Way Back Into Love (Essie)

Hanson had apparently left for America to visit his mother out of concern. However, he was surprised to find that she wasn't hospitalized at all and found her hiding at his uncle's home. He found out that the so- called heart disease was just a cover-up so that he would finally leave Essie.

He completely freaked out when he found out the truth. Hanson had never yelled at his mother before, and it was also the first time he disobeyed her. He rushed back to Yang City, completely mad and desperate to retrieve the love that he had forbidden. After searching all over Yang City, he couldn't find Essie.

"Let's get married, Essie," he said, while he knelt in front of her and brought out a pink heart-shaped diamond ring from his pocket. This ring was bought the moment he arrived back from America. He rushed to propose to her and take her back before she had the chance to get married with another man.

Essie was taken aback and a bleak expression appeared on her face. After a short pause, her eyes started to fill up with tears and her face trembled while she looked straight into Hanson's eyes. There was no way she could wear the ring he had just given her, as she already worn one on her ring finger.

"Hanson, there's something I haven't told you..." she said biting her lip while the light cast a marbled shadow on her face. Her face turned as pale as ivory and her mind was clouded with grey. Her heart was shattered in a disarray of pieces. She opened her mouth to say something but felt powerless over her emotions. The words she was about to say seemed to drain every bit of strength from her whole being.

It took Essie a while to speak, but with a guilt-stricken face, she managed to muster up all her courage to finally admit. With a low voice, she said, "On April 1st, I finally confessed my love to you, but in return, I found out that you were getting married to Sunny. I was left completely devastated and vulnerable, so I went out to get some drink to get my mind off things. I went to a bar and that was where I met Zac. We ended up drinking too much that we ran off to the Bureau of Civil Affairs and registered for marriage."

"What did you say?" Hanson's eyes widened and suddenly there was a clinking sound from the ring that had fallen to the ground. He jumped to his feet, grabbed her by her shoulders and growled, "What did you say?" His voice changed, it sounded strange and hoarse and shock was written all over his face. His heart rate and breathing quickened, with his chest heaving violently. His muscles were completely tensed while his brain tried hard to make sense of it all.

Essie's eyes glimmered with silvery tears and they started flooding like the waters rushing down from a water fall. "I'm married. On the day I confessed and was left completely rejected. Zac was never my roommate nor my boyfriend... He is my legal husband!"

He was in disbelief and started shaking his head fiercely. His heart exploded in his chest and it felt like he was just hit by a bullet and collapsed to the ground, trembling severely. Hanson stiffened, while guilt started eating at his insides. He held his face with his hands with an unspeakable pain and sadness painted his face. "It's all my fault, it's all my fault!" he wailed, completely mortified. He grasped on his messy hair while tears streamed down his face. Then suddenly a deranged grin appeared on his face and he started laughing manically. He heart was filled with resent and desperation.

The sound of his voice was painful to bear, and it penetrated through Essie's heart. She felt like her body and soul were close to shattering into pieces.

"Perhaps this was our destiny, and we are simply not meant to be with each other. Please, return to your family, Hanson. You're a wonderful man and I'm sure you'll meet the right girl for you,"

she said softly before she turned around and walked away. Just when she was about to open the door, he rushed towards her like a lightning bolt and held her tightly.

"Is he really that man you want to be with? Do you love him?"

Essie felt like she was being tied down by an invisible rope. She shook her head and trembled but did not speak. After a while, she said, "There are no feelings involved and we just treat each other as friends. We were planning to get a divorce that same day, but a lot has happened since. We never expected that things would turn out the way they did. However, we have important matters that need to be settled, and we can't get divorced until then."

"What is it?" His tone suddenly shifted to calmness. When he heard this, he felt a little comforted.

"It's not something I can tell you. However, the matter of the fact is, you are engaged. It's better for the both of us to keep our distance until we get some freedom. Please, just focus your attention on Bella and your family. For now, you have to let me go," she said with submissiveness. She was aware that her enemies were powerful, and they would find any way they could to attack her.

"I will never let you go, not unless I die," he said gritting his teeth with determination.

Essie slowly took a deep breath and released a heavy sigh. "Hanson, we need to give each other some distance so we can resolve our own problems. Get rid of the chains that are holding you back. Manage your emotions, and maybe then, we could cultivate a civil relationship instead of pestering each other like this."

He kept silent and walked slowly towards the window. He opened it and let some cold breeze inside so he could cool down from the heat of the situation.

After a while, it seemed as though he was starting to grasp reality and recovered from his intense emotions. He turned his head and said, "Just promise me that you will not fall in love with him."

"There is another woman that he truly loves. I'm going to give him back to her eventually." Her voice was as cold as the chilly night, gently lingering in the air.

When she left the hotel, a figure of a man was seen from the end of the corridor. A peculiar smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

It was nearly midnight when she arrived back at the villa.

Zac was wide awake. He sat on the sofa while he watched the playback of Beauty on Runway, trying to kill time while waiting for Essie to arrive.

From the moment she entered the door, she went straight upstairs, but was soon stopped by Zac. "Were you with Eva?" he asked politely.

She shrugged her shoulders and didn't give an answer. She simply acted like she was tired and yawned. "I'm exhausted. I wanted to go upstairs to take a quick shower and go to bed."

He gave off a gentle nod and allowed her without saying another word.

She was in the bathroom for quite some time. She sat on the bathtub while a rush of different emotions overwhelmed her whole being.

All she wanted was to love and live a simple life, but the cruel reality of fate had made a fool of her again and again. She was entangled in a complex situation of love and hatred, leaving her completely defeated.

"Essie, are you okay?" A voice coming from Zac was suddenly heard from the door. He was worried that Essie might have fallen asleep in the tub since she had been in the bathroom ages. "I'll be out in a minute." She got off the bathtub, dried herself up and put on her pajamas.