Life as a Venn Diagram

We came within seconds of each other, her first, followed by me pumping my essence inside her as she sucked me dry. She collapsed onto my chest, regaining her breath, then her lips sought mine. She shivered, and I realized that the water was lukewarm. We climbed out, I wrapped her in a large fluffy white towel and hugged her to me. She pressed her forehead against mine and gave me a long look of anguish that chilled me to my bones.

“Whatever happens, this week is going to change us, and I don’t want you to get hurt,” she whispered, her voice barely discernible above the background hum of the air conditioning. “Just remember, I love you more than anything else.”

“I know you do,” I said, as much to convince myself as it was to reassure her. “You are the most important thing in my life, and I’ll never stop loving you.”

“Promise me that?” she said urgently.

“Yes.”

She led me into the bedroom, dropped the towel on the floor, and we lay down and wrapped our arms around each other, letting the late afternoon sunlight wash over us. She rolled onto her side, and I curled up, protectively behind her.

Suddenly, without warning, she said, “Ask me the question again.”

‘Which question,’ I thought, there were so many I wanted to ask her! “Which one?”

“The one you always ask me on your birthday.”

Ahh, that one. “Is there any reason why I should? I know your answer.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Okay, Amanda Forbes, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” One simple word said with such depth of feeling.

I wasn’t sure what to think. Why now?

“When?” She said yes, and now I needed to know if she meant it. A date would indicate how serious she was.

“Soon as possible, I promise. I have to resolve a couple of legal issues that relate to my father’s death before we can set a date.”

“Jesus, Mandy, that was nearly fifteen years ago; there can’t still be issues.”

“I know.” The mix of sadness and bitterness in those two words stunned me.

“Sorry, love, that was callous of me.”

She turned to face me. “You never need to apologize to me. I’m the one who’s been hiding things from you.”

It was as though a mental switch had been flicked to the on position. Her expression became relaxed and resolute at the same time.

Her voice, when she spoke, was low and measured. “My father didn’t die in an accident; he killed himself. I wasn’t eighteen; I was seventeen and a half. Mum disowned me when I chose to stay with Dad after the divorce. Christ, she didn’t have just one affair, she’d had numerous lovers, often several at the same time, and she enjoyed rubbing his nose in her infidelities. I hated her for what she did to him, to our family. She turned him into a weak and bitter cuckold, poisoned his relationship with my bitch sisters. I was all he had left, and when I chose to live with him, the rest of my family disowned me. I haven’t seen any of them since the divorce.”

She’d been trying to be so stoic, but her emotions got the better of her, and she started crying. All I could do was hold her close and scatter kisses across her face and shoulders. I gently caressed her back, the silky-soft skin a delight to touch. She smiled at me and took my hand and held it to her breast.

When she’d calmed a bit, I did what I should have done earlier. I took her chain from her neck and removed the ring. She watched, frozen in place, as I slipped it on her ring finger and then removed the wedding ring from her other hand.

“You get this when we are married, so the sooner we resolve your issues, the sooner you get it back.”

I still wasn’t sure what those issues could be, so I waited for her to tell me. She held her hand out so she could see the ring on her finger, and that seemed to firm her resolve to unburden her soul finally, but as she spoke, I was aware that there was something behind all this she still wasn’t willing to talk about. She rolled over onto her other side and scooted back against me, obviously finding it more comfortable to talk if she couldn’t see my face. She held my hand to her breast, her eyes fixed on the diamond sparkling in the sunlight.

“It’s all because I wasn’t an adult when he died. Dad planned his death like he did his life in careful detail. It’s ancient history now, but it seems he got into serious trouble with a business venture. He’d been using some of the bank’s customers’ funds without their knowledge. When the venture failed, he couldn’t see a way out, so he took his own life.”

She gave a soft sob, “I never got to tell him I loved him. I’ve always wondered if I’d gone sailing with him that weekend, would he still be alive.”

I hugged her, and it took Mandy a few minutes before she wanted to continue.

“I knew there were some issues after he died, but not how bad it was for some time. Some of the tales I was told didn’t add up, and I forced Alan to tell me the truth.”

“Listen, are you sure you want to tell me all this?”

“Yes… No, but I need to tell you all that I can. I think he knew that there would be problems after he died. He was worried that the Chinese authorities would hand me over to Mum, and he didn’t want that, so he arranged for a friend of his to become my legal guardian until I was twenty-one.”

“And this was Alan?”

“Not in the beginning; you need to remember that Alan was Dad’s boss. I think he was worried when the bank found out what Dad had been up to, he might get dragged into the mess, which would have caused me more issues. No, my first guardian was a Chinese business colleague of my father’s. He and his wife were kind to me, but she didn’t know what to do with a moody gwailo teenage girl. After everything calmed down, Alan came up with the idea that he should share my guardianship. That’s when I went to stay at Alan’s.”

I kept a neutral expression fixed to my features, not that she could see me, and the benefit of years of working with troubled children had given me an ability to mask my body language. Inside, I was confused and concerned. Her father had said he loved her and yet committed suicide. The things she was saying, in addition to her body language, had my professional alarm bells sounding.

I could also tell that she was skirting around the truth; there was far more to her first guardian than she was admitted; she’d spoken in reverential tones when she mentioned him. Then I mentally kicked myself; of course, he was her first lover, and she still had feelings for him. He probably proposed the change in the guardianship when he grew weary of what the moody teenager could do to his home life.

Alan had been single and would have been the perfect choice to take the daughter of an old friend under his protection once the ramifications of her father’s suicide had faded away. This, of course, made him her second lover, and she would have become his mistress after he got married.

“And when you lived with Alan, how long before you became his lover?”

There was a long pause before she answered, admitting what I’d thought. “A few months; we sort of slipped into the relationship. It started a few months before I was due to spend four years at a university in Australia. I’d always liked him, and it seemed a natural progression. I had the odd casual lover at uni, but no one serious. I’d always come back to Alan during the semester breaks. After uni, I was a twenty-two-year-old graduate, and he sorted out a job at the bank for me. So I started at the Hong Kong office working as his assistant.”

“Wasn’t that awkward for him, having his lover working with him?”

She started to say yes and stopped. “Christ, I keep forgetting what you are,” she said ruefully. “You’re analyzing me, aren’t you?”

I kissed her and shrugged, “Not intentionally, but it’s tough for me not to do it. This bed is the best consulting room I’ve ever had.” I began caressing the breast my hand rested on while she’d been speaking and kissed the back of her neck. “I love my subject.”

“And I love my analyst,” she replied. She half-turned and lay on the back so she could look at my face. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I’d hate to think what I’m saying will hurt us.”

“Do you love me?”

“Yes.”

“Then I can’t see how you can hurt me.”

Her eyes were locked onto mine, and she must have felt comfortable with what she saw in them, so she continued.

“You were asking if it was challenging to work as my lover’s assistant; the answer is yes and no. Yes, because in the beginning, I still thought I was was in love with him, and all I wanted to do was be close to him. And no, because he was the perfect gentleman at all times in the office. But being so close, at work and home, was what made us see the cracks in our relationship. He was in love with me. I thought I was in love with him, but not enough to make it work. As soon as it was opportune, he aided pushing through my promotion at the bank. He used the old-boy network, but I was fully qualified for the post. It was the job I had when I first met you.

“This was the one at the office in London?”

“Yes, they wanted someone who spoke both Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese and could deal with the bank’s top Chinese customers who had business dealings in London and Hong Kong. These customers were looking for a single person who would be able to deal with their issues. I was able to offer the bank a major bonus. I’d gone to school with a good number of the customers’ sons and daughters, and had their friendship and trust.”

She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes, and I wondered if this was as far as she was going to go. But no, after a moment, she continued.

“In the beginning, I was spending two out of three weeks in Hong Kong, but by the time we met, it had settled down to the one in three you are used to.”

“And what about Alan?”

“After a year, we’d become more like friends than lovers. I’d always had my room at his villa. I’d sleep in his room on the nights we were together, but then I would go back to my room afterward. I doubt we slept together more than a couple of times in those last months before I met you, I think it was more habit than anything else. He’d already begun to convert the staff accommodation into an apartment for me, so I’d have a place of my own in Hong Kong. He’d got together with my other guardian, and they helped me buy the flat in London.”

She made everything she was saying sound convincing, but I couldn’t help feeling that I was getting her safe for my boyfriend version,, and the reality was somewhat different. How different was the question?

“I thought you bought that with the insurance money from your father’s settlement?” I asked, sure that she’d told me exactly that.

She shook her head. “There was almost nothing left of his insurance settlement after his executor had finished. Dad had cashed out most of his policies, and he had lots of debt. I only had enough left for the deposit on the flat; my guardians lent me the rest. The bank gives me a generous living allowance, and I’ve been using that and any bonuses I get to pay them back.”

When I first met Mandy, she had a flatmate, who was still living in the London apartment. I didn’t know if she had one here. “So when you’re here, do you have a flatmate?”

She gave me a startled look and shook her head. “It’s my apartment; I live on my own. Anyway, it’s not a big place, only one bedroom. After I moved in, he included a small parcel of land that runs around the side of the garage block. He had it landscaped so I could have somewhere to sit outside and admire the view. I have a tiny terrace garden and a place to park my car. I’ll show it to you tomorrow.”

She seemed to have finished, but I still had one question, and I felt her stiffen when I asked it.

“So those little issues you need to sort out before we can get married. What are they?”

“It’s just some local legal red tape.” She said dismissively but was not willing to look at me.

“That can’t be still the issue all these years later!” She could hear the disbelief in my voice.

“Unfortunately, it is; my guardianship was set up to run until I was twenty-five, mainly because of the situation I found myself in after my father’s death, the way I was going off the rails.”

“And…” This wasn’t making much sense to me; she’d been twenty-six when we first met.

“My Chinese guardian inserted a clause, giving them the right to approve any major decisions until I’m thirty-four.”

“Thirty-four, that’s ridiculous. Mandy, you’re thirty-two. How is it your guardians can still be creating problems. Christ, am I supposed to ask them for permission to marry you?”

“Not you… I’m sorry I can’t talk about it anymore until I have permission, but we will be getting married, that I promise you, and I keep my promises.” Her tone brooked no arguments, and she doubled down, ending our discussion by rolling on top of me, and for a few minutes, we made out like a couple of school kids.

She rolled away. “Come on, we need to get dressed. I want you to meet a couple of my friends. We are meeting them at one of my regular haunts down by the waterfront.”

“How much do they know about me?” I asked as I rummaged around in my bags for something suitable to wear. Indoors was air-conditioned; my brief foray outside earlier had warned me it was going to be warm and very humid this evening.

“You are probably the only thing I talk about to them nowadays.”

“And who are they?”

“Sian and Zhi Rou. Sian is an Aussie; she was one of my best friends at uni. My stories of growing up here intrigued her so much she got a job with Cathay Pacific in their marketing department. Her girlfriend, Zhi Ruo, is the sister of a boy I used to go to school with. They are two of my closest Hong Kong friends. How do I look?”

She’d been dressing while she’d been talking and now sat on a chair brushing her hair. I stared at her in amazement. I’d thought the green dress from earlier had looked great on her, but now she wore a navy-blue raw silk version of the little black dress. It was embroidered with sunbursts in a golden thread. The neckline was a sharp V that extended a fair way below the curve of her breasts. Her long legs had a slight shimmer from the pattern woven into the stockings that covered them. On her wrist were several thin jade bangles I couldn’t recall seeing before. As she waved her arm, they gave off a soft, tinkling sound.

“You’re beautiful, and now I feel drab in comparison. Are those new?” I asked, gesturing to the bangles.

“No, I’ve had them for some time; they are rather valuable, and I don’t wear them very often. I thought they went with this outfit.”

She stood up and stepped closer, reaching to pull me close, and then we kissed. There was something about this kiss that reached a different place within us. I sensed our relationship had subtly changed since she opened up to me, for the better, I believed.

I couldn’t resist reaching down and running my hand down her back to caress her ass. She moaned in my ear, put her hand on my chest, and started to push me away.

“No, if you carry on, we’ll never leave this room, and I’m hungry.” She put on a pitiful little-lost-girl expression that had me laughing.

 

********* 

At Mandy’s suggestion, we played tourist and took the famous Star Ferry across the harbor. We stood on the upper deck with our arms around each other’s waist and watched the lights of the city as we crossed the busy waterway.

Mandy gave me a slightly guilty look and admitted, “It’s always worried me that I enjoy this place so much, and I haven’t shared it with you before. It’s my second home, and I kept it to myself. You shared all you had with me, I live in your home, and you’ve never seen mine.”

“I’ve been to your flat.”

“Not the flat, that was just a place to live in when I was in London. I mean, the apartment I own here.” She pointed in the direction of the black hills behind us.

I’d misunderstood her earlier; I’d assumed when she’d said Alan had converted the apartment for her, she’d meant it was still his, and he was letting her use it. “I thought you said the apartment was Alan’s,” I said. “And that he was letting you use it.”

“No, it’s mine. I think he intended to rent it out, but after I told him about you, he had it registered as a separate residence and gave me the deeds. He told me that it would be better for all of us if I had my place with no ties to him.”

That sounded a bit odd, actually more than a bit odd. From what I’d read, the property prices up in the hills were astronomical. It sounded like Alan had given her a place worth a cool million or more. Why would he do that? And better for who, I wondered, her or Alan, or was it for our relationship? Nothing seemed to make much sense to me. I guessed better for her and our relationship; as now that I thought about it, she’d kept mentioning how she was moving into her apartment as soon as we’d met.

The ferry docked, and we took a taxi to the place we were meeting her friends. Sian and Zhi Ruo were sitting at an outside table as we walked over. The girls rose, and the three of them did that group-hug thing women seem to love. Her friends turned and gave me the most intense scrutiny I think I’d ever been given. I felt like I was under the microscope, and I wasn’t sure I’d passed muster. With the briefest of glances at Mandy, they greeted me with big smiles.

Sian was beautiful in that brash, confident Australian manner: tall, blonde, and suntanned. Zhi Ruo, or Roo as she told me to call her, was the complete opposite, a small Chinese doll, no taller than five feet, golden skin, and long black hair that framed the cutest of faces. She was so tiny I almost felt I could hold her in the palm of my hand. On the inside of her wrist was a small tattoo, half-hidden by jade bangles that looked similar to the ones on Mandy’s wrist. Mandy saw me glancing at Roo’s tattoo and slid her matching bangles down to half cover hers. An odd thing to do, I thought, and then dismissed it.

When Mandy had called Roo, Sian’s girlfriend, I’d assumed she’d meant her best friend, but now it was apparent that they were lovers. Roo began talking in Chinese to Mandy, but she stopped her. “Tonight, we only use English so Alex can understand us.”

“So this is the mysterious Alex,” Sian said in a soft Australian accent to Mandy. I tried to look mysterious but failed miserably. I sensed that behind her comment was a whole raft of open questions.

“What do you think of the view from Mandy’s, Alex?” Roo asked. “Magnificent, isn’t it, set so high in the hills.”

I shook my head, “I wouldn’t know; I’ve never been there. We’re staying at the Mandarin, though the view from our suite, over the harbor, is pretty good.” Mandy glanced at me, sensitive to the sarcasm in my voice.

“Why aren’t you staying at your place, Mandy?” It was a question from Sian, but there was a degree of surprise in her voice.

Mandy held my gaze before she answered. “Long story, the Mandarin’s a bit of a bribe from Alan to Alex. We were supposed to be lying on the beach in the Maldives.”

“Yeah, I was a bit surprised when I got your message that you were here and wanted to meet up,” Sian said. “We weren’t expecting to see you until the…”

“Bribe?” Roo interrupted Sian. She added something in rapid Chinese; the only word I recognized was Alan’s name.

Mandy snapped back at her in the same language, and Roo stiffened. Sian took hold of her lover’s arm in a calming gesture. I kept quiet, they were Mandy’s friends, and I was getting very interested to see how she spun the situation to them, and why they needed to talk in Chinese.

There was a pause as the three appeared to settle before Mandy said. “There’s a problem with one of my client’s accounts,” she started to explain. “It’s making management run around like headless chickens.”

Roo gave a sharp hiss and said another short severe sentence in Chinese. Mandy gave her a quick shake of her head and an odd-looking hand gesture that looked familiar. What was so important they didn’t want me to understand?

“I’m fine, it’s not something I did; the client’s admitted he’s at fault, but he demanded I be the one to sort it out. So, Alan called, insisting I be on the next flight back.”

Now she gave me a nervous look. “Alex wasn’t happy about the situation. He told me I had a choice. If I decided to go, then he was still going on the vacation we’d booked. He gave me a simple choice, vacation, or work, and if I choose work, then not to bother to come back.”

“Not come back — But, but you’re both here?” Roo pointed out, giving me a confused look.

“I turned the tables and gave Alan three choices.” She ticked them off on her fingers.

“I threatened to resign, so I could go with Alex on vacation. Or I don’t resign, and he still lets me take my vacation.”

Roo interrupted, “But he’d never let you resign. He…” she stopped abruptly, as Mandy grabbed her arm.

“I wouldn’t have given him a chance,” Mandy said. “Anyway, as I was saying, I don’t resign, and he still lets me take my vacation. Or, he lets me bring Alex with me at the bank’s expense; and pay for our canceled vacation. Even so, they would only get a week of half days from me—and we get to use the bank’s villa in Bali for the rest of our holiday.”

“I take it he decided on the last option!”

“He wasn’t happy, but he did, and he agreed to reimburse Alex for the vacation we are missing.” Then with more than a hint of satisfaction, she added, “I made him fly us first class and put us up in the best suite at the Mandarin.”

“But it’s not the beach cottage I booked,” I mused.

Mandy’s face fell, she took my hand in both of hers and whispered, “I’m sorry, I know I spoiled the vacation you spent so much time organizing; I wish we were on that beach. A lot is going to change after this trip; this will never happen again.”

I believed her; the question at the back of my mind was, of course, was I included in these changes?

Mandy seemed to shake herself and gave a rueful smile. “Enough of that, so, girlfriends, I’m here with my handsome fiancé, and we need to celebrate.”

“You got engaged and didn’t tell us; show us the ring, you bitch,” Sian cried out.

Roo’s response was different, “But how is it possible, you…” she shut her mouth as Sian poked her.

Mandy ignored what was going on and held out her hand, flashing the ring on her finger at her friends.

“Where are your…” Roo started but was interrupted by Sian.

“That’s the ring you used to wear on a chain around your neck?” Sian asked. “I thought it was your mother’s?”

“It’s the same ring, but it wasn’t my mother’s; it belonged to Alex’s grandmother,” she said, giving me an embarrassed look.

“I told you that I was living at Alex’s when I was back in the UK. What I didn’t tell you was that Alex asked me to marry him six years ago, and gave me this ring to wear. You can guess why I wasn’t able to say yes immediately. He knows I love him and was willing to wait.”

She looked happily down at her finger. “He let me keep the ring until I made up my mind, but it didn’t feel right to wear it, so I got a chain to put it on. Now, with everything that’s been happening, I realized I was stupid, and I told him yes.”

“Six years ago!” Roo exclaimed. “You’ve been carrying his ring around for six years, and you didn’t tell me?” Roo was indignant at first and then concerned. “Does my uncle know about this?”

“No, well, yes, he knows I have a boyfriend I see when I’m in London, but that’s all.”

“And what about Alan?” asked Sian.

“He knows how I feel about Alex; he was the first person I told that I’d found the man I wanted to grow old with. He understood, and that’s when I moved out of his place and into my apartment.”

Both women shook their heads and gave her worried looks. I listened to this interplay between the girls and wondered why Roo was so concerned about her uncle knowing about my relationship with Mandy. And why the concern about Alan? As far as I was aware, their relationship had been all but over before I met Mandy. Questions for later, I decided.

That seemed to end the interrogation, and the girls settled down to a combination of drinking and character assassination on people I didn’t know. They kept slipping into Chinese, but Mandy would remind them I didn’t understand, and they’d revert to English.

I was the token male sitting with three of the most beautiful women in the place, and getting envious glances from most of the men and a fair number of the women. The girls ordered a selection of dim sum for us. When I tasted my first one, I could understand why this was one of Mandy’s favorite places. She watched me as I took my first mouthful and smiled at my grin of appreciation.

The long flight and the events of the day had taken its toll on me, and after an hour or so, I was beginning to hope it was time to wrap up and go back to the hotel. Mandy had other ideas. She and her friends insisted that we needed to go on to a nearby club. I was a little irritated at the way she rode roughshod over my wishes, but as she seemed desperate to continue showing me off to her friends, I reluctantly agreed, but I was starting to feel like I was being played.

The club they’d chosen was a brief walk away. It looked trendy; the line of people waiting to enter stretched around the corner. Inwardly, I was pleased and looked around for a taxi to take us back to the hotel, when the women casually bypassed the head of the line, and the doorman greeted them by name. They were waved through, Mandy and Sian hooked their arms through mine, confirming to the doorman I was with their group. I received a long hard look from the bouncers and a wry smile from the doorman.

Roo spoke to one of the hostesses, and we were shown to an empty booth in a roped-off VIP area. The hostess took a reserved sign and placed it on the table. We slid into the booth with me on the outside.

As we were sitting down, Mandy gave me a hug and a kiss. “It’s so great that I finally get to show you my favorite places,” she said. Then reaching out to take the hands of the other women, added. “And my best friends.”

The girls murmured a happy response, then the three of them huddled and spent a few minutes talking in low voices. Now and again, Sian and Roo threw glances in my direction. I caught the hostess’s eye and ordered a round of drinks. The service was excellent, and within a minute, I was sipping from an ice-cold and presumably overpriced beer.

As I drank, I looked around and confirmed my first impression that the club was a lot more exclusive than the local one Mandy and I usually frequented. Nor would we have ever got the degree of service the girls seemed to expect. That they were regular guests here was evident from the deferential treatment they received, and that concerned me. I tried to recall if Mandy had ever mentioned going out clubbing while in Hong Kong, but I didn’t think she had. I know she’d told me she had gone out for the occasional drink with her girlfriends, but this seemed a lot more.

As I thought about it, my concern grew. Ever since we’d started this trip, Mandy had been reviling one secret after another about her past. I wondered what else there was to learn about her over the coming days?

Mandy eased back in the seat, leaning against me, and sipped at her drink. I had to bend my head down so she could hear me. “They seem to know you here, is this another regular haunt of yours?”

“It’s owned by one of my clients, and he gave the three of us a VIP membership. I don’t use it very often, but I know that Sian and Roo come here regularly.” She seemed to understand the reason behind my question and added, “I only come here with them, maybe once each trip, and sometimes the bank will use it for special events, those are the only other times I come here. ”

With exotic drinks in front of them, Sian and Roo relaxed and let the atmosphere of the club enfold them. Mandy was a bit more reserved and stuck close to me; I struggled to relax. It took me a while to realize why I felt the way I did, and it wasn’t just how tired I was. Mandy and I enjoyed going to clubs, and I was used to the attention she would receive. It was the same here, only different. Usually, if someone asked Mandy to dance, then they were friends but would still ask if I minded.

Here a constant stream of people, principally, handsome young men, approached our group, offering the girls a drink, wanting to talk, or dance. The majority approached Mandy, yet here I was concluded invisible, as not one of them could be bothered to acknowledge my presence, even though she was holding my hand most of the time.

Mandy declined each request, glancing in my direction each time, but I guessed she could sense my growing discomfort. She wove as close to me as was possible, and she tried to keep one hand on me at all times.

Several things were upsetting me, and it wasn’t just the dismissive attitude of the other clubbers. Mandy had acknowledged that this was her favorite club in Hong Kong, and it seemed that she was one of its favorite children. The club’s staff had greeted her by name when we arrived. As had many of the men inviting her to dance. I had the impression that if she’d been here on her own, she wouldn’t be so quick to reject their advances. Did she usually say yes?

Sian and Roo were on the dance floor when things came to a head. Yet another man approached the table, this one about our age. He was smartly dressed and carried a couple of champagne glasses. She gave him a brief smile; he then sat down on her other side without asking if it was okay. He gave Mandy a big smile, placed the glasses on the table, and began addressing her in Chinese. They seemed to know each other, as he used her name. Mandy started to say something, then saw the expression on my face.

At once, she moved closer to me and, swiveling in his direction, said in English, “Zhang, I’m sorry, I’m here with my fiancé, and I’m busy, as you see.”

He ignored what she’d said, sliding closer. He picked up one of the glasses and gestured at the other with his free hand, obviously expecting her to take it up. He continued to talk to her in Chinese. He seemed relaxed in her company easing back in his seat and reaching out to take her hand. She moved her hand away and snapped back a sharp response in the same language. Then in English, obviously for my benefit, said, “I said no, and I mean no, so piss off.”

He flushed, then snapped back at her in Chinese, gesturing at me. Then he stood and left, but not before giving me a stern look and saying in accentless English. “Watch out, she’s a cock teasing, unfaithful bitch.”

So much for the inscrutable Chinese! But why call her unfaithful, had they had a relationship?

She tilted my head to ensure I could see her face. “Alex, I’m sorry about that. I made a mistake asking Zhang to go with me to a couple of business events because Alan wasn’t around. I thought he would be a safe option as we were friends at school. Unfortunately, he took it the wrong way and saw more than was intended. It’s why I only tend to go out as part of a group, mostly with Sian and Roo.”

“Mostly, so who else do you go out with?”

She hesitated for a couple of seconds, then said. “Sometimes I’ll join a group from the office for a meal and drinks, and as I said, occasionally with Alan to a social or business event, if either of us needed a plus one.”

Ahh, Alan, there had to be more to their relationship than Mandy was willing to admit. I gestured at the full champagne glass Zhang had left behind. “This type of thing is usual?”

“No, usually they’re not as persistent as Zhang, he’s the son of one of the bank’s larger clients and seems to think that gives him some rights. If I know someone and they ask nicely, I may have one dance, but never more than the one.” Her voice was low and soft, “I never accept a drink from any strangers, and I always go home on my own.”

That didn’t answer my unspoken questions. She pulled me close and wrapped her arms around me, then she dragged me to my feet and pulled me onto the dance floor as the music shifted into a slow tune. We swayed and rolled to the hypnotic sounds, our bodies pressed against each other, ignoring the rest of the world. In my ear, she whispered, “I love you so much.”

A pause in the music broke our concentration; we moved apart and made our way back to our seats. Did I believe her? Yes, I was sure that deep down, Mandy loved me as much as I loved her, but I was also sure I wasn’t getting the complete story. We found the other two back at the table, Roo had reached that happy-drunk phase, and I was left to look after her as Sian and Mandy went to the ladies.

“You two looked great together dancing,” Roo said, as she leaned against me. “It’s so good to see her out enjoying herself again.”

I wasn’t too sure where I should put my arm that she’d managed to trap, but she solved the problem to her satisfaction by pulling it around her and draping my hand perilously close to the swell of her breast.

“I thought she used to go out with the pair of you all the time.”

Roo turned so she could see my face. “She was quite the party girl a few years ago, but now she will only come out with us if we force her. I love her, Mandy, I mean,” she said. “I have since we were at school together. She was in my brother’s year, and he was in love with her, too.”

I raised my eyebrows questioningly, “I thought you and Sian…”

“Oh god, yes, we are. But Mandy was the first girl I fell in love with.”

“And you were her’s?” I wondered.

“No, I don’t think she knew I existed until a naïve seventeen-year-old me blurted out my feelings to her.”

“And then?” I asked, intrigued, hearing about a side of Mandy I’d not known about.

She smiled. “She let me down very gently, and mine is unrequited love. Have you decided on a date?” she asked.

I had to make a mental jump before realizing she was asking about our wedding.

“No, not yet; we’ll decide as soon as she can sort out a couple of issues.”

“What type of issues?”

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, some legal things to do with her guardianship, I believe.”

She snorted, “Is that what she’s telling you.” She shut up and sat straight up as Mandy and Sian sat back down in our booth.

“What did you mean?” I asked, but Roo ignored me and started talking to her lover.

Mandy squeezed up close to me, “What were you and Roo talking about?”

“She was telling me that you were her first love.”

Mandy smiled, “That was one of the more embarrassing moments in my life. I was much more interested in her brother; he was one of my first boyfriends. Suddenly one evening, Roo told me she loved me and kissed me. I don’t know who was more shocked, her, or me.”

“And was that all you did?”

“Well, I kissed her back for a few moments, but that was all. At that time, I wasn’t interested in women.”

“And now?”

“I experimented with my feminine side while at university, but not anymore.”

“Sian?” I asked, recalling Mandy’s earlier comment about being close friends at university.

Mandy nodded, “She was one, and there was one other girl I liked a lot. Alan was fine with me having female lovers while I was away, but drew the line at me having a boyfriend.”

I looked at her two friends who had returned to the dance floor and were holding each other close, oblivious to the crowds around them as they swayed to the slow music.

“Have you ever been tempted to take another female lover?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It was fun, but I never got emotionally attached to the women I slept with. After uni, I was living with Alan, and then I met you, and since then, nobody else has been important.”

She ran a hand along my arm. “I love you so much. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I’m so grateful to have you in my life.” She looked down at the ring on her finger and gave me a big smile. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t accept your ring before this, I wasn’t playing a game with you. Knowing that you would ask me to marry you was the highlight of my year. It was my proof that you still loved me, I just had to hope that you would wait long enough for me to get straightened out.”

“How much longer?” I asked.

“If all goes smoothly, then my problems should be over in three, four months.”

“That sounds good.”

“I’m ready to go, I’ve got to go into the office tomorrow morning.”

I sighed, not because I didn’t want to leave, I did, but that she was here to work, and that was her priority.

We took our leave and got a taxi back to the hotel. Mandy was exhausted, and after we took a quick shower, she curled up against me and was asleep in seconds. The questions I had for her would have to wait. I wasn’t long in joining her in sleep.

 

******* 

She woke me with a kiss, I opened my eyes, and she was dressed and ready to go. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“And when you do, we need to talk,” I said, and then I thought I’d remind her of her promise. “Remember, if you are not back by lunchtime, I’ll start looking for a flight home.”

Her eyes widened, and she mouthed, “I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise that.”

“But you did, and that’s why I’m here and not in the Maldives. You need to keep your promise.”

She walked to the door and then back in my direction twice in a state of total indecision. Finally, she opened the door and left.

I lay on the bed wondering if I’d just pushed her one step too far, yet something about her situation here was very odd, and I was beginning to feel like I was being played. Reluctantly, I washed and dressed and made my way down to the restaurant for breakfast, feeling a bit like the condemned man on his way to his execution.

 

********* 

After breakfast, I went up to the rooftop terrace and looked out over Hong Kong harbor; behind me, the Peak was shrouded in low clouds. As I admired the view, I was going over all the overheard conversations from last night.

Many of the half-heard snippets between the girls appeared to revolve around Mandy’s relationship with Alan. So much so that I could only conclude that her relationship to Alan had meant a lot more to her than she was willing to admit. Then there was the impression that she used to have, if not still had, a hectic social life. A thought that made me wonder how she would have responded to Zhang’s advances if I’d not been at her side.

I was beginning to heartily regret this whole trip; for years, I’d believed Mandy when she said I could trust that she wouldn’t be foolish when she traveled. Was this a false promise?

I would have to wait until lunchtime to see if Mandy would keep to her promise of only working half-days, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath in anticipation. Neither was I going to hang around the hotel; the lure of the Peak called me. I grabbed my camera and caught a taxi to the Peak tram station. The clouds were lifting as I took the tram to the top, giving me some great views.

In a way, the Peak was a disappointment. Oh, the views were great, yet being surrounded by hordes of happy tourists enforced my single status. I took the tram back down, in a “been there, seen that, bought the T-shirt” mood.

The taxi dropped me off at the hotel a little before midday; I used the house phone to call the room, and unsurprisingly, I didn’t get an answer. I tried her mobile, and it went straight to voicemail. I decided to have a beer in the lobby bar and watch to see when Mandy returned. I found a seat with a view of the main entrance, then settled in to wait.

I had to wait for well over two hours for my answer. I’d declined the waitress’ offer of a menu several times, and I was regretting my desire to wait for Mandy to join me before I ate. I was about to admit defeat and order something to eat while I attempted to rearrange my flight home when my attention was drawn to a long white Mercedes limo drawing up to the front entrance. All the doormen drew up in attention and then bowed as the chauffeur in a light grey suit opened the rear door. I stared in surprise as Mandy stepped out; the expression on her face was either anger or fear, I couldn’t decide which. Through the limousine’s open door, a small elderly Chinese gentleman stared up at her. He was in his early seventies, at least that was my best guess given that he had that ageless look.

Mandy shook her head at something the gentleman said and turned her back on him. She headed into the lobby and had almost reached the bank of elevators before she spotted me, following her regal progress. She froze, taking in my stony expression. I considered my next move and came to the conclusion she’d not left me much of a choice. I stood and walked over to the duty manager’s desk. Behind me, I heard the clicking of her heels on the hard floor as she hurried to catch up with me.

“Hi, my name is Alex James,” I said to the Chinese woman sitting behind the desk. She nodded and smiled at me.

“I’m in the Harbor suite, and I have an open ticket on BA to London. Can you see if you can get me on tonight’s flight?”

“Of course, Mr. James.”

“No!” Mandy snapped from my side. She turned her wrist, so the tattoo was visible, and then launched into a torrent of Chinese at the hapless woman who blanched and muttered a single phrase, before deeply bowing her head.

I pulled Mandy around to face me. “Stop it, do you know what the time is?” I didn’t wait for her to answer before adding, “It’s well over two hours past the time you promised you’d be back. Do you think I want to spend my vacation sitting around waiting for you? If this is what I can expect from your promises, then there’s no point in me staying. I’m going home, and it’s up to you if you want to come with me.”

“It won’t happen again, I had to meet with the Sung clan patriarch, and he was in a meeting, so I had to wait.”

“And what was to stop you leaving when you realized you’d be late?”

Behind me, I heard the manager draw in a quick breath, and Mandy gave her a sharp look, which made her cringe. Turning back to face me, she drew me away from the desk and out of the manager’s hearing.

“You are talking about me insulting the head of one of the most powerful families in Hong Kong,” she hissed. “I wouldn’t just lose my job, I’d be lucky…” then her voice trailed off, and she looked scared.

“We can’t talk here,” she said and headed towards the elevators. We rode the elevator to our floor in silence; the only sound was her thumbs tapping as they flew over the screen of her phone.

Once we were in the suite, I took her phone from her and tossed it on the nearest chair. Just to look at her was painful; for over six years, she’d been everything I’d desired, and I’d been under the impression she felt the same about me. Now I was confused and unsure.

She saw my confusion, and with a worried look, she said. “I made you a lot of promises to convince you to come, and I’m not keeping them. I love you, and I don’t want you to go.”

“You are not leaving me much choice; I’m not going to waste my vacation like this. I was ready to book my flight home, and I’d like you to come with me.” It wasn’t a question; I already knew her answer.

“I can’t, at least not for a few days.”

I stood up and looked out of the window.

“Then what’s the point, Mandy? You say you love me. You tell me a load of half-truths and stories, and I no longer know what’s real or fantasy. You’ve got a second life here, one I’m not part of. You keep telling me you love me, so damn well prove it. Answer my questions; our future depends upon your answers to my questions.” My words made her sit down and look extremely anxious.

“I do love you. I’ll try, but don’t forget…”

“Fuck your stupid loyalty to your bloody bank, I don’t care anymore, I’m going to ask the questions, and you are going to answer. If you don’t or I don’t like the answers, I’ll be on the flight home.”

She looked shocked at the anger in my voice. She came over and kissed me. “I love you. Ask me your questions.”

She tried to smile, but it looked like she was expecting the ax to fall any second. I lined up my thoughts; I decided to start small. Give her a question she should be able to answer without conflict.

I started, “Why am I here?” I gestured around me. “Why were you so insistent I should join you this time?”

There was desperation in her voice, “Because I was sure I am going to lose you if I didn’t. I had no choice; I had to come here. If you’d gone to the Maldives without me, I don’t think you would have let me back into your life. I had to make you come with me.” She stared at me, eager to see if I understood. I kept my face expressionless.

She continued. “I should have agreed when you first asked. I’ve been keeping this part of my life isolated from you. I promised you all my heart, but I was keeping a little part for myself; no longer, now I’m all yours,” she said with a pleading look.

I shrugged, “That doesn’t answer my question, does it, and it’s just a list of excuses. Let’s try the next one: have I been sharing you with Alan for the past seven years? Because it sure feels like it.”

She blanched and said, “Why would you think that?”

“I’m not stupid; you live with him, you’ve never discussed your relationship, and you’ve always found a reason for me not to meet him. I’m sick of being the only one in this relationship who’s open. What are you trying to hide?”

“I told you my physical relationship with him ended as soon as we became lovers. Since then, I’ve not slept with him.”

“But, you still live with him.”

She sighed, “I don’t live with him, I live in my apartment, and Alan stays away. Yes, it used to be part of his villa, but he gave it to me, and it’s completely separate. He’s only ever stepped foot in the place if I’ve invited him.”

She studied my face and saw the disbelief in my expression. “I swear I’m telling you the truth. My physical relationship with Alan ended the moment I decided to sleep with you that first weekend.”

I was about to ask my next question when something about the last thing she’d said made me stop.

“What do you mean by physical? What other types of relationship do you have with him?”

Now Mandy did go white. “I…I…” she stuttered. “He’s, he’s my mentor.”

Now I was worried, my mind was working overtime, and I recalled several comments Roo made last night. “Roo said some odd things last night. She was surprised that we were engaged, suggesting you couldn’t get engaged, and then there was her concern about her uncle finding out about our engagement. What’s that all about?”

Mandy just sat there and wouldn’t answer. Her phone pinged, announcing an incoming text, and she went to pick it up from where I’d tossed it earlier. I beat her to it, picked it up, and tried to read the message. There was nothing on the screen except a notification icon.

I held it out to her. “Open it,” I demanded.

“No, I can’t; it’ll be work.”

“I don’t fucking care, open it so I can read it.”

She entered the passcode, glanced at the message, and muttered, “Shit.” She didn’t resist as I turned the screen so I could read the message.

Alan: Ang Lee has agreed to met us tonight to discuss the project launch. Come alone, Alex is not invited. The car will pick you up at 7:30.

I thumbed a single word answer ‘NO,’ and tossed the phone back to her. She read my reply and sank to her knees.

“I’m done,” I told her. “I’m on the next flight home.”

Her phone rang as she was shaking her head, she sent the call to her voicemail without taking her eyes off me.

“I have to go, I always have to go when he calls me,” she said, her voice barely audible. “You don’t understand, my father owed a small fortune to the Sung clan, and I couldn’t pay them after he killed himself. They took me in place of the debt. I was heading for one of the clan-run whorehouses when Roo found out and spoke to her uncle; he took me as his concubine until he got bored with me. He gave me to Alan. Alan insisted I marry him as part of the deal. That’s the reason I couldn’t say yes when you ask me to marry you; I was already married.”

 

******* 

Well shit, not only had she been destined to star in one of the clan’s brothels, she was married. Well, that explained so much. “Fuck, and you didn’t think any of that was important enough to tell me?” I shouted.

Jesus Christ, what the hell had they done to this woman? She’d been used to pay off a debt. The worst I’d been considering was that she had never ended her relationship with Alan. The reality was she’d escaped a lifetime of sexual servitude, was married, and I was the other man. She was having an affair with me. The three of us intersecting like circles on a Venn diagram, and the center was labeled adultery. I hadn’t known; no wonder Sian and Roo had been giving me funny looks last night.

I wasn’t thinking straight. I was shaking in a mix of anger and betrayal and barely heard what Mandy was shouting at me.

“I’ve never really loved him; I love you. It was only ever a business arrangement between us. I asked him to give me a divorce within days of meeting you; I wanted you to ask me to marry you, to come and live with you. But the chicken-shit wouldn’t consider it unless the patriarch approved. And of course, the patriarch wasn’t happy because then the Sung clan stood to lose their financial advisor. I’m still paying off my fucking father’s debt.”

“Christ, how much did he owe them?”

“Millions, I’m not worth that much,” she said bitterly. “If I agreed to accept the plans the Sung clan set up for me, then the debt was to be paid off after I worked for them for fifteen years. Going to university to study business finance and then marrying Alan was all part of their plan. They wanted someone they controlled and would never betray them, to oversee their accounts at the bank. The clan and their business partners are the bank’s largest group of clients, and they get whatever they want. Fortunately, the patriarch still likes me, and he confirmed that I would be released from all my obligations after fifteen years.”

She raised her head to look at me. “I have another year to go, Alan has to let me go at the same time, that was the agreement.”

“I thought you used to love him?”

“I suppose I did in the beginning. He was a handsome man who’d looked after me when I needed help. I felt I owed him so much. I was young and naive, and I mistook gratitude for love. After we were married, he soon lost his polish, and it wasn’t long before we were living fairly separate lives.”

“I thought you described your relationship with him as ‘friends with benefits.’ It sounds like you were enjoying the benefits part, or are you still enjoying them?”

“Christ, no. The marriage was part of the deal he had arranged with the patriarch; I was a pawn; they could control me as they saw fit. I was naive enough to think I was in love with him, but it didn’t take long to discover I was mistaken. I honestly thought he would let me go when I told him I’d met you, that he understood I was in love with you. He knew I hadn’t been faithful to him; he’d let me have the odd lover previously. But he must have sensed how serious I was about you, and he got all high and mighty with me.

“I’ve been working on gaining my freedom. I’m their property,” she turned her wrist over to show me her tattoo. “This is not a good luck charm; it’s my Sung clan brand; it marks me as their property.”

So that’s what it was.

She continued, “I’ll be 34 when I’m released from my obligations, I’d always thought I’d still be young enough to have a life, and it became so much more important after I met you.”

“Why are you telling me this now if it’s so secret? You’ve lied to me ever since we met.”

“I never lied about loving you. The rest, how was I supposed to tell you I’d been bought and sold, that I’d been married off to a man as part of a business deal?”

She gave me an anguished glance. “I can just see how that conversation would have gone. “So Alex, there’s something I need to tell you. As a teenager, I was sold into indentured slavery, and on top of that, you’ve been fucking a married woman.”

She gave me a penetrating look, “Are you honestly going to tell me that after hearing that, you wouldn’t have considered asking me to leave.”

“Do you think that I’m that shallow, all I’ve ever wanted was to be married to you. It’s the secrecy and lies that hurt. So now that I do know, what do you think of our chances we will survive this?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “In a year or so, it would have all been over, the Sung’s would have let me go. Alan would have to divorce me, we would have been free to marry, and you would never have known about my past. I’m breaking every promise I made to Alan and the Sung’s, and I don’t care if it means I still have a chance with you. ”

“Yes, the Sung’s,” I said bitterly. “Your other lover, the patriarch, are you still seeing him?”

She shook her head, flinching at the anger in my voice and surprised that I’d worked out her other secret. “Not like that; he’s the head of the clan, so I see him all the time. I was his lover only for a few months; now, it’s more like I’m a daughter to him. Most of the time I see him, it’s about the clan’s finances.”

I looked at the stranger cloaked in the body of the woman I loved. I had no idea what to say next. She must have sensed my confusion as she came over and hugged me.

“I love you so much, Alex; all I can say is that I’ve been completely faithful to you ever since we met. You are the only person I’ve slept with for over six years.”

I shook my head slowly, “Physically maybe, but not mentally, for as long we’ve been together, you’ve had split loyalties.”

She looked at me, her face expressionless. “Alex, I lied to you because I had to, but the one thing I’ve never lied about is how much I love you.”

She paused and took the opportunity to use her finger to trace an unfelt tear as it rolled down my cheek.

Then she abruptly said, “Book your flight; you need to be away from this place as soon as possible, and I need to make a call.”

She picked up her phone and punched in a number from memory. I sat down beside her and squeezed her hand. She spoke briefly in Chinese and then waited while she was put on hold, tinny music playing, watching me, as she held the phone to her ear like a drowning man clutching at a piece of driftwood.

The music stopped, and then I heard a strong male voice say, “Nǐ xiǎng yào shénme Amanda?”

When next she spoke, it was in English, and she spoke in a soft, deferential voice.

“Honored father, your humble daughter, regrets to inform you that she has broken her promise to you and has told the man she loves her true story. I love him too much to lie to him any longer. I will ensure that Alex leaves tonight, and I beg you to let him go unharmed. He knows nothing about the clan dealings, in that I have not broken my word to you.”

There was a long pause, then “bù xíng.”

Mandy stifled a sob, “Please don’t hurt him, honored father.”

He replied, now in accented English, “No, Amanda, you misunderstand me, Alex doesn’t need to leave; I won’t have him hurt. You are like a daughter to me, and I trust that you will keep the clan business secrets. But for the rest, we should have given you the freedom to tell him a long time ago. Now I need to talk to Alan about your situation.”

What the fuck was going on? Mandy’s free hand was squeezing mine so hard I was beginning to lose feeling in my fingers. I was so out of my depth and disassociated from the insanity surrounding me. I was done with it all.

I looked at Mandy and came to a conclusion. Sadly I whispered to her, “Do what you want. I’m going to the airport and find the first flight home. I don’t want to be part of this. You need to make a decision, this world, or mine; you can’t have both.”

The hope that was beginning to settle on Mandy fell away, her face mirroring her feelings.

“Alex, you can’t make me choose like that, please don’t leave me.” Her voice was strident, and she’d forgotten she was still holding her phone.

“Is Alex there, Amanda?” asked the voice from the phone.

Mandy looked surprised at the phone in her hand. “Shit…yes he is, and he’s reached the end of his patience with me. He wants to go home, and I don’t blame him.”

“Explain that he doesn’t need to go, he’s safe.” The voice was condescending, almost as though I was an insect beneath contempt, and it pissed me off.

I snatched the phone from Mandy’s hand, “I don’t give a flying fuck what you think,” I snarled. Mandy gasped and tried to snatch it back.

“Yesterday I had a girlfriend, a fiancée. Now I find I’m the one thing I Despise the most, a cheating bastard. I fell in love with another man’s wife, and she didn’t consider that the fact she was already married was important enough to tell me. Jesus, you’ve manipulated her, me, bloody everyone as far as I can see. I hate everything about this fucking place.”

I couldn’t face her anymore; I threw the phone in her direction. I got up, grabbed my backpack and bag before walking out of the suite. In the lobby, I got the bell captain to check on the next available seat on a flight home. While I was waiting, I found a quiet corner in the lobby to sit. I was shocked to discover it was less than an hour since Mandy had arrived back at the hotel. An hour that had changed my perspective on the future. I’d envisioned fading into old age with Mandy. A future family, children, even pets, now all I could see was a void.

Having suffered the painful experience of an unfaithful fiancée in the past, I’d sworn I would never do to someone else what had been done to me. Yet now I felt like the villain in a poorly written book. Why in God’s name hadn’t she told me she was married?

I couldn’t help the tears that trickled down my face. Mandy was all that I’d ever wanted. Even if she hadn’t been in a relationship with Alan for as long as I had known her, that didn’t hide the fact she’d been lying to me.

“Excuse me, sir, are you okay?” The bell captain asked as he came over to me.

I wiped my face and nodded, “I’m fine; I received some bad news earlier, that’s why I need to fly home.” Christ knows why I was explaining myself to him.

“I’m sorry to hear that, sir. Unfortunately, all the flights tonight are fully booked, but I was able to get you in first-class on tomorrow’s BA flight, sir.”

“There’s no chance of a seat on any of tonight’s flights at all?”

“I’m sorry, sir, none at all; there are only three flights, and they are all not only fully booked, but there’s also a waiting list for any standby seats.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. I didn’t want to spend another night here, but it was looking like I was stuck. I could get the hotel to forward my bag to the airport for me as there was no way I was going back up to the suite. I’d get a hotel near the airport for tonight. With that settled in my mind, I picked up my backpack and headed for the main entrance.

While I waited for a taxi to pull up, a Rolls Royce arrived, and Roo stepped out. I turned away, stepping behind a palm tree. She didn’t spot me and rushed into the lobby. I guessed that Mandy was calling in reinforcements.

I stepped back in line and was just about to get into a taxi when I felt a hand on my arm. I turned, expecting to see Mandy, but it wasn’t her. A tallish Chinese man in his late 60’s stood with his arm still outstretched. He wore an immaculate light grey suit, and his lips were twisted into a tight smile.

“Alex, I believe?” he said. I knew the voice; I’d just heard it speaking to Mandy. He wasn’t the man I’d expected; I’d assumed that the elderly man I’d seen in the limo earlier had been the so-called Sung clan patriarch. My confusion must have been evident as he introduced himself.

“I’m Ang Lee Sung; I think you know who I am, and I feel we need to talk.”

He gave a flick of his hand at the doorman. I watched with a sour taste as my taxi was given to the couple waiting beside me. No other taxis moved to replace the one leaving. An invisible barrier appeared, and space formed around the pair of us. If I hadn’t been previously aware of the undisguised menace in his presence, I quickly became aware. He gestured for me to follow him, and I followed him to a quiet corner. He settled down in an armchair, and I took the one opposite. A pair of what I guessed were his bodyguards stood a few meters away to deflect any visitors.

I looked at him, “I’m not sure what I’m going to gain by talking to you. All I know is that due to your clan’s manipulation, I’ve become the thing I hate the most: a cheating adulterous bastard.”

There was a lot more I wanted to say, but I didn’t get the chance as Ang Lee stopped me with a brusk motion with his hand.

“Amanda has made me fully aware of her feelings about you and the way we have treated her, and I understand your feelings. I’m here to try and explain her actions to you.” His eyes flashed in anger. “And the fact I came to you should tell you how seriously I am taking this situation. My daughter loves you.”

His daughter, what the hell was he talking about? I’d heard her call him ‘Honored father’ earlier, but I’d thought she was just using an honorific.

“Your daughter. Did you adopt her?” Jesus, this was getting weirder by the second.

“Not formally, but in all other aspects, she is considered my daughter. She became my responsibility as part of the guardianship agreement.”

“You took a woman you thought of as your daughter as a…” I spluttered, not able to complete my thoughts.

He held up his hand to stop me. “That wasn’t the way of things, I took her into my care as a favor. That when I got to know her, and we became lovers. My formal announcement that I was taking responsibility for her didn’t happen until we were no longer lovers. It was my way to give her a degree of security.”

“But she still believes she is in debt to you,” I pointed out.

“And she’s right, she is: that’s just business, and being a member of the Sung clan doesn’t alter her obligation to the clan.” He gave a wry smile, “I did agree to write off all her obligations after 15 years; I don’t think I’ve ever made that offer to any other person.”

“But you let her marry Alan.”

He gave a small shrug, “I accept that in hindsight, that was not my best decision, but at the time, I was under the impression she liked him. For reasons I don’t need to explain, I had to deflect unwanted attention away from her relationship with me. Choosing Alan as a second, more public, guardian seemed a good idea at the time.”

I gave him a withering stare, which he ignored and continued. “He felt that marriage would be an even safer option. Amanda gave me the impression she believed that, as well. Her only request was that Alan would not contest a divorce after the 15 years were up and that at any time, she could request that they live separate lives if her circumstances changed. I think the Americans call it a prenup.”

He gave me a considered look before adding, “And since she met you, that’s what happened. She and Alan have been living separate lives.”

“All this is interesting,” I pointed out. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that she’s been lying to me ever since we met. Every year I’ve asked her to marry me, and she’s fobbed me off with one excuse after another. But never once for the true reason: that she’s already married.”

“Do you think she’s ever lied about being in love with you?”

I had to pause to think about his question. Was there any moment when I thought she didn’t love me? I couldn’t think of one, excluding the last few days. I needed more time to consider his points, but more questions occurred to me. It seemed to me that Mandy’s acceptance of the situation after her father’s death came from her gratitude to the man sitting across from me: gratitude that he’d saved her from a life in one of the whorehouses his clan owned.

“Mandy told me what was supposed to happen to her after her father died. Would you have sent her to work in a brothel?”

That got a reaction from him. He stared at me, his eyes hard. “We believe that all members of a family are collectively responsible for the family’s debts or obligations. Her father stole from us, so when he died, she became responsible for restoring everything he stole. As she wasn’t able to pay back the money, we expected her to work off her family’s debt. At that time, she had no skills we could use, other than her body. So yes, we would have put her to work in one of our establishments.”

“Did you?”

He shook his head, “No, before she was sent there, my niece managed to speak to me. To be honest, until she did, I had no idea who Amanda was, nor about her situation. It was something that was usually handled at a lower level of our organization.”

So at least she hadn’t been lying about her fate if the man opposite me hadn’t stepped in to save her.

I had a thought, “You said her family was responsible. Why did you only hold Mandy responsible, and not her mother and her sisters?”

He gave me a dismissive wave. “We considered that, and then had to reject it. The ex-wife had married into a powerful American family, so she was protected, and so were the rest of Mandy’s immediate family, which just left Mandy.”

Ang Lee continued, “I knew my niece and nephew had school friends who were westerners, but I’d never met any of them. When they asked if they could discuss a problem one of their friends had, I was intrigued enough to agree. They pleaded Amanda’s case, so I decided to look into it. I saw the potential in her that could be used to the organization’s benefit. So, I decided to offer her an alternate option to working for us as an escort.”

He glanced up at me, “My daughter has told me you are a good man, a doctor who looks after troubled children?”

I hadn’t been expecting this complete change in the conversation’s direction, and wondered why? “I’m a psychologist, not a medical doctor,” I replied. “Why do you ask?”

“So, if I tell you about my feelings for my daughter, you won’t inform her?”

I thought for a moment before replying, “That’s not usually the way I work. I find that being able to explain to a child their parent’s feelings about them often really helps. But as neither of you is my patient, the question is moot. All I can offer you is my promise to keep anything you tell me to myself. Is that acceptable to you?”

He gave me a nod in acknowledgment. “I think by now you’ve worked out that the Sung clan used to head one of the largest Triads in Hong Kong.”

I hadn’t used the word Triad in my thoughts, but I would have been stupid not to have come to that conclusion. Everything Mandy had been hinting at suggested she was heavily involved with a criminal clan.

I noted that he’d said “used to,’ so that was my next question. “Used to?”

“We still have a few fingers in our old businesses, but in the twenty-five years I’ve been in charge, we’ve been steadily becoming a legitimate business empire. Amanda’s father, Alan, and now Amanda have been responsible for reinvesting our funds in legitimate enterprises.”

That made sense, and I said so. But not why Ang Lee had treated Mandy the way he had.

“Her father diverted a large sum of money from one of those investments into his pocket. We’ve never been able to recover it.”

“How large a sum?”

“25 million, US dollars, not Hong Kong!”

Christ, she’d said it was a lot of money but not how much. “Shit, am I at risk because I know this?” I blurted out, self-preservation coming to the fore.

He shook his head, “If my daughter trusts you, I think it’s time that I do as well. Anyway, it’s old history. It may sound a lot to you, but it’s just a drop in the ocean for us. It was never about the money; it was the principal. You just don’t steal from us.”

He paused as a waitress appeared with a tray with a Chinese tea service on it; she set it down on the low table before us. Then bowed low and backed away. Ang Lee poured two cups and handed one to me. The green tea was fragrant with a hint of jasmine and soothed my throat.

“But Mandy wasn’t the one who stole money from you.”

“I know she didn’t, and that’s why she didn’t have a fatal accident at the same time as we arranged her father’s demise.”

“I thought he killed himself.”

He gave the briefest of head shakes. “It was made to look that way, and Amanda still believes it was a suicide. My uncle was responsible for our finances at that time,” he continued. “He took Gordon’s betrayal to heart and decided to use her father’s death and Amanda’s situation as an example to anyone else who may have been considering stealing from us.”

“What did he think when you took Mandy instead?”

A grim smile flickered briefly over his face before settling back into its unreadable state. “He wasn’t amused. I told him I wanted to see the girl and she was everything my niece had told me about her and more. Amanda knew what we intended for her and was distraught. Even so, there was something about her that convinced me to keep her close.”

“Yes, she told me.” I couldn’t keep the hint of bitterness out of my voice.

Now he did smile, and it wasn’t pleasant, “She was a pretty girl, and she owed me. Of course, I took her to my bed, but I never hurt her, and she enjoyed it.”

“So why give her to Alan?”

“Because I was starting to like her too much. I’m married; it’s a dynastic marriage, so divorce is out of the question, not that I wanted to. It may have been an arranged marriage, but we quickly fell in love.”

I’d been growing steadily more worried as the conversation carried on. I was sitting next to one of the most powerful men in Hong Kong, and he was in the process of telling me secrets. I was sure others had been killed for knowing, and there was no indication he was about to stop.

“Are you sure you want to tell me about this?” I asked.

“Who’d believe you, and officially I’m miles away from here.”

I nodded in understanding, and it explained his question about professional confidentiality.

He took my nod as an indication to continue. “I’m a good thirty years older than Amanda, and I suppose I should have known better. She was a young woman and was becoming infatuated with me. That became a security issue my enemies could have exploited. I’ll admit to having feelings for her, and that was making me vulnerable. My wife was the one who saw the issue. She met Amanda, and she could also see the potential in her. She was the one who showed me the error in my thinking. I didn’t want a lover; I was looking for a woman I could trust. I treated her like a daughter, and she gave me her trust.”

He paused to pour tea into our empty cups. He sipped from his as he considered his next words. “My wife was right, of course. Everything changed after that. We took her in, and she became the daughter we’d never had. But it wasn’t something I could announce to the world. Alan became the public face of Mandy’s guardianship, and we know how that turned out.”

All of this was interesting, but it failed to resolve the issue I had with the whole situation. The woman I loved had been playing me for a fool for as long as I’d known her. I didn’t doubt she was in love with me; she couldn’t have faked her feelings for me all that time. But why lie to me? Why keep finding excuses? I felt like I’d wasted all those years.

“Nothing you’ve told me has explained why she lied to me for all these years. I thought her heart was mine, but I’ve been sharing it for the whole of our relationship.”

“No, that’s not true; she’s been yours and yours alone ever since you first met. Why did she lie to you? That’s because I told her to, she wanted to tell you the truth, but I told her she couldn’t. She could live with you in England, but until she had fulfilled her commitment to the rest of the Sung clan and me, she was never to mention anything about her life in Hong Kong, and that included her marriage. She would have been young enough to start afresh once her commitment to us was ended.”

He sighed, “I’m going to let her go as I promised next year. I’ve told our lawyers to start preparing the paperwork for her divorce. Alan found out what I was doing; he’s still in love with her, and he was hoping he could make you break up with her. So he set up this whole situation, aiming to bring things to a head. It looks like he’s winning, doesn’t it? You no longer trust Mandy, and if I hadn’t stopped you, you’d have been on a plane and out of her life.”

I couldn’t deny it; that had been my plan. I said nothing, and Ang Lee took my silence as agreement.

“You will break her heart if you do,” he continued. “She’s upstairs, and my niece is with her, keeping her from doing anything stupid. She’s frantic to find you, but I needed to talk to you first. I need Alan to carry on working for the bank, but he knows that he’s overstepped over the mark, and I’ll no longer cut him any more slack.”

“So, what happens now? I asked. “I just want to go home and then decide where I stand.”

“And where does my daughter fit into your plans?”

“I don’t know; she keeps saying she loves me. But she’s been keeping an important part of her life hidden away from me. How am I supposed to trust that she won’t do it again?”

He gave me a pitying look. “Are you that shallow?”

I bridled at his words. “I don’t care who the hell you are. You have no right to tell me how I feel. Your world has created this situation.” Yet the truth was that I was feeling shallow, and I couldn’t help feeling I’d boxed myself into a corner. I needed time and a fresh perspective to think, and I desperately needed to get away from this place.

I stood up, ignoring the hard looks I got from his bodyguards. “If you want to do something for me, then let me walk away and keep Mandy from chasing after me until I decide what I’m going to do.” I turned to go but found my exit blocked by the bodyguards.

“Where are you going to go?” Ang Lee asked.

“Home,” I said simply, “Just home to think.”

He paused for a moment, then gave a brief nod. “I’ll make sure she stays in Hong Kong for the next few days; after that, you are on your own. I think you will find that a first-class seat has just opened up on tonight’s flight.” He gave the bodyguards a subtle gesture, and they stepped aside.

 

********* 

I walked back into the main lobby and retrieved my luggage from the porter’s desk. This time, as I tried to join the line for the taxis, the doorman led me to one side and a waiting limousine.

As he opened the door, he gave me a deep bow of his head and said. “The limousine driver will take you to the airport; I hope you have enjoyed your stay with us.”

I mumbled an insincere thanks and then slid into the limousine. The drive to the airport seemed endless. I was whisked through the check-in lines, and the airport security, a less-than-subtle display of how far Ang Lee’s powers spread.

The plane reached its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, and I tried to relax. It didn’t take long for me to decide that the cottage was the last place I wanted to be as I waited for Mandy to make up her mind. The plane had a WiFi connection, so I logged on and started to search for an alternative. I kept coming back to the travel site I had used to book our canceled vacation.

My first choice was the resort in the Maldives, our original destination. It was fully booked, but an option for a small guest house in Mauritius caught my attention. It wasn’t on the beach but nestled on a hillside looking down towards the Indian Ocean. The house was part of a working essential oil plantation, one that distilled ylang-ylang oil. It was, not unsurprisingly, called the Plantation, and the majority of the rooms were small cottages spread across the hillside. The photos showed them sheltering amongst trees heavy with yellow flowers.

There was a bonus; I knew someone on the island. I’d gone to university with Paul. We weren’t close friends but kept in touch over the years on social media. He and his girlfriend had been members of the university’s scuba diving club, and I’d met them when I signed up for a beginner’s course. Now they ran a dive school and shop on the island, and according to the map, it was only a few miles down the coast from the guest house.

There was the choice of a flight leaving Heathrow a day after I got in. If Ang Lee kept his word, I had at least a couple of days of grace before I needed to worry about Mandy. That was an odd feeling; I couldn’t make my mind up what would hurt more: that she would chase after me or if she didn’t! After a couple of seconds of contemplation, I selected the extra options I wanted, clicked the buy button, and after entering my details, I pressed the purchase button. Done, I leaned back in my seat and wondered what Mandy was doing.

Everything went as smoothly as it could. I did a quick turnaround at my cottage and was back at the airport a day later. I kept my phone on airplane mode, isolating myself from the expected bombardment of calls and emails. Underlining my anxiety was the fear I’d turn it on, and there would be nothing. If our relationship was over, then I wanted it to be on my terms, not hers or her guardians. I was living my version of the Schrödinger’s cat paradox: not switching the phone on meant our relationship was in limbo.

A car was waiting for me as I exited the airport late the next afternoon; the drive to the guest house took about twenty minutes. The track to the main building zigzagged up a hillside covered in small trees, heavy with yellow, star-shaped flowers. Through the car’s open windows came a heady scent that tugged at my memory. It took me a while before recalling that it reminded me of my grandmother and the perfume she wore.

At the main house, I was welcomed by the owners, a middle-aged couple. “Your booking was so last minute that we only have your name and the dates. Are you on your own, or will someone be joining you?” The wife asked.

“I’m here on my own,” I responded, and considered my situation. I was sure that given Ang Lee’s resources, he’d be able to find me without much effort, and if he knew, Mandy would know, as well. That prompted my next comment, “Mind you, there is a possibility I may have a visitor in a few days.”

“That isn’t a problem; your cottage has a pull-out sofa bed. I’m Janice, and this is my husband, Terry; he will show you to your room, you can leave your luggage here, and I’ll get someone to bring it over in a few minutes.”

I thanked her and followed Terry along a winding path that led to a small wooden cottage with a broad veranda. The front of the cottage was an open plan lounge; the bedroom and bathroom were accessed through a broad arch. Terry pointed out all the features of the cottage and showed me where the controls for the hot tub on the veranda were placed.

“You have the option of breakfast in your room or the restaurant off the reception area. Either way, we start serving from seven-thirty,” Terry said. “We also serve lunch and dinner, and our chef is one of the best on the island. And if you feel the need to work off your guilt, there is an exercise room and a pool behind the main house.”

I smiled and murmured that it all sounded impressive, before asking, “Are you able to organize a hire car for me?”

“There is a local car company we suggest if guests are interested in hiring a car, though I’d suggest you consider a small SUV, and not a car. Our local roads can be a bit rough,” Terry said.

“That would be best; I fancy doing a bit of island exploring.”

“Do you want me to set it up for you? We can use the credit card you used to check-in. All I’ll need to complete the paperwork is a copy of your driving license.”

“Great, I’m going to need it for the whole of my stay,” I said as I fished out my license from my wallet.

Terry nodded and added, “Will you be eating in the restaurant this evening?”

I nodded, “Yes, please, say eight o’clock.”

“Then I’ll leave the paperwork for the car at the reception desk with your driving license. You can pick them up then.”

I thanked him and began unpacking. When I was finished, I got comfortable on the veranda. The sun had set, and the tropical night was highlighted by more stars than I’d seen in a long time. The wind rustled the leaves on the Cananga trees, and the local fauna made their presence known. I took the plunge and switched on my phone. I’d decided to disable the Find My Phone and GPS apps while I was on the plane. While I knew he could, I wasn’t going to make it too easy for Ang Lee to pinpoint me. I groaned as the screen lit up with an endless stream of messages and missed call alerts.