened before?”
“No, never,” Angela answered then shuttered. “I can’t believe I almost married that bastard,” Angela said mostly to herself as she looked over at Brian and seemed to be seeing him through new eyes, because now she could see him for the monster he truly was.
“Lady, I’m glad you dodged that bullet too. I can’t begin to tell you how many times we see that scenario and how quickly after the wedding a situation like that falls completely to shit. Anyway, please identify the other man and how he got involved.”
“He’s my son’s father, Cheng Liu. He was inside my home when all of the commotion broke out. I guess he must’ve heard Brian raising his voice and came out to see what was going on. He stepped in to defend me when Brian continued to threaten me.” She looked over to see Cheng now calmly speaking to the officers who no longer needed to restrain him.
“I can’t believe this mess. I’m probably going to have to move now. Who would’ve thought that a doctor and a businessman would have a fistfight in the middle of a quiet suburban neighborhood before eight o’clock in the morning? On a
week day at that and without any alcohol involved,” Angela muttered shaking her head, again more to herself than to the cop who still obviously heard her anyway.
“You’d be surprised at what unexpected circumstances cause people to do. Put adrenaline and testosterone in the mix and people start acting irrationally real quick. Just be glad things weren’t worse. Your child wasn’t here to witness any of this and eventually your neighbors will probably get over this little skirmish. Otherwise, yeah, you could always move,” the cop said wryly.
“What now? Will the cops do anything to Cheng?” Angela asked anxiously.
The cop gave her kind of a strange look. “Naw, probably not. Self defense, including defense of loved ones is always an acceptable reason to utilize force.” The officer paused briefly before adding, “So let me ask you a question. If you have these kinds of strong feelings for your son’s dad, why were you ever engaged to someone else to begin with?”
Aww, the million dollar question of the decade… century… millennium. “Time, distance, missed connections and a huge misunderstanding kept us separated for a long time. So we’ve only reunited within the last month. He and our son just met each other for the first time a few weeks ago.”
“Well honey, I almost never say this, but that one over there, the businessman, right?” Angela nodded in the affirmative. “Your business man slash baby’s father is a keeper.”
“Yes, he is,” Angela smiled dreamily as she looked over at Cheng who was swiping at a bleeding cut on his bottom lip. Turning her attention back to the cop she asked “so what are you guys planning to do about Brian? He threatened to kill Cheng and now that I know what a whack job he is, I really don’t want him anywhere near my son.”
“Don’t worry we’ll enter the restraining order for you right away, which will mandate he must keep a distance of at least three hundred feet away from you, your property, your vehicle, your son, and your son’s dad at all times. The order will automatically cover places like school, work and the like. So that should about do it, but if anything else comes up you can always call us back out.”
