Qiu Wen's thoughts lingered to their first time where their desire was burning and dying for each other which made everything so hazy that it slipped his mind to put on protection but he was prepared to take on responsibility.

Was she lying all this while? She was so convinced the twins were James. Was she very sure?

He immediately got up to find Xue Ting who was in her room as he flew in and close the door behind him.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Xue Ting asked as she was startled in bed, preparing to sleep after a quick shower.

"I need to ask you something." Qiu Wen spoke hastily, trying to control his anxiety as his breathing grew heavier.

"Yes, what is it?" She got out of bed and stood in front of him. "Calm down…" She said as she gently patted his chest since he was still hesitating with heavy breathing. She stopped abruptly when he caught her hand as she stared back at him, noting his seriousness.

"When you found out you were pregnant with the twins, how far long were you and when?" Qiu Wen hastily asked.

Xue Ting furrowed her forehead in worry of getting caught. She figured he must have found out something from the letters as she chose to answer him carefully while letting her hand free.

"About seven to eight weeks... But why? Why does it matter to you now? What's wrong?" Xue Ting asked as she started to get annoyed a little while afraid he figured out the truth. She immediately regretted giving him the letters as she saw a piece of it in his hand.

"When we spend the night together that time, were you pregnant? When did you find out you were pregnant?" Qiu Wen pried again with urgency as her eyebrow arched with a subtle signal of caution.

"I don't know. It was so long ago Qiu Wen. And I left hastily when James and I broke up. I didn't want to hurt you so I thought I should say my goodbyes. But that was that. I... Why does it even matter now?" Xue Ting questioned feeling frustrated as she looked away trying to hide her guilt.

"Because, from your letter, I doubt you were pregnant on our last night, Sicily. Cause I know you wouldn't have let me take you in that night if you were." Qiu Wen explained without blinking.

"And your point is..." Xue Ting retaliated daringly with her arms folded in front of her. She realised he called her English name. Like old times, whenever either one of them do that, it was indicating that they wanted the other party to pay attention.

Qiu Wen nodded. "The twins could be..." Qiu Wen paused briefly as he raised his eyebrows to emphasise his conclusion. "... ours."

Her eyes twinkled at his reply as she quickly looked away. She took a seat by the bedside, trying to calm herself down from nearly being caught.

"No, they are not." She replied calmly.

Qiu Wen squatted in front of her. "Why are you so confident? Did you do any paternity tests?"

"I am their mother, Ryan! How would I not know who my children's father is?" Xue Ting stared right into his eyes angrily this time, unsure of being doubted or rather guilty of lying in his face.

He struggled to believe her as his eyes darted around her face, studying her expression. In the end, he had no choice but to believe her words for now, not wanting to keep her angry at him.

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He then recalled her confession that she had a crush on him since primary school in the letter and about his mother's role in manipulating them.

"Why didn't you tell me about your crush?" He teased as he watched her relax but grew shy.

"It was so many years ago. I didn't even remember I wrote it in the letter." Xue Ting smiled as she kept looking away.

"Ting Ting…" He pulled her chin to face him. "I know about what my mother did and I am so very sorry that words cannot express how much I am not aware of the harm she inflicted on you and the kids back then. Can you give me a chance to make us right again?"

She looked at him questionably as she furrowed her brows.

"Can I date you?" He asked as her heart skipped a beat for the moment she long awaited.

She embraced the unexpected moment as those were the words she thought she would never hear of ever in this lifetime but she knew better. She knew she cannot waver. Not at this moment.

"Qiu Wen, I just found out about James. I don't want to think about anything else other than taking care of my twins. And besides, we are already legally married for the contract…" Qiu Wen stopped her by holding onto her hands.

"Ting Ting, I'm sorry for all that happened to you and the twins. But I still stood by the words I said sixteen years ago. If James, one day decided to let you go or you decided to, I will wait and still am waiting for you. I understand the sudden circumstances but I will not give up."

Xue Ting was moved by his sincerity that she nearly wanted to agree and tell him the truth but she knew it was not an option when it came to protecting her twins. It was her obligation.

She nodded and shut her eyes to let her tears of regret flow while he embraced her. He was already secretly planning to get the twins to do a paternity test with him like how he had arranged for them to learn driving lessons without her knowing.

The next few days, Xue Ting had been trying to let the busy deliveries and events in the cafe overwhelmed her to avoid overthinking about the recent events. As for Qiu Wen, though he was getting busier with the new launching of products involving his branch and agitated over the appointment of Francesca, he couldn't help but felt a little upset on James' birthday. He knew if he was alive, they would be drinking heartily.

Instead, he sat with his fatherly duties after visiting James' grave in the early morning and accompanied Matthew on stage since it was Wednesday. Matthew could tell Qiu Wen was a little down that night.

"Do you have a favorite song?" Matthew asked before heading up on stage intending to cheer him up.

Qiu Wen raised an eyebrow questioning him of his motive but Matthew pretended to wait eagerly for an answer instead. To not disappoint Qiu Wen knew the boy wanted to play him the song and it was only right for him to play his father's favorite on his birthday which not only Qiu Wen shared but Xue Ting too.

"Joy and Laughter by an underground band, Loin." Qiu Wen said as Matthew nodded with a knowing smile.

Matthew knew it well to be able to play it impromptu. He too listened to them when he heard Xue Ting played it on the stereo long ago when he was very young and fell in love with it instantly.

Despite her busy day, Xue Ting decided to take a break and sneak to watch Matthew perform that night. She always knew her son had talent and he took that gene from none other than Qiu Wen rather than James. Qiu Wen was a smooth operator when it came to playing the guitar.

She was wearing a rather skimpy dress but not too tight and over-revealing. She had draped a scarf over herself and wore sunglasses in disguise. It was too dark for anyone to notice her as she was around a hidden, not brightly lit area enjoying her cup of whiskey on the rocks.

However, it wasn't difficult for Qiu Wen to recognise her the moment she walked in; the familiar petite figure and the elegant yet teasing movements he had known all along. He was nearby the bar top when he noticed a few other men eyeing her. He got furious noticing she was oblivious to her surroundings as she was drowned in her son's performance.

"So much for always complaining about Matthew." He thought and confirmed it was where Matthew caught her traits from for sure.

While watching Matthew perform, he was busy keeping an eye on Xue Ting too. Matthew was performing mainly Xue Ting's playlist which he grew up listening to; smartly disguising his age. A part of Xue Ting felt nostalgia when Matthew played the trio's favorite song which reminded her it was James' birthday today.

She finished her drink one shot in honor of James when the song ended. Satisfied with her son's song selection though leaving her with a bittersweet feeling, she hummed the last tune of Joy and Laughter while reminding herself of the times James would sing to her that song.

Before she could finish humming, she noticed someone approaching her from behind, and the next thing she knew she was caught on her right arm and pulled away from the main roadside in an alarming panic. The dark shades made it difficult for her to figure out who it was but the grip was familiar. She took off her shades when they reached a corner of an alley.

She gasped loudly at the sight of him. "Qiu Wen!"

It was unexpected for her although she knew he would frequent such places often but the fact that even he knew about Matthew's little secret, surprised her.

Before he could speak a word, there were a bunch of guys walking past whistling at Xue Ting which burnt more fuel to his rage. He gave them a dangerous stare before he launched a punch at one of the guys who was smiling and howling wildly at Xue Ting.

Xue Ting managed to grasp her senses back and pulled him away before a fight broke out as they run down the alley to escape.

When they reached another dark alley, Qiu Wen quickly pulled her into it and counted his blessings for wearing a black coat that could hide them completely in utter darkness as they hear heavy footsteps nearby running up and down but couldn't find them.

It wasn't the first time they hide in a corner together like this. He recalled the first time he saw her after sixteen years of being left with a mystery.

He thought it would be a good time finally to confess to her since there weren't any obstacles left between them as he beamed watching her terrified silhouette lighted by the street lights, gripping tightly on him.