Chapter 7: Life Continues

Aimlessly, another two years went by.

I sat at the piano at the age of fifteen. The keys were dancing under my fingertips, melodies echoing in the gentle light. I practiced piano music for more than half a year, to give him a surprise on his birthday. I turned slowly to Jonathan, who was on the sofa, where he shook his red wine glass and I watched the red wine in the sunlight, rotating and glowing in the glass...

For a seven-year-old child, his face seemed very handsome; for a girl of fifteen, his appearance was exquisite and attractive, wisdom flowed from his eyes. Especially, when he half-closed his eyes, which exuded a look of malevolence, I could almost smell the deadly evil, like I was under a spell.

But the loneliness in his eyes attracted me most when he sat on the sofa, a cigarette in his hand, he exhaled the smoke slowly. I could always feel the loneliness in his heart and would sit beside him, breathing in the smell of tobacco around him. He wouldn't say a word to me, and I wouldn't ask him what had happened. We just sat together, comforting each other as if our hearts were united.

"Happy birthday," I walked over to him and said, as I finished my performance.

"Well done!" he said. When he looked at his watch and glanced at the bodyguard outside, I knew he was going out. I picked up his coat on the sofa, helped him put it on, and tried to button it on my tiptoes, and said, "be careful!"

"Desiree, he said and looked at me asking, "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," I said quickly.

"Fifteen... " he just repeated it in a meaningful tone, no other words. After he left, I curled up on the couch and stayed under the blankets until two o'clock in the morning. Once I remembered the way he looked at me, an inexplicable fear spread all over my body, cold and gloomy.

When he came back, I got off the sofa, barefoot, and ran to my room. I was so scared that I didn't bother about my shoes. "Desiree? Still awake?" he called.

I stopped and calmed down, responding, "I couldn't sleep peacefully until I knew you were back. Now I feel relieved," I told him. He walked up to me and pulled the duvet up for me and smiled.

Seeing he was silent, I asked. "Can I go to sleep?" He nodded. I ran back to my room without a second thought and locked the door tightly. Leaning against the door, my heart beating fast, I tried to remember everything I had done that day. I felt that he seemed unusual and weird.

I thought about it all night, but I had no idea why. I opened the curtains when I woke up in the morning. Jonathan was eating breakfast at the table beside the pool. It was painted white and had exquisitely carved ironwork. The morning light fell gently on his black hair and flickered with a golden color.

Whenever I woke up, I always thought that if Jonathan didn't exist in this world, I wouldn't have lost my family. But, could I have become an ordinary girl if he just disappeared from the face of the earth? Someone who was the same as her peers in her class, who would expect a beautiful dress and a prince to pick her up, or who ran back home hastily after school. The answer was, "No."

Standing at the window sill, I forgot the time. When I looked at my watch, there were only thirty minutes left before class started. I washed and dressed up hastily, putting on my school uniform, and went downstairs.

"Good morning! I am going to school," I said. Because I was in a hurry to go to school, I greeted Jonathan casually and got into the car as he was talking with others.

"Desiree, " he said as he pointed to another breakfast on the round table. "Eat breakfast before you leave," he insisted. I was a little hungry at that time, but the fresh milk and cream cake took away my appetite. Perhaps he thought the little girl would love it, so he prepared it for her every morning. In fact, I hated the greasy taste.

He offered me a chair beside him and I sat down obediently, pretending to be satisfied with the cake, enjoying the white cream.

"Boss, " the man behind him called out. If I remember correctly, the man seemed to be one of his assistants, in charge of the logistics business. I did not know what he had done wrong, but it was obvious from the sound of his voice, that he was frightened.

He gestured impatiently to him, "Just do as I tell you, and don't bother me with trivial matters."

"But Mr. Henry is one of our regular customers and we have a good working relationship. I guess it was neglectful that he put a banned substance in the cargo this time. ... "

"Teach him a lesson he won't forget," Jonathan said. The tone of his voice reminded me immediately of when I was a seven-year-old, and he said, "Didn't you hear me?"

It completely ruined my life. Just a few words could cause such bitterness. My hands trembled as I held my fork firmly and tried to control myself from sticking it into his face. He looked at me, sweeping the cream off my mouth with his finger, and whispered. "What's the matter?" I shunned his hand and gave an embarrassed smile.

He turned back to his assistant, who was about to leave and licked the cream off his fingers. "Just burn the cargo, and don't make it too serious... Remember, teach him a little lesson before you do it," he warned.

"I understand, " the man took a long breath, bowed his head and left in a hurry, perhaps out of fear.

"Isn't it serious to set fire to something?" I said, and I clenched my teeth as I held the fork in my hand even tighter, and asked, "Why don't you just kill his family?"

He looked at me in surprise. He softened his harsh face but became a bit worried. He turned to another assistant hesitantly, and said, "Wait a minute."

"Yes, Boss," he said and came over quickly. "What orders do you have for me?" he asked.

"Well, just give him a warning and let him handle it himself," Jonathan told him.

"Understand," he replied. The assistant wiped the perspiration from his temples, glancing at me with surprise and curiosity.