I've Been There Before

The flight arrived in S City about three hours later. When Grace got off the plane, it was already one o’clock in the morning.
When she left Banyan Manor, she forgot to change her clothes. Then she took a flight to the north. As she walked out of the
airport, the cold wind was blowing hard.
Vivian hadn’t fallen asleep yet. After getting off the plane, Grace turned on her phone and found that she had many missed calls
and received plenty of text messages.
Out of sight, out of mind. She skimmed over the messages. Suddenly, she noticed a message from Vivian.
It warmed the cockles of her heart.
“Still awake?” she asked Vivian.
“Did you get off the plane? I’ll pick you up.”
“No need. I’m already in the taxi.”
She put down her phone with a mocking smile.
Her so-called family even didn’t care about her as much as her friend did.
Her family sent her messages to let off steam and blame her. But her friend was waiting for her and wanted to pick her up.
She didn’t realize that until that moment. Did they hurt her just because she was tolerant?
Did she do something wrong?
Along the way, she had been thinking whether she had made a mistake.
The driver stopped and said, “Here we are.”
She pulled herself together and looked around. Everything was familiar. She subconsciously raised her head to look at the floor
she lived on.
There was no light, and it merged into darkness.
He must have fallen asleep, she guessed. There was no reason for him to wait her.

She got off the car.
Then she took the elevator to her home.
She opened the door gently.
The room was quiet.
She did not turn on the light. With the faint light from the street lamps, she was able to feel her way into the living room.
The furniture in the room was barely discernible.
She slowly breathed a sigh of relief when got home. Then she walked into the living room and threw her backpack onto the
ground. She felt like a ball and wanted to throw herself onto the sofa.
Just then, she noticed a dark figure on the sofa.
She narrowed her eyes and carefully observed it ... It was a man.
Nervous though, she quietly approached him. A familiar smell rushed into her nose. It was the smell of shampoo in her
bathroom.
It was him.
However, she was not surprised, nor did she wake him up.
She walked over and stood beside the sofa, watching him quietly. He lay on the sofa with his head resting on his arms.
She turned around and went to the bedroom to get him a quilt.
Perhaps because of the noise she had made, he flipped over and then fell asleep again.
As she turned around, she saw the dishes on the bar. She stopped, stretched out, and found the dishes were still hot.
She was shocked.
“Grace?”
He woke up and said in a soft tone.

She made no reply.
“Am I dreaming again?”
Grace saw him pinched himself.
“Ouch! Oh, I’m not dreaming. Grace, you’re back.”
“When did you come back?”
“Are you hungry?”
“I’ll get you some rice.”
She didn’t move, watching him get up and turn on the light. The room was lit up. He put a bowl of rice on the bar and kept
talking.
“Grace, do you know I can cook? I learned how to cook from TV.”
She noticed that the rice was still steaming.
“Vivian said you love eating. Did she lie to me?”
“You had dinner late at night?”
“No.”
“I had dinner before dark.”
Before dark?
“Liar. The food is still hot. It can’t be hot after such a long time,” She said with a grim expression.
She sounded a bit serious.
“I didn’t lie,” He said with a wronged expression.
“I had dinner before dark.”
“I don’t think the plates can preserve heat,” She said sarcastically.

He insisted, “I didn’t lie. I will never lie to you.”
“Then tell me why!”
“I heated it ...”
He failed to put it clearly. But she got it.
“You heated the food when it got cold? Why?” she looked at him and asked in surprise, her heart beating faster.
Actually, she knew the answer.
And she got sweaty palms.
Was she sweating nervously?
Unbelievable!
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Her heart was beating fast.
She looked down and asked calmly, “Did Vivian tell you that I would be back tonight?”
The man shook his head.
She pursed her lips and said, “Then how did you know?”
“I didn’t know you would come back today.”
What did he mean?
Did he mean that although he didn’t know she would be back, he cooked a meal and heated it again and again?
“I hoped you could eat a hot meal when you got home.”
Suddenly, she got it. She pretended to be calm and asked, “Did you cook a meal for me every day?”
“Yes.”

She was shocked.
Caden, what was wrong with you? She thought.
“Did you heat the food again and again? Everyday?”
“Yes!” Caden nodded heavily, “I wanted you to have a hot meal when you came back.”
She suddenly lowered her head. She didn’t want to admit that she was actually moved. How come?
She picked up the bowls and chopsticks on the bar and started eating.
In fact, the dishes didn’t taste good.
Caden had no talent for cooking, but she actually enjoyed the meal.
You were crazy!
Grace! You were crazy!
She quietly finished the meal while woolgathering.
Lying on the bed, she was upset. Caden followed her in, with the quilt she took out for him.
She didn’t force him out like before. His dark eyes suddenly shone with joy.
But Grace felt really upset.
She recalled the days when he changed gradually and that night when he used his body as a human shield. He faced those
vicious villains and was beaten up for protecting her.
He could have run, but he didn’t.
She also remembered that he warmed her feet when he woke up late at night. What on earth was his real personality?
As Caden lay down beside her, she almost shouted at him subconsciously. But she managed to cool down.
She said coldly, “Stay away. Don’t touch me. Otherwise, I’ll chase you off.”

He yawned and asked,
“If I behave myself, will you let me stay with you?”
Grace was dumfounded. She didn’t how to answer his question.
“Be quiet,” she said coldly, “If you dare to keep talking, I’ll throw you out.”
As expected, he stopped talking.
Soon she heard his quiet breathing. Then she turned around and stared at him with a mixed feeling.
She checked the time and calculated what time it was in Italy. Then she got up and walked out of the bedroom.
“Humbert, is everything going well over there?” she asked on the phone.
Humbert did not expect her to call him. He sounded surprised.
“They’re going to take out their trump card soon.”
“I must tell you that I met Master Shaw a few days ago. He fished for information. I think he is suspecting me.”
“Caden has lost his memories. If he didn’t recover from the amnesia, Master Shaw might make a move.”
“Besides, you must watch out for Kern and Franklin. Everyone knows they hated each other. But now they seem like close
friends. You know, Kern isn’t an ordinary person.”
“I got it. I will tell Ingemar. Once the matter is settled, Ladd and I will return home as soon as possible.”
“Good. Caden has stayed with me for too long.” Grace decided to send him away.
Humbert raised his eyebrows and said, “I got it.”
“I heard that the James Group and the Domen Group made a deal and Miffel personally signed the contract,” added he.
“You spied on me?” asked Grace. The deal was made during the day and the news was still not released. How could Humbert
know? He was in Italy!
Impossible!

“Spied on you?
I’m in Italy. How could I do that?
You’re over-thinking.
Relax. I just want to warn you that Miffel is shrewd and never stand to lose.
You must be mentally prepared when you cooperate with him. Everything must be perfect and no flaws can be found. Otherwise,
Miffel will break his promise.
He doesn’t care about money.
The Domen Group enjoys high reputation. If they broke the contract, the James Group would be in a dilemma where no
companies would cooperate with the James Group. And only the James Group would be questioned.”
Grace agreed. Although Humbert was a doctor, he knew a lot about business due to his family background. He was as
outstanding as Caden.
“Are you Miffel’s friend?”
“Well. I do know him.”
“Alright, I need to work now. Bye,” Humbert said and hung up.
Grace yawned and felt sleepy. She turned around and entered the bedroom.
She went to bed. It was early winter and it was very cold.
The quilt made her feel warm.
Although Caden and she lay on the same bed, they kept distance with each other. She believed they would go their separate
ways. Long after that she realized she was wrong. But at that moment, she believed so.