Chapter 3: Betrayal
Mei closed the bedroom door behind her and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She needed a moment to register the whirlwind of emotions she had just experienced in the last twenty minutes. Her stomach was still somersaulting inside and most disturbingly she realised that Shun still had a hold on her heart. A hold she had spent years trying to get rid of.
"Focus", she whispered to herself bringing her emotions back under control. "I'm just going to visit Grandma Li. She needs me. Nothing more".
It was with this determination that she retrieved her small suitcase and packed her limited wardrobe. It took only five minutes before she walked back into the living room where Shun was waiting. "I'm ready", she announced pulling her suitcase to where he sat and glancing around the cottage to see if there was anything else, she needed to do before leaving.
She had already called Francis while packing to tell him she would be out of the country for a couple of days, at most, and her front door was now fixed, so she grabbed her purse, passport and checked that her phone was in her pocket again before heading outside with Shun and his men and locking the door.
"You didn't change your clothes", Shun observed as he tried to take hold of Mei's suitcase. He had to admit; he was not used to seeing Mei so casual in her attire. The woman he was married to had always been very prim and proper, a decorum of wifely duty, with an expensive taste in fashion. A taste, which to his annoyance mimicked his mothers.
Regardless, from the first time he met her, he was drawn to her. He was only nineteen at the time and home for a short break from studying abroad. His family had been invited to the Ren mansion for Mei's sixteenth birthday party and both her smile and her body tormented him for the rest of his break. It was only after he returned to America that he slowly began to regain his composure.
Seeing her now, like this reminded him of the light he had seen in her eyes back then. And the determination and purpose she exhibited as a part of her personality. She was again that beautiful, delicate, rare peacock he had wanted to posses all those years ago.
"Given that I'm no longer Mrs. Li, I think these clothes suit me just fine", Mei said dodging Shun's offer of help, instead handing her suitcase to one of his men. "They're comfortable and we have a long journey ahead'.
Shun cursed under his breath as he followed Mei across the field towards the helicopter, his eyes drawn to her swaying hips and long legs that once used to wrap around him. He had to acknowledge that physically they were perfect together, two pieces of a jigsaw that just clicked into place. But emotionally they were like fire and water, one always dousing the other.
Mei had married Shun for his money. He knew that. When she was twenty-four, her father had been caught embezzling billions of dollars of corporate funds and was thrown into prison by the authorities where he committed suicide. So, marrying Shun was the only way Mei could save face for the rest of her family. And from a business perspective, the situation had also been a win-win for Shun. His family now owned majority shares in what remained of the Ren Corporation, once the Li's biggest competitor.
However, there had been strong opposition to their marriage at the time. Shun's mother had set her sight on Shun marrying the daughter of her best friend from the Yang family. But Shun, against everyone's objections had to possess Mei. Perhaps that's why when he first heard the rumours about Mei and his younger brother being childhood sweethearts, it had hurt him so much that he subconsciously began distancing himself from her. Deep down he didn't want to believe that it was true, but three years into their marriage he witnessed the betrayal with his own eyes.
His reaction was automatic, cold and violent. He punched his brother square in the face and walked away and Mei had immediately crouched down to check his brother's bloodied nose screaming for help. Shun was angry and so was Mei when she stormed into his office that afternoon to confront him. She tried to defend herself and his brother and made excuses to prove that they were innocent. But Shun did not believe her and completely cut her out of his life.
For the next year Shun drowned himself in his work. He spent every waking hour either at the company or travelling on business. He stopped all communication with Mei and only communicated with his brother during business meetings or public events. But despite everything that had happened Shun had never once considered ending his marriage. So, when the signed divorce papers arrived at his hotel suite in California, he became angrier. He immediately flew back to Shanghai to confront Mei, but learned on arrival at the Li mansion that she had already left and no one knew where she had gone.
It was three years before he found Mei again. Through mere coincidence Shun had picked up an ENSBA brochure during a charity art exhibition in Shanghai. And on the front page was a picture of Mei standing in front of one of her works. His heart immediately skipped a beat and it disturbed him that she still made him so weak. So instead of going after her, he decided that it was time to move on. After all the great Li Shun was above chasing after any woman. Especially a woman like her.
If it had not been for his grandmother's failing health Shun would not have come to France and nor would he be sitting next to Mei in the helicopter at this moment flying towards Paris.
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