Kai stormed out of the hospital, slamming the front door open. What just happened? Did Winnie really announce her engagement to Chang right in front of him? Could she truly be that heartless? Did he just imagine that kiss? Was she lying when she had said that something was happening between them? How could he be such an idiot!
“Kai!”
Kai heard Winnie’s voice call out to him, but he kept walking.
“Kai!” she called again. “Please wait!”
Kai rolled his eyes and turned to face her. “What?” he asked. “Come to embarrass me further?”
“I’m sorry!” she said, her eyes glossy. “I didn’t mean for that to happen!”
“Didn’t mean for what to happen?” he asked. “The part about you getting engaged? Or the part about you lying about your feelings for Chang? Or the part about telling me in front of your family? Was this all a game to make Chang jealous?”
“No!” she said. “Of course not. You know me better than that.”
“I don’t think I know you at all right now,” Chang said. “I thought…” He paused, unsure of how to describe the feelings he thought they had been developing for each other. “You said…”
“I know,” she said. “I’ve never lied to you, Kai. You are the one person I never lied to.”
“Then why marry him?” Kai asked. “After everything you’ve done to avoid this.”
“He found out that I’ve been going to school in Australia,” Winnie said. “He threatened to expose me.”
“You’re letting him blackmail you into marriage?” Kai asked in shocked. “Are you crazy? Just come out with it. Better to have your mother hate you today than be shackled to that maniac forever. Who would blackmail a woman into marriage?”
“Shut up!” Winnie said. “What do you know about it? What do you know about anything? This is my life. I’ll screw up how I want to.”
“That...that’s what you want?” Kai asked, utterly confused. “You want to throw your life away?”
“I want to be able to live my life,” she said. “To make my own choices. I’ll find a way out of this. I just need to get back home. Back to Australia. I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about me.”
Kai held up his hands helplessly. “Okay. Go to Australia. Run away. Live a lie. Marry a guy you hate. Not my problem. This was all business, right? I was just the New Year boyfriend. None of this was real anyway.”
Winnie paused as she frowned. “Yeah,” she finally said softly. “Just business.”
Kai immediately regretted his words, but they were out there now. He was hurt, he knew. He was really feeling something for her. His world was crashing down around him and she had been the one bright spot. It had been a foolish hope, a foolish dream, he knew. They couldn’t be together. They were too different, and both of their lives were a mess. But still, he had hoped. Now that was gone and he needed to face reality.
Finally, Kai turned and walked away. There was nothing more to say. It was over.