The Mafia's Rose Married The CEO

Qing Chen had been right. Wuming did not went home after the New Year's party. After his drink, he did not even bother to say good bye to his father—also, wanting to avoid the risk of raising suspicion that there was another Qing son.

When he left, his records were not that hard to erase. Mainly because their father had kept them away from society until they came of age. Wuming was not a big attendee of parties and would always hide and be gone when there was one when he was younger. It had always been Qing Chen who was a more known Qing heir.

Another one of the reasons it was not much of a trouble, was because Wuming had always been in touch with the mafia while growing up. He was not introduced with the shareholders, executives, and business associates of The Kingly. Instead, he met gamblers, people who owned racetracks, arms dealers, suppliers, and everyone else involved in bad businesses. 

Ever since while they were younger, Qing Chen and him were being put into different worlds. They were being trained to take on their separate positions. One promised a quiet and happy life. The other promised an adventurous and dangerous one.

He drove around like how he usually did and ended up near Camille's neighborhood. He already took off his tie and ruffled his hair before he even left his car. He pushed his hands deep in his pockets to fight the cold and started walking to the house.

The breeze bit into his skin and the air made his lungs shiver. He was kicking his toes while he was walking, trying to find some heat in there. He told himself, he would not stay that long. He just wanted to see her.

Camille had not yet replied to him in any form. But he still kept an eye on her from time to time. After a few weeks after he confessed, Wuming already stopped looking at his phone every time it lit up. Instead, he got that sinking feeling in his stomach—some sort of anxiety of it being Camille and it being NOT her.

He went up the tree he always climbed. The leaves were almost all gone because of winter. But the branches remained strong and lined with snow. He sat down and saw the warm orange glow of the fluorescent inside the the house. He wondered what they were having for dinner. Was she eating well? Was she going to spend the New Year buried in her dramas and cry about their happy endings?

Happy endings…

Right, why was he even thinking about wearing Qing Chen's shoes? It was not the life that was for him. It wasn't in his cards. It wasn't in his destiny. He chose that path when he decided to leave. Maybe it was time to finally wake up and stop daydreaming about it.

He smiled at the thought that he felt like he was the damsel and that Camille was the princess who would come and save him. 

But there was no redemption with what he did for a living.

There was one place where his soul would go.

It would burn in hell.

**

Camille was shivering in the cold. She had three layers of clothes on and a full stomach from the delicious dinner grandmother had prepared for the both of them. They were meant to celebrate New Year with their other relatives but a few days ago, grandmother hadn't been feeling so well. She only got better the morning of the New Year.

Camille was taking out the trash for tomorrow's collection when she saw the small box hanging from the curve of their small gate.

Without looking at the card, she knew it was only Wuming who could've possibly sent it. She wiped her hands on her leggings before she carefully unknot the tie.

The box looked expensive and she almost threw it away.

He was a killer.

I should not be taking gifts from him, she thought. I should definitely report him to the police. Get a restraining order or something.

She wanted to find him creepy but… somehow she could not. It had been weeks since they last talked. Whenever she caught herself thinking about him, she forced herself to think about something else or cleaned her room or rearranged her small closet.

But she took a deep breath and opened the case. It was a simple golden bangle with three dainty pearls. She ignored it and plucked the folded piece of paper.

Dear Camille,

Her breath caught and she rushed inside the house, her nose and cheeks already freezing.

"Where are you going?!" her grandmother asked. They were going to watch a TV special.

"I'll be right back!" she shouted and sat on the floor of her bedroom, her back pressed against the door. She opened the letter again and read.

Dear Camille,

It's Wei. Happy New Year! I hope you're having a grand time right now. I know I'm not supposed to contact you, not after you really haven't responded to my messages. But I promise you this would be the last time I'll reach out. Feel free to throw or give away the bangle if you want. 

I just want to know if you have made up your mind about what we talked about before. I know I am in no position to ask you for an answer, but I can't keep waiting. You have to kill this hope inside me if it's not going to reach anywhere, Camille.

Is another two weeks enough? I'll wait for you to message. If you don't then… this is good bye.

Thank you so much for the tender moments. If I could, I wouldn't have dragged you into this mess.

I'm sorry.

Wei

Camille turned the page and saw his number on it. She wanted to crumple the letter and toss it in the fire. 

But for some unexplainable reason, she did not.