Suet had gone to work with Fuo. During the car ride they were both silent. Suet wanted to talk to him but he always looked the other way or talk to the driver when she opened her mouth. He was afraid she would say she wanted to leave him.
When they got to the office he immediately entered and left her there wondering why he was avoiding her. Earlier this morning he was still talking to her. She shrugged it off and went into the office also. She was his secretary so she was helping him.
Throughout the day, she tried to call him on the intercom or go into his office to talk but he ignored her intercom calls and every time she entered his office he made and excuses in order to leave. Suet wanted to explain to him about the cancellation of the wedding and tell him the truth about Lan-Yee but he made it difficult for her.
At the end of the day she came into his office but before he could run off she said, "I just wanted to hand you this resignation letter." He looked up at her confused and scared.
"I wasn't going to quit but you seem to not want me here, so I guess its best that I leave." She said leaving the letter on his desk. Fuo looked at the letter for a while and as Suet was leaving he said, "Wait! Take this letter back. I don't want you to leave."
Suet looked astonished he actually talked to her. Fuo walked over to her side. "Even though you're not my wife, you're the best secretary I could ever hire. Please stay and help me.? He begged thinking she wanted to leave him for Fei.
Suet took a gulp and nodded. She couldn't deny his request because she already hurt him too much. She hoped to repay him for all his gratitude by helping him out as much as possible. It was the least she could do.
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(April 1949) 5 years later...
For the next five years the four of them had a very strange relationship. Fei and Fuo were drifting as brothers. Fuo and Fei argue a lot over everything, big or small. Quay and Suet were drifting as cousins. The only thing that kept the four of them together was Madam Kwok, the Kwok family banks (they all worked there), and family gatherings for the girls.
Fuo threw the Park's water fountain floor plans at Fei. "What kind of rubbish is this?" he asked his brother with annoyance. Fei picked up the documents. "They're well thought out plans. I didn't write rubbish." Fei said placing them on the table. "Why is everything I write nonsense or rubbish?"
"Well if you knew how to do business, I could depend on you but you don't, so everything here is rubbish!" Fuo said. Madam Kwok walked into the office coughing as Quay accompanied her. "Why are you two arguing now? Why can't you two work together?" she asked because her sons have been arguing very fiercely for the last few years.
Fuo and Fei looked guilty and ashamed. Fei walked over to his mother and assisted her. Quay brought her closer to the chair at the edge of Fuo's desk. "I'm getting older. I don't want you two constantly bickering like this."
Fuo nodded his head. "We were just discussing the Park account. It wasn't an argument or anything like that." He said trying to reassure his mother. Fei nodded. "Yes mother, we were just disagreeing but nothing serious." Fei added.
"You don't have to lie to me! I can hear you from outside the building. What have I done to deserve this?" Madam Kwok said coughing. Quay quickly ran to get some water for her mother in law. She wanted Madam Kwok weak she couldn't yell at her but now after seeing Madam Kwok so feeble, she couldn't help but feel sad. They stopped arguing for their mother's sake but as soon as she left the room the argued again.
At times it became so serious that a fist fight broke out. One of their fist fists indirectly caused their mother's heart attack. She tried to stop them from fighting but her heart attack consumed her. Now without Madam Kwok to hold them together, Fei and Fuo split the family inheritance and each went their own way.
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When the inheritance was divided Suet stopped working for Kwok Fuo. She decided it was finally time to leave the past behind and start anew. He insisted it had something to do with Kwok Fei. "Why must you leave me now?" Fuo questioned Suet. "Is it because you will no longer see Fei?"
"What are you talking about? That's nonsense. Why would I want to see Fei. He's Quay's husband." She yelled upset that he would accuse her of such. He grabbed her pulling her closer to him. "Admit it!" he yelled. I know you're in love with Fei. You wouldn't marry me because of your child with Fei." Suet pushed him away and slapped him. "What kind of remark is that?" she said angrily. "How could you even suspect your brother and I!"
Fuo held onto his cheek. "All these years I hoped you would be touched by my sincerity towards you, but all this time you would never forget Fei. How silly was I to think that you would forget him" Suet turned away angrily. "Lan-Yee is not Fei's daughter. She is my daughter and my daughter only!" Suet said as she grabbed her things to leave.
For some odd reason Fuo immediately grabbed Suet pulling her closer to him and kissed her. He didn't want to let her go. He wanted the woman he loved by his side. He knew of she walked out the door she might never return. Suet bit his lips, pushed him off her, and slapped him once more. She couldn't say anything. She was lost for words. She didn't know what to think or say. Half of her felt guilty about her relationship with Fuo and how she canceled the wedding, the other half felt angry at him for his action just a moment ago.
"Suet, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry." Fuo said pleading with Suet. "Please forgive me. Please stay." He said holding onto her arm. Suet refused to acknowledge him and walked by him. She left the building and ran home trying to clear her mind. Fuo was so upset he searched for his brother Fei. Fei was walking out of the bank building getting into his car.
"How could you do this to me?" Fei screamed. Even though Suet was not his wife she was beside him everyday. But now she would not be by his side anymore. "It's all your doing!" he screamed grabbing Fei's collar. Fei pushed his brother off of him. "What are you screaming about?"
"You have always loved Suet! You have done everything possible to make sure that she would be yours. You even married Quay for Suet!" Fuo shouted. Fei was stunned all these years he never knew that his brother thought that of him. He did marry Quay for Suet but so that she could be happy with Phong. He was astonished that Fuo knew that.
"You're speechless aren't you! I knew you always wanted her by your side, marrying her cousin would help you get her near you day and night without suspicion." Fuo yelled. Fei pushed Fuo off him. "What are you talking about? Do you know what you're saying?" he asked as he pushed his brother to the wall. So Fuo didn't know the truth yet.
"Can you honestly say that you never loved Suet?" Fuo yelled furiously. Fei shook his head. "I admit Suet was a girl I loved very much, but she never loved me. However she didloved you. Now I love Quay." Fei tried to reason.
"Did you not marry Quay for Suet?" Fuo yell angrily again. Fei shook his head then nodded. "Yes but I didn't marry Quay so that I could be closer to Suet, I married Quay so that Suet could be happier."
Fuo became outraged and hit his brother. He married Quay for Suet! Fuo thought. The two of them fought on the streets of Shanghai. Many people watched them. Their workers tried to pull them off one another but it was difficult for them to decide who to help.
Finally Fei pushed Fuo very hard which threw him against a metal light pole. Fuo hit his head and suddenly became dazed. He fell to the ground leaving a trail of blood on the pole. "Oh my goodness," Fei screamed seeing his brother bleeding so much on his head. He picked Fuo up and took him to the hospital. "Get out of the way!" he screamed at the hordes of people crowding around his car. He ordered his driver to drive to the hospital.
Fei sat in the back holding his brother. "You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay. And when you heal Suet will be with you. She'll be your wife. She loves you." Fuo shook his head. "You always had her love. I never had anything. You even had a baby with her. Lan-Yee is your child. She didn't want to marry me because of your child." Fuo mumbled.
"No. No let me explain everything to you." Fei said nervously afraid that his brother wasn't going to make it. "Remember Phong, Quay's ex-boyfriend?" Fei asked holding his brother.
Fuo shook his head saying, "You took Suet away from me."
"No!" Fei shouted."Let me explain everything to you."
"Quay and Suet both loved Phong very much. Suet wrote me a letter from the battlefield telling me that Phong had been injured in battle. She said she loved him and was willing to sacrifice her life for him. But he constantly asked for Quay. This broke her heart so much she didn't want to continue living." Fei shouted shaking his brother.
Fuo stared at his brother. "Suet loved Phong?" he asked weakly.
Fei nodded. "That's when I started going after Quay and after two years I wrote her a letter stating that Quay and I were going to be married so Phong could forget about Quay. Suet didn't give me the exact details of what happened after that, but Phong was furious to hear the news. He came on my wedding day and wanted to take Quay with him, but she refused to go. Even though Suet and Quay tried so hard to hide it from me, I'm not stupid. I heard what was going on in the room."
Fuo nodded his head feebly. "I understand." he said.
Fei cried hugging his brother. "Phong became very angry and ran off. Suet went to find him after the wedding and he was drunk. She yelled at him and threw water on him but he was still drunk and delusion that he mistaken Suet for Quay and that night and they... they..." he said but was cut off by his brother, Fuo.
"I know what happened now." Fuo stuttered. He didn't want to hear the details. "Lan-Yee is Phong's child." Fei nodded.
"I have misunderstood you, brother?" Fuo said feebly. "Is what you are saying true?" Fuo asked again this time with very little strength.
"Yes! Yes it is, I wouldn't lie to you." Fei said.
"I'm sorry." Fuo uttered. "I'm sorry.?"
"It's okay. It's okay." Fei said reassuring him. "I should be sorry. I'm the sorry one."
"Do you still love her?" Fuo asked as he was losing blood.
At that moment, Fei's true feelings came out. "No. Although I can't forget how wonderful Suet is, I've fallen in love with Quay and I jsut need you and Quay to understand that." he cried seeing his brother in such critical conditon.
Fuo started feeling numb. Everything was blacking out. "Focus!" Fei shouted shaking his brother.
"Dp you love Quay more than Suet?" Fuo mimmbled.
"Yes, I do. I love her very very much. More than I could ever love Suet." Fei responded.
"You should reassure her more. She thinks you... thinks... you love Suet." He said choking on his last words. Soon his heart stopped and his breath was no longer felt against Fei's hands.
They arrived at the hospital within seconds after Fuo past away and as the workers tried to usher them out Fei just held onto his brother's body crying and screaming. He blamed everything on himself. He blamed himself for not being honest earlier. He blamed himself for fighting with Fuo.
The doctors and nurses pried Fuo's body from Fei and tended his wounds. He sat there depressed in the corner of the room. He knew it was Quay that feed those thoughts into Fuo's mind. If it wasn't for Quay, Fuo wouldn't have misunderstood him. He blamed Quay but most of all he blamed himself. If he never married Quay. If he never loved Suet. If he never helped Suet lie. If Quay didn't tell such lies to Fuo, then his brother would still be here! He blamed everyone, including Suet!
At the moment, he hated everyone in the world including himself. First his mother and now his brother? Who was next? Let the heavens take him and end his misery, he pleaded sulking in wretched tears. Tears he never knew he would have to cry.
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