IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER - SEASON 9 EPISODE 13

“You know he might come to you. He would want to meet and talk to you,” Tim somberly uttered, his stony face still turned towards Greg. He wanted to remind his friend of the fact that Violet’s brother might want to cross with him. He was still anxious that he could not figure out Lawrence and Mike’s next agenda, even after his short exchange with the latter.

“Then good, let him come. And even if he doesn’t, I intend to be the one to come to him. I have every intention to visit and get to know him. He is Violet’s brother, after all. Since I got married with Violet, I never got to encounter and connect with Violet’s brother or her parents. I think it’s important that I make that effort now,” Greg blandly chattered on.

“Are you serious? Now? What if he hurts you, huh? Haven’t you thought of that? His sister, your wife got hurt and lost her baby. What if he puts the blame on you? Aren’t you afraid of what Lawrence could do to you?” Tim alarmingly asked, his voice rising with dread. He was agitated.

He was alarmed that Greg was not thinking of his own safety. He thought his friend might not be thinking straight if he was disregarding the fact that Lawrence and Mike might take revenge on him.

“Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re not,” Greg shrugged. “But even if they do something to me, even if they hurt me, I don’t really care. I deserve all that. I was not a good husband. I failed to protect my wife and our baby. Of course they would want to hurt me,” he continued, his voice breaking and his eyes brimming with tears. ‘I hate myself. I have no right to ask for forgiveness, ‘ he hopelessly thought.

“Greg,” Tim uneasily called. He slowly moved closer to Greg. Grappling his friend’s arm, he faced Greg towards him.

“Lawrence and Mike are dangerous people, you know that. They could do anything they want and get away with it. You know how powerful the Chu family are. I am really concerned and worried for you,” Tim apprehensively said, shaking his friend.

Greg remained unperturbed, staring blankly at him.

Composing himself, Tim let go of Greg’s arms. He sighed and continued, “Alice introduced me to Lawrence and Mike at the fashion show earlier. I did not get a chance to talk to Violet’s brother, but I had a little chat with Mike. Do you know what he said to me?”

Greg turned and faced away from Tim, still staring vacantly ahead with glazed eyes.

Seeing that his friend refused to respond, Tim urged on, “He mentioned Sharon, your stepmother. I think he knows that she’s a bit hostile towards Violet. I’m guessing Lawrence knows, too.”

“So? Did you actually think that we could keep the Chu family in the dark?” Greg curtly responded, still not looking at Tim. When he decided to marry Violet, he knew what he was getting himself into.

He knew the Chu family and what they were capable of. Tim’s words did not faze him anymore.

Hearing how undeterred Greg was, Tim couldn’t help but stare at him as he himself was feeling very stressed by the situation.

Greg, unaware of the distress of his friend, went on, “Even if Violet never told anyone, I was sure that Lawrence would be aware of what happened to her. I am more ashamed about facing her parents, than her brother.”

Tim’s shoulders sagged, as he realized what his friend had been going through. He could not imagine having to put up with such a great pressure, but Greg was able to do so and he knew that it was because of his friend’s love for Violet.

The silence followed in the living room, as both friends remained immersed in their own thoughts.

“So, what are you planning to do now?” Tim barely mumbled.

“I have no intention of waiting for Lawrence to contact me. I will call him up and talk to him myself. Perhaps he can even tell me where Violet is,” Greg looked so glum as he answered. He did not care about anything else right now.

All his concern was to know where his wife was and how she was.

“What if he decides to lay a hand on your stepmother?” Tim cautiously asked. Even though Tim knew that Greg never liked Sharon, she was a part of the Xiao family. He thought that his friend would at least be worried about his stepmother’s safety.

“There’s no one else I care about right now. I am only concerned about Violet’s welfare,” Greg answered coldly, glaring straight ahead.

“Oh. Okay. I understand,” Tim muttered, looking down.

With her blinds open, the sunlight of the morning sun was illuminating the inside of her posh office. Alice sat behind her desk, absentmindedly stroking the fur cover of her office chair as she read the offer letter that came this morning. The logo of the JC Group was clearly visible from the heading. She was brooding over the name of who the offer was addressed to. She was trying to think of a way on how to disclose the contents of the letter to Ivy Li, her assistant.

Suddenly, a knock sounded outside the door, breaking the peace inside the room. Having called for Ivy Li earlier, Alice knew it was her assistant who was now knocking on her door. Without looking up, she called, “Come in, please.”
Ivy quietly opened the door and made her way into her boss’ office. She stood in front of Alice’s desk and politely smiled and bowed to her boss in greeting.

Alice looked up. “I have something to tell you, Ivy,” she began with a stern face.