Chapter 237: Ashamed
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"Have you been waiting long?"
Vivian reached out to hold the cup of cappuccino in her hands; she lightly shook her head.
"Not at all, Sis," she smiled, "Thank you for meeting me today."
Mandy placed her purse on the inner side of the sofa, next to the window, "What thanks? You are talking as if we are strangers," she waved her hands in front of her to assure her.
A waitress came over and placed a menu on their table. Mandy stopped her before she got the chance to walk away, "I don't need this. A cup of caramel macchiato, please," and then she looked up to glance at the waitress, Thank you."
"So?" Mandy started to babble, "How have you been? I'm sure I am missing out on a lot of stories from you."
Vivian looked down and smiled. Mandy had always been friendly to her even though she had disappointed their family big time.
"Well," Vivian let go off her hold around the mug and leaned back to her seat, "I just felt, I owed you too much already."
She looked up slowly and hesitated to look into Mandy's eyes, "To be honest, Sis, I feel ashamed to even face you right now."
"Ever since we went our separate ways, I know I am at fault for breaking off all communications with you," Vivian started to fret, "But that simply because I was afraid you would not even want to see me anymore."
Mandy sighed.
....
She still remembered that year when Daniel called to tell them that he had called off the engagement.
Their parents were surprised, but they decided not to ask for the reason. All of them could hear from his voice; it was laced with enough pain and anger to even silence their curiosity.
Back then, Mandy and Axel had been travelling very frequently; dividing their time between Frankfurt and New York for their business. Sometimes, Mandy would also bring along Chen Yumei; also known as Amy, who was Axel's only sister.
Mandy and Amy were so close just like real-blood sisters; and whenever they visited New York, Vivian would be the one who accompanied them when Daniel was busy.
The three of them would roam around the city just like they were each other's own family. They would argue about food, shop clothes and try on makeup together. Sometimes, they would even do a sleepover and exchange love stories.
And then all of a sudden, Li Xiqing made an international call to tell them that he had cancelled his engagement. After that, Mandy would try to call or email Vivian, but there was never a reply.
Mandy and her parents were left guessing on what actually had happened.
Until a few months later, Mandy finally knew why.
....
Few years ago. Frankfurt, Germany
Mandy was sitting on the bed while leaning onto the headboard; her fingers were flying all over the plastic keys as she was typing away all of her instructions in an email. Amy heard the door was knocked in a haste.
"Come in," she answered right away.
The door was opened, and she heard footsteps coming in. Amy saw her right away and quickly walked over and sat by her bedside.
Mandy peeled her gaze away from the computer on her lap, "Yumei?" She said in surprise and then she took off her reading glasses, "Why are you in a rush?"
"Sis! Look at this!" Amy passed her a red and gold embossed card.
The material of the card was soft to the touch. It was a blend of paper and velvet; making the feeling under their fingertips felt as if they were touching a luxurious material.
Mandy looked at the card questioningly, "Whose big day is it?" She looked up and glanced at Amy, "I did not know that you are getting married?"
Amy rolled her eyes, "Don't joke around, Sis! It's Vivian. She is getting married to a friend of mine."
Amy could not hold in her patience, she grabbed the card back from Mandy's hand and opened it for her.
"Look at this," She spread the card wide open and placed it on Mandy's lap. The wedding invitation card was written in two languages, English on the left side and Mandarin on the right side. Amy raised one finger and pointed to the bride's name on the right side of the card, "Isn't this Vivian's Chinese name?"
Mandy looked at the writing in surprise, her hands slowly closed around the card as she read each word carefully.
"So, the groom," Mandy looked up and returned Amy's gaze, "This George, was the one who invited you, and not Vivi herself?"
Amy nodded, "George was a friend from college. He used to chase me for years but I kept turning him down. So he promised me that whenever he gets married, he will make sure that I am invited so he can show off his bride to me."
On a normal occasion, Mandy would have jumped in and teased Amy for this revelation.
But her mind was busy churning on the fact that this bride was supposedly becoming her own family's bride; before their engagement was suddenly cancelled, and now she became another family's bride.
....
"En," Mandy hummed softly, "It is indeed her name," and then she paused in silence.
Mandy remembered her name, because initially, she wanted to order a wooden carving in the shape of an antique painting scroll as their wedding gift.
Mandy had thought of a design. She had drawn a pair of japanese red-crowned cranes and wanted to have both Daniel and Vivian's names engraved in the corner along with their wedding dates. She had spent so many hours trying to come up with the best calligraphy so the carvings would look esthetically pretty and valuable.
When she realized that her thoughts had drifted away, Mandy shook her head to clear her mind and glanced back at Amy, "Yumei, "She hesitated for a while, before continuing, "are you going to attend their wedding now that you know it's Vivi?"
Amy shook her head immediately.
"Now that I know it is really Vivi, I think I know why Daniel broke off the engagement," Amy got up from the bed and walked to the balcony to set the door ajar for some fresh air, "And out of my respect to you and Daniel, I will not attend their celebration."
She tilted her head and looked at Mandy, "Sis, I know that you consider her as your good sister. But you have given her many chances to answer you, but Vivi chose to run away and ignore you instead."
Amy walked back to the bedside, "I think, you should reconsider this friendship carefully," She sat down and placed her hand with palm side up. Mandy placed the wedding invitation card on her hand, and then she heard Amy scoffed, "take this advice from this silly little sister of yours; before she hurt your feelings again."
Mandy was surprised at the solemn looking Amy.
Amy Chen Yumei had been protected dearly by Axel and her parents her whole life but luckily, she did not grow up to be a spoiled rich brat. But instead, Yumei had been known as the smartest one in the Chen family.
Yumei had been a very cheerful girl. She considered all the people in the world were initially kind hearted and filled with goodwill; until they crossed her lines, then she would make sure that the enemy would know what kind of person Chen Yumei was.
Mandy heaved a soft sigh and nodded, "Alright, I know. I will remember what you just said." She raised one hand and gently pinched her cheek, "Now, erase this gloomy looking face of yours. Let's go and eat some ice cream?"
Yumei quickly broke out into a wide grin and she hopped off the bed, "Sure! I saw this small shop just opened, we should take a look, Sis!"
Mandy closed her laptop and also got off the bed, "Sure, let's go!"
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"Have you been waiting long?"
Vivian reached out to hold the cup of cappuccino in her hands; she lightly shook her head.
"Not at all, Sis," she smiled, "Thank you for meeting me today."
Mandy placed her purse on the inner side of the sofa, next to the window, "What thanks? You are talking as if we are strangers," she waved her hands in front of her to assure her.
A waitress came over and placed a menu on their table. Mandy stopped her before she got the chance to walk away, "I don't need this. A cup of caramel macchiato, please," and then she looked up to glance at the waitress, Thank you."
"So?" Mandy started to babble, "How have you been? I'm sure I am missing out on a lot of stories from you."
Vivian looked down and smiled. Mandy had always been friendly to her even though she had disappointed their family big time.
"Well," Vivian let go off her hold around the mug and leaned back to her seat, "I just felt, I owed you too much already."
She looked up slowly and hesitated to look into Mandy's eyes, "To be honest, Sis, I feel ashamed to even face you right now."
"Ever since we went our separate ways, I know I am at fault for breaking off all communications with you," Vivian started to fret, "But that simply because I was afraid you would not even want to see me anymore."
Mandy sighed.
....
She still remembered that year when Daniel called to tell them that he had called off the engagement.
Their parents were surprised, but they decided not to ask for the reason. All of them could hear from his voice; it was laced with enough pain and anger to even silence their curiosity.
Back then, Mandy and Axel had been travelling very frequently; dividing their time between Frankfurt and New York for their business. Sometimes, Mandy would also bring along Chen Yumei; also known as Amy, who was Axel's only sister.
Mandy and Amy were so close just like real-blood sisters; and whenever they visited New York, Vivian would be the one who accompanied them when Daniel was busy.
The three of them would roam around the city just like they were each other's own family. They would argue about food, shop clothes and try on makeup together. Sometimes, they would even do a sleepover and exchange love stories.
And then all of a sudden, Li Xiqing made an international call to tell them that he had cancelled his engagement. After that, Mandy would try to call or email Vivian, but there was never a reply.
Mandy and her parents were left guessing on what actually had happened.
Until a few months later, Mandy finally knew why.
....
Few years ago. Frankfurt, Germany
Mandy was sitting on the bed while leaning onto the headboard; her fingers were flying all over the plastic keys as she was typing away all of her instructions in an email. Amy heard the door was knocked in a haste.
"Come in," she answered right away.
The door was opened, and she heard footsteps coming in. Amy saw her right away and quickly walked over and sat by her bedside.
Mandy peeled her gaze away from the computer on her lap, "Yumei?" She said in surprise and then she took off her reading glasses, "Why are you in a rush?"
"Sis! Look at this!" Amy passed her a red and gold embossed card.
The material of the card was soft to the touch. It was a blend of paper and velvet; making the feeling under their fingertips felt as if they were touching a luxurious material.
Mandy looked at the card questioningly, "Whose big day is it?" She looked up and glanced at Amy, "I did not know that you are getting married?"
Amy rolled her eyes, "Don't joke around, Sis! It's Vivian. She is getting married to a friend of mine."
Amy could not hold in her patience, she grabbed the card back from Mandy's hand and opened it for her.
"Look at this," She spread the card wide open and placed it on Mandy's lap. The wedding invitation card was written in two languages, English on the left side and Mandarin on the right side. Amy raised one finger and pointed to the bride's name on the right side of the card, "Isn't this Vivian's Chinese name?"
Mandy looked at the writing in surprise, her hands slowly closed around the card as she read each word carefully.
"So, the groom," Mandy looked up and returned Amy's gaze, "This George, was the one who invited you, and not Vivi herself?"
Amy nodded, "George was a friend from college. He used to chase me for years but I kept turning him down. So he promised me that whenever he gets married, he will make sure that I am invited so he can show off his bride to me."
On a normal occasion, Mandy would have jumped in and teased Amy for this revelation.
But her mind was busy churning on the fact that this bride was supposedly becoming her own family's bride; before their engagement was suddenly cancelled, and now she became another family's bride.
....
"En," Mandy hummed softly, "It is indeed her name," and then she paused in silence.
Mandy remembered her name, because initially, she wanted to order a wooden carving in the shape of an antique painting scroll as their wedding gift.
Mandy had thought of a design. She had drawn a pair of japanese red-crowned cranes and wanted to have both Daniel and Vivian's names engraved in the corner along with their wedding dates. She had spent so many hours trying to come up with the best calligraphy so the carvings would look esthetically pretty and valuable.
When she realized that her thoughts had drifted away, Mandy shook her head to clear her mind and glanced back at Amy, "Yumei, "She hesitated for a while, before continuing, "are you going to attend their wedding now that you know it's Vivi?"
Amy shook her head immediately.
"Now that I know it is really Vivi, I think I know why Daniel broke off the engagement," Amy got up from the bed and walked to the balcony to set the door ajar for some fresh air, "And out of my respect to you and Daniel, I will not attend their celebration."
She tilted her head and looked at Mandy, "Sis, I know that you consider her as your good sister. But you have given her many chances to answer you, but Vivi chose to run away and ignore you instead."
Amy walked back to the bedside, "I think, you should reconsider this friendship carefully," She sat down and placed her hand with palm side up. Mandy placed the wedding invitation card on her hand, and then she heard Amy scoffed, "take this advice from this silly little sister of yours; before she hurt your feelings again."
Mandy was surprised at the solemn looking Amy.
Amy Chen Yumei had been protected dearly by Axel and her parents her whole life but luckily, she did not grow up to be a spoiled rich brat. But instead, Yumei had been known as the smartest one in the Chen family.
Yumei had been a very cheerful girl. She considered all the people in the world were initially kind hearted and filled with goodwill; until they crossed her lines, then she would make sure that the enemy would know what kind of person Chen Yumei was.
Mandy heaved a soft sigh and nodded, "Alright, I know. I will remember what you just said." She raised one hand and gently pinched her cheek, "Now, erase this gloomy looking face of yours. Let's go and eat some ice cream?"
Yumei quickly broke out into a wide grin and she hopped off the bed, "Sure! I saw this small shop just opened, we should take a look, Sis!"
Mandy closed her laptop and also got off the bed, "Sure, let's go!"
"Have you been waiting long?"Vivian reached out to hold the cup of cappuccino in her hands; she lightly shook her head."Not at all, Sis," she smiled, "Thank you for meeting me today."Mandy placed her purse on the inner side of the sofa, next to the window, "What thanks? You are talking as if we are strangers," she waved her hands in front of her to assure her.A waitress came over and placed a menu on their table. Mandy stopped her before she got the chance to walk away, "I don't need this. A cup of caramel macchiato, please," and then she looked up to glance at the waitress, Thank you.""So?" Mandy started to babble, "How have you been? I'm sure I am missing out on a lot of stories from you."Vivian looked down and smiled. Mandy had always been friendly to her even though she had disappointed their family big time."Well," Vivian let go off her hold around the mug and leaned back to her seat, "I just felt, I owed you too much already."She looked up slowly and hesitated to look into Mandy's eyes, "To be honest, Sis, I feel ashamed to even face you right now.""Ever since we went our separate ways, I know I am at fault for breaking off all communications with you," Vivian started to fret, "But that simply because I was afraid you would not even want to see me anymore."Mandy sighed.....She still remembered that year when Daniel called to tell them that he had called off the engagement.Their parents were surprised, but they decided not to ask for the reason. All of them could hear from his voice; it was laced with enough pain and anger to even silence their curiosity.Back then, Mandy and Axel had been travelling very frequently; dividing their time between Frankfurt and New York for their business. Sometimes, Mandy would also bring along Chen Yumei; also known as Amy, who was Axel's only sister.Mandy and Amy were so close just like real-blood sisters; and whenever they visited New York, Vivian would be the one who accompanied them when Daniel was busy.The three of them would roam around the city just like they were each other's own family. They would argue about food, shop clothes and try on makeup together. Sometimes, they would even do a sleepover and exchange love stories.And then all of a sudden, Li Xiqing made an international call to tell them that he had cancelled his engagement. After that, Mandy would try to call or email Vivian, but there was never a reply.Mandy and her parents were left guessing on what actually had happened.Until a few months later, Mandy finally knew why.....Few years ago. Frankfurt, GermanyMandy was sitting on the bed while leaning onto the headboard; her fingers were flying all over the plastic keys as she was typing away all of her instructions in an email. Amy heard the door was knocked in a haste."Come in," she answered right away.The door was opened, and she heard footsteps coming in. Amy saw her right away and quickly walked over and sat by her bedside.Mandy peeled her gaze away from the computer on her lap, "Yumei?" She said in surprise and then she took off her reading glasses, "Why are you in a rush?""Sis! Look at this!" Amy passed her a red and gold embossed card.The material of the card was soft to the touch. It was a blend of paper and velvet; making the feeling under their fingertips felt as if they were touching a luxurious material.Mandy looked at the card questioningly, "Whose big day is it?" She looked up and glanced at Amy, "I did not know that you are getting married?"Amy rolled her eyes, "Don't joke around, Sis! It's Vivian. She is getting married to a friend of mine."Amy could not hold in her patience, she grabbed the card back from Mandy's hand and opened it for her."Look at this," She spread the card wide open and placed it on Mandy's lap. The wedding invitation card was written in two languages, English on the left side and Mandarin on the right side. Amy raised one finger and pointed to the bride's name on the right side of the card, "Isn't this Vivian's Chinese name?"Mandy looked at the writing in surprise, her hands slowly closed around the card as she read each word carefully."So, the groom," Mandy looked up and returned Amy's gaze, "This George, was the one who invited you, and not Vivi herself?"Amy nodded, "George was a friend from college. He used to chase me for years but I kept turning him down. So he promised me that whenever he gets married, he will make sure that I am invited so he can show off his bride to me."On a normal occasion, Mandy would have jumped in and teased Amy for this revelation.But her mind was busy churning on the fact that this bride was supposedly becoming her own family's bride; before their engagement was suddenly cancelled, and now she became another family's bride....."En," Mandy hummed softly, "It is indeed her name," and then she paused in silence.Mandy remembered her name, because initially, she wanted to order a wooden carving in the shape of an antique painting scroll as their wedding gift.Mandy had thought of a design. She had drawn a pair of japanese red-crowned cranes and wanted to have both Daniel and Vivian's names engraved in the corner along with their wedding dates. She had spent so many hours trying to come up with the best calligraphy so the carvings would look esthetically pretty and valuable.When she realized that her thoughts had drifted away, Mandy shook her head to clear her mind and glanced back at Amy, "Yumei, "She hesitated for a while, before continuing, "are you going to attend their wedding now that you know it's Vivi?"Amy shook her head immediately."Now that I know it is really Vivi, I think I know why Daniel broke off the engagement," Amy got up from the bed and walked to the balcony to set the door ajar for some fresh air, "And out of my respect to you and Daniel, I will not attend their celebration."She tilted her head and looked at Mandy, "Sis, I know that you consider her as your good sister. But you have given her many chances to answer you, but Vivi chose to run away and ignore you instead."Amy walked back to the bedside, "I think, you should reconsider this friendship carefully," She sat down and placed her hand with palm side up. Mandy placed the wedding invitation card on her hand, and then she heard Amy scoffed, "take this advice from this silly little sister of yours; before she hurt your feelings again."Mandy was surprised at the solemn looking Amy.Amy Chen Yumei had been protected dearly by Axel and her parents her whole life but luckily, she did not grow up to be a spoiled rich brat. But instead, Yumei had been known as the smartest one in the Chen family.Yumei had been a very cheerful girl. She considered all the people in the world were initially kind hearted and filled with goodwill; until they crossed her lines, then she would make sure that the enemy would know what kind of person Chen Yumei was.Mandy heaved a soft sigh and nodded, "Alright, I know. I will remember what you just said." She raised one hand and gently pinched her cheek, "Now, erase this gloomy looking face of yours. Let's go and eat some ice cream?"Yumei quickly broke out into a wide grin and she hopped off the bed, "Sure! I saw this small shop just opened, we should take a look, Sis!"Mandy closed her laptop and also got off the bed, "Sure, let's go!"
