Unexpected Encounter: They Were Meant To Be Together

Without waiting for her reply, he added, "I have always loved everything about you Clara, everything but you know the one and only thing I hate about you is how you happily share with me everything that makes you happy and very little of what makes you sad or bothers you which is very sad. I know you do that because you don't want to make me sad but it still hurts."

Slapping his forehead, Sam helplessly shook his head. What would he do with his brother? 

"Who is that woman with Ben?" Rose asked.

"Umm that—mom, she is Clara."

"They—"

"She is married." 

"I see." Carefully observing her son who looked completely smitten by the beautiful woman he was dancing with, Rose sighed. So did he refuse to be with other women because he liked someone who was already married? 

….

Completely unaware that his mother and a few other guests had been observing them, Ben kept holding Clara tightly because he was afraid. Afraid that if he loosens his grip, she would vanish, making him feel empty again.

His heart pricked when he realised that she was secretly crying with her chin rested on his shoulder. "You are gonna ruin your makeup if you keep crying and your weird looking husband will think that I bullied you." 

Caressing her back, he added, "You know Sam always tells me to move on and get over all of this. He says that I can get any kind woman that I want and how I deserve better."

Lifting her head, Clara nodded her head, "You do Ben, you deserve better."

Wiping her tears away, Ben added, "Now that is not something that you or Sam can decide. No one other than me knows what is the best for me and what I want." Placing his hand on her cheek, he continued, "You are the best for me."

"Why? Why do you still value me so much? You should hate me for what I did Ben, you are supposed to hate me and make things less difficult for me. I betrayed you and abandoned our love, I am selfish. You can't keep loving me like this, you can't keep being so good to me."

"Now that isn't something that you or anyone can decide and maybe what you did was meant to be? It was bound to happen no matter what happens. What if I had done something like this? Would you stop loving me?" Ben asked.

Pausing for a while, he chuckled, "No right? So what makes you think that I will? Okay, maybe I'll get over you later in the future but I don't see that future coming any time soon. It's good that mom and dad have Sam and Nuan too, at least they won't keep bugging me to give them a grandchild."

"You are crazy."

"You already know that I am crazy." Brushing his lips against her cheek, he murmured, "Crazy about you."

Placing his hand on the back of her neck, Ben pulled her closer. "Stop me before I walk out and never come back again. Stop me before I finally decide to give up on you forever. Stop me before I do something that both of us will regret later Clara, baby stop me." 

Without waiting for her reply he pressed his lips on hers.

"Oh my God." Qiang gasped before widening her eyes in shock.

"Woahhh big brother Ben is good." Yinhai added.

"Isn't that Clara Latif, Philip Norway's wife?" Zixin asked.

"What? Wife?" Mian shouted.

"Brother Ben is kissing someone's wife?" Yumi asked.

All the people who were present in the hall started whispering and murmuring after witnessing the sight of the eldest son of the Li family and the Norway family's daughter-in-law kissing each other without caring about the people around them.

Cursing himself, Sam was about to run over and stop them when Rose grabbed his hand. 

"Who is she to Ben?" She asked.

"I-I don't know mom—"

"Sam, who am I?"

"My mother."

"Hmm so what makes you think that you can lie to me?" 

"Mom—"

Cutting him off, Rose snapped, "I'll want to hear the truth Sammy."

Running his hands through his face, he sighed, "Clara and Ben dated for years in the past but she got married to someone else a year ago but there is nothing going on between them." 

When Rose raised her brows, Sam added, "Ben still likes her."

Helplessly shaking her head, Rose sighed. What would she do with Ben now?

Letting each other go, Ben and Clara breathed heavily with their forehead pressed together completely unaware of all the attention that they had managed to capture.

"I love you Clara and I know you love me too." 

"Isn't she Philip Norway's wife?" 

"Yes she is."

"Ahh, women these days are very shameless. She is kissing some other other man when she already has a husband."

"Don't you see who the man is? It's the eldest son of the Li family, Li Jin so it's obvious why she wants to seduce him." 

Realising that everyone was staring at them and what they had done, Clara pulled away and ran out of the hall without looking at anyone.

"Clara wait," Ben shouted before rushing after her.

"Ben stop." Sam shouted before grabbing his arm.

"Sam I—"

"You can't go after her like that, things will become worse so just stay here." 

"But she is alone and—"

"I know that she is alone so I'll go and drop her home. You just stay here." 

Pursing his lips, Ben reluctantly nodded his head.

Patting Ben's back, Sam rushed out of the hall.

….

Outside the hotel.

Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Clara kept on running until she found a bench where she could sit and cry for a while.

Just then Sam arrived and placed his blazer on her shoulder. "I'll drop you home."

"No I—"

"Look Clara, you have already ruined my brother's life okay? So will you please let him stay in peace now? You know that he will not stop worrying until I drop you home safely and report back to him. Make things less complicated and board the damn car."

…..