The day went by fast as Xue Ting prepared the party's order and put on the flawless lime green gown with a rather low hem closed in by a layer of scarf integrated by Qiu Qiu. Pleased with her look she drove herself to the hotel near Qiu Wen's office to find Pam waiting for her.
Pam had been slowly assisting Xue Ting with fulfilling orders close by town with the plain cupcakes so as to not have Xue Ting travel far.
"Aww, you look fabulous!" Pam greeted as the ladies exchanged hugs.
"Are you not staying?" Xue Ting asked as Pam shook her head. "The waitresses will display them. We are overloaded with orders so, I won't stay for marketing. We have you tonight to do that." Pam leaned in closer to whisper the last sentence before winking at Xue Ting who chuckled.
"Alright, enjoy the weekend!" She said before Pam left.
Xue Ting headed into the entrance of the lobby to find Qiu Yeh stood watching her. He was so charming that she nearly thought it was Qiu Wen. Both brothers looked really stunning and outstanding whenever they dressed up. She thanked her lucky stars for being convinced to wear the lime green dress.
Qiu Yeh was standing with one hand in his pocket as his cool gaze followed her every move. She walked closer to him and greeted him with a wink before giving him a love sign with her thumb and index finger.
Qiu Wen caught sight of them at the entrance as he hastened his pace. Joy was right about the dress which made him instantly regret not picking her up but scolded himself to stay by her side the whole night.
Qiu Yeh was amused with Xue Ting's playful self that night as he let out a chuckle and winked back at her.
"Looking stunning tonight! Who's this hot babe in town?" Qiu Yeh teased as Qiu Wen was close by for Xue Ting to notice. She attempted to tease Qiu Wen by faking her flirting with Qiu Yeh a little further.
"Let's see? Perhaps your date on an exclusive rewarding night?" She stood slanted with her right arm on her hip and wriggled her eyebrow which was enough to drive Qiu Wen's nerves out of control but he kept his cool when several passersby walked across.
Qiu Yeh on the other hand had noticed Qiu Wen trying to act cool by a corner and played along.
"Let's rain-check that shall we?" He returned her the love sign using his thumb and index finger as she blew kisses to him.
Qiu Wen quickly slid his arms around her waist and raised an eyebrow at his brother. Qiu Yeh went on chuckling while raising his hand to signal to his younger brother he was leaving.
Xue Ting could not help but giggle. Qiu Wen wanted to teach her a lesson but he could not stop staring at her till she felt it was too much as they climbed the stairs.
"What? Did I overdressed? You all pestered me. Don't say I didn't warn you all." She complained as he stopped midway through the steps and pulled her in for a kiss. Passerbys were watching them in awe. He could not resist himself at the sight of her petite features being enhanced by the fitting dress which had a teasing low hem revealing not too much of her cleavage which was hovered by the smart scarf.
He kept giving her a silly smile which was embarrassing to her but also amusing.
"You're dashingly enticing, sweetie." He whispered under his breath while leaning onto her forehead as she smiled opening her eyes to meet his gaze.
"Now, are you ready? I'm going to introduce you to the world." He winked the same way he did when he first asked her to marry him into this whole open-contract marriage.
She blushed bright red but managed to keep up pace with his steps. He was eloquent with his introduction when they entered the banquet hall as though he had practiced those lines over and over many times.
"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Wield. It's lovely to see you both showing support to us this evening." He greeted as the couple exchanged cheers with their flute of champagne with him and Xue Ting.
"Thanks for the invitation, Ryan. Spare the formality. This must be the lovely wife of yours." Mr. Wield asked.
"Yes, it is. Here, let me formally introduce my wife, Sicily Liew." He placed an arm across her shoulders, keeping her close to him. Xue Ting smiled politely at the couple as they exchanged simple nods.
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"Mr. Weild is one of our top suppliers of gemstones. We always get the best out of his collections." Qiu Wen complimented as Mr. Weild chuckled.
"That's exaggerating Ryan. I'm only doing business. Now, you on the other hand sing praises of your wife everywhere you head. I'm glad to finally be able to meet her personally." Mr. Wield praised.
Xue Ting chuckled as she returned the compliment. "Pleasure to meet you too Mr. Weild. May the good gems be polished into great designs making you proud."
Everyone laughed at her smart move. "We hope for the best. Definitely. Mrs. Tang seems to know quite a bit about the industry. Why aren't you part of the company?" Mrs. Wield unexpectedly threw her guard off.
Xue Ting's smile slowly disappeared as Qiu Wen began to wonder if he should give her the chance.
"Perhaps soon." Qiu Wen quickly covered up the awkward situation.
"Wow, I'll be waiting for the great designs and brilliant ideas Mrs. Tang." Mr. Wield conveyed his excitement as Xue Ting forced a smile before Mr. and Mrs. Wield excused themselves.
"Don't worry. You did well." Qiu Wen comforted as he held her arm closer to keep her tense self calm.
Qiu Wen quickly hastened their pace to grab two glasses of champagne.
"Here have one. You'll feel better." He offered as she grabbed a glass and swirled it.
She watched the bubbles dance in the glass. It sparked the idea of drawing just bubbles swirling in the liquid under the moonlight. Despite the fact she had no paper and pen or pencil, she slumped her shoulders down realising that her left hand couldn't draw as well as her right.
As though noticing her train of thought, Qiu Wen stopped their pace. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Sorry, I was just a little…" Before Xue Ting could finish her excuse, they were interrupted.
"Ryan!" His guests were waving for him to go over but he could not bear to let Xue Ting alone.
"Come. Just a little while." Xue Ting was dragged over before she could answer.
"Hey, you're finally here with Mrs. Tang." Said the guy who looks classy with a cup of whiskey on the rocks in hand.
A couple more other men were looking on as Xue Ting felt uncomfortable at their unfamiliar faces except Alfred whom she recognised but yet they were like preying on her. She trailed closer to Qiu Wen and he could feel her chest touching his arm.
"Alfred." Qiu Wen introduced as she tried to keep herself composed. "Francesca's assistant and the rest, Jerry, Carlson, Ian… Friends from the past." Qiu Wen introduced them with a hint of discomfort as his friend booed him for the remarks.
"My wife, Sicily Tang." He smiled ignoring their reaction. She noticed he used his surname instead this time. It sent her a little comfort to know that Qiu Wen knew his ways with her introduction.
"Nice meeting you finally, Mrs. Tang." Alfred held out a handshake as Xue Ting bravely put on a wider smile and shook hard at it. She instantly wanted to pull away but she could feel his grip tighten as he put on a sheepish smile.
"There you are, Ryan! We need you on stage now. Come, come let's go." The emcee of the night came ushering him as Xue Ting quickly loosened her palm from Alfred and nudged Qiu Wen to head on.
She could tell Qiu Wen was worried of her but her assuring smile was warmer than ever to him as he signaled Jia Yi to keep an eye on her before heading to the stage. While all attention was on the stage, Xue Ting felt Alfred was close by.
She sneakily slowly slipped out of the hall. She knew the men's intention and she was not comfortable to entertain any further with too many constraints.
Though she was outside, she could still see Francesca getting up on stage from afar through the glass panels.
What are her plans after this? Was this part of Mrs. Tang's plan too? She sighed as she finished her glass of champagne. A waiter came to offer her another.
"Can I have more than just one glass?" She requested.
"Sure." The waiter smiled as Sicily took five flutes and brought them to a lookout point nearby.
The fresh air gave her a little breather as she enjoyed the sight of the crescent moon which reminded her of sixteen years ago; how the entire kidnapping had brought her destiny to intertwined with Qiu Wen. She wondered if she made the right choice at present.
Was there ever a right choice in the first place? Our destiny was never meant to be. All these are only temporary. She told herself.
It was a bitter lesson she learned. Else wouldn't I have been an owner of my own gallery with my collection of art or perhaps a curator like I always wished? Perhaps a designer of something just like Qiu Qiu's dream.
She gulped down one glass of champagne and returned the glass to the position at the rail of the balcony.
She wanted to draw again with her right arm but she was grateful to be able to draw with her left and a daughter to help her out. Not many could with both hands and she was one of them.
She blinked the tears stinging her eyes, forcing herself to endure her streak of bad luck. She sighed thinking it might have disappointed Joy a little as she downed her second glass of champagne.
She counted her blessings for May who was always supportive and even trained her to draw with her left for fun. May had always encouraged her to relax and it does not have to be perfect on the left.
"Art can be anything.
With talent, the result should likely turn out well." May would always remind her.
And it did.
Just Xue Ting sometimes felt it was not good enough. She was just being too harsh on herself.
It was as though when she first found out she was pregnant and she tried picturing her baby with her in the park. The thought of having a baby by herself trembled her so much that she did not believe she could make it.
Yet it was not just one but two babies. She recalled it was the most depressing time. After all the hectic mess with James and Qiu Wen, she thought she finally had time to pursue her interest but another storm caught up on her till present.
Only when expressing her feelings through art did it calm her but even that is slowly slipping away from her.
She downed her third glass of champagne one shot as she looked up to the moon with her glassy eyes.