Page 85 of Until We Burn
I sniff, wiping my tears before I answer it.
“Ni hao, Huangxiaojie.I’m calling to let you know that your father is requesting you to be at dinner tonight at six o’clock. There is important news he would like to share with you and your siblings.”
I clench up. “Regarding what exactly?”
“I’m afraid I cannot say.”
“Oh…” I dab at my eyes. “Alright, then. I’ll be there.”
The call ends. I tuck my phone back into my bag with trembling hands. “There’s a family dinner tonight. Apparently, there’s a big announcement my father needs to make.”
“I can drive you back to the Fairmont?” Kai offers.
I frown at the baskets at our feet. “How am I going to bring these with me?”
“I can bring your books up for you. Since I’m wearing a mask, they’ll just think I’m another delivery boy.”
Gratitude warms my heart, and all I want to do is kiss his face.
“Thank you so much.” I squeeze Kai’s hands. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me right now.”
I know we’re testing the boundaries of what it means to be friends with benefits.
For now, I don’t care. The temporary relief of having Kai around anchors me from drowning in the worries of what news I’ll be hearing from bàba tonight.
CHAPTER 36
KAI
Diana fallsapart the second we get back to the Fairmont.
“Horrific! Atrocious!” She pries through her closet with a panicked whisper. “I need Helen.”
“What are you looking for?”
Diana sighs. Her hands flop down at her sides as she frowns. “I want to show up to the dinner in an outfit that says I’m calm and dignified, but not too calm and dignified that you think I have plans up my sleeve, but just calm and dignified enough to be normal and unassuming.”
I rub my forehead. “Is this the part where you hold up two identical looking dresses and tell me to pick one?”
Diana suddenly whirls around with two identical white dresses in her hands.
“No.”She avoids my gaze and shoves the clothes back into the closet. “That’s ridiculous.”
A smile breaks across my face. I reach out and steady her shoulders, softly rubbing my thumbs back and forth over her skin.
“Look, you’re a bit stressed out right now. Why don’t you go take a shower and freshen up? You might even figure out what to wear while you’re in there.”
Diana huffs. The angry pout on her face eases up a little. “Okay, fine.”
While she showers, I lounge on the chair in front of her vanity mirror and scroll through my presentation notes for tonight. Luckily, it’s only me and Diana in here. Her maid, Helen, had left to go buy some groceries. Diana and I nearly collapsed in relief when we found her note.
At the same time, being alone with her like this is messing with my head. I can hear the shower running and I'm trying not to picture her in it like a goddamn freak. It doesn’t help when every piece of Diana surrounds me right now. The vanity is organized with all the makeup, skincare, and perfumes she uses.
I look at each and every bottle, just trying to find pieces of her that no one else notices.
Ping!
I peek down at my phone to see a new message in my group chat with the boys.
