Love Began with the First Meeting

"I dare not..." the butler said in a hushed voice but his expression told Ximena that he would not give in. Then he added, "I have already asked somebody to pick up Ms. Fu and to take her here." Ximena hated feeling like this. Ever since the beginning, she had felt that Aaron was always able to read her mind, and whenever she wanted to do something, he would know it in advance.

Seeing that she could not go out today, Ximena gave up on the idea. Grunting, she threw her handbag on the sofa, and flung herself onto the sofa too. A maid then came and put a bottle of scented tea on the table in front of her. Seeing that she looked unhappy, especially considering the apparent conflict that had happened yesterday, all the servants held their breaths in the fear of irritating Ximena.

Outside, raindrops were still falling, like a second hand that walked around the clock step by step. The sound was rhythmic but was dull and lifeless.

Leaning on the sofa, Ximena looked out of the window and observed the rain falling outside. Gradually, her sight lost focus and she was just staring blankly outside.

All of a sudden, her cellphone rang, disturbing her silence and her train of thought. Quickly, as if instinctively, she reached out for her handbag and fished out her phone. Without looking at who might be calling her, she pressed the button and put her phone on her ear. When no one spoke on the other end of the phone, Ximena looked at the screen and that was when she found out that the other end had already hung up and that she didn't actually catch the phone call.

Frowning slightly, she intended to check the list of missed calls to see who the call was from. Before she did that, though, a sound came through from the door. Once again surprised by the sudden sound, she looked at the direction where it came from. She found Freya already standing by the door, her eyes downwards. Despite not fully seeing her face, Ximena felt how tired and withered she was.

Slowly, Ximena put down her cellphone on the table, still looking at Freya. She was no longer emotional or desperate as she had been yesterday. After one night, she was confident that she could face Freya calmly.

Standing by the door, Freya was in a daze. She raised her eyes and finally looked at Ximena, and after a while, she came to her senses. With a deep breath, she started walking towards Ximena, and softly calling her name, as if trying to soothe her, "Ximena..." As Freya was walking towards her, Ximena tried her best to open her mouth to finally say something to her biological mother. However, after repeated tries, she failed and ended up not being able to say whatever she wanted to say. Instead, she offered her tea. "Have a cup of tea," she said, smiling, though weakly, at Freya.

"Hmm..." Freya answered, smiling back in the same way.

The awkward atmosphere between them lasted for a long period of time. Finally, Ximena broke the silence. "You...You..." She pursed her lips and took a deep breath before she continued, "Are you okay? Were you okay yesterday?"

Hearing that Ximena still cared about her, Freya's eyes became red immediately. Nodding, she answered, "Yeah, I'm okay..." The corners of her lips were quivering slightly. "What...What about you?" she asked.

Ximena could not help but chuckle internally. The woman in front of her was family, her real mother, but they were acting like the strangers who just met on a train. "I'm okay too," she answered.

After that, the awkward silence came back. It was quiet in the house except for the pitter-patter of the rain that was still pouring outside, and the sound they make when they sipped their tea every now and again. Time passed by and both of them stayed silent, barely looking at each other.

"You..."

"You..."

The two of them opened their mouths at the same time, as if there was telepathy between them.

Freya was still emotional, but she smiled in delight and said, "You speak first."

Ximena felt somewhat awkward. Pursing her lips, she said, "What... What do you want to say?"

Seeing Ximena like that, Freya sighed slightly. "You finally know..." Suddenly, a bitter chuckle escaped from her mouth. Ximena could see extreme sadness in her face. "You finally know who I am." Freya took a pause. Staring directly at Ximena, she could see that she was getting emotional as well. Somehow that made her heart sink. But she knew that they should talk and now was the right time. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "What happened in the past was detrimental for everybody involved. I don't want to mention those things... Not only because I don't want you to be unhappy, but also because those things were too heavy to talk about."

Hearing that, Ximena's heart froze. Yesterday, she hadn't been open about accepting the fact that Frey was her mother solely because it had been revealed to her all too suddenly. But after thinking things through, she understood things had become sensible enough. She understood that Aaron and Freya must have their own reasons for hiding what had happened in the past from her. But she also understood that curiosity is embedded in human nature. Once someone had a desire to know something, his or her curiosity worked its way t to his or her heart, planting itself in its deepest parts. Then, the seed would slowly take root, sprout, and then fill all the space in that person's heart.

"I...I will not expect you to recognize me as your mother or call me mom," Freya said frantically, as if she had already thought things through and figured out many things last night. "Before I was released from prison, I was fully expecting that I would be able to see you. On the day I was released, I was very happy." Freya paused and wiped a single tear from eye. Despite the tears, Ximena could see her smiling. "I stood at the gate of the prison and looked up at the clear blue sky. I was excited to see you," she continued, raising her eyes and looking directly at Ximena. "However, it was not until then that I found out that everything was different outside the prison walls, despite having the same sky over them."

As these memories came back to her mind, Freya sighed deeply, a self-mocking smile on her face. "Apparently, the past has gone with the wind. No matter what really happened in the past, or who was right and who was wrong, I already spent the most valuable 15 years of my life in prison. My prime will never come back. And I don't want to spend the rest of years in resentment. Do you agree with that?" While saying that, her smile darkened and deepened a bit. She then continued, "Ximena, a person's life might be very short, like that of my elder sister's or... her husband's, but it also might be very long, like that of mine... No matter who the person is or how he or she has lived, nobody would be able to prevent himself or herself from dying when his or her day comes."

Hearing that, Ximena couldn't help but feel agitated and sad. Her despair was so great that her eyes were already wet with tears, and her nose was very red.

"Maybe you have undergone a lot of hardships in the past years," Freya said calmly, reflecting her peaceful heart at the moment. "But you were loved dearly by your parents in your childhood, and now you are taken good care of by Aaron... Ximena, I beg you, keep only those happy memories in your mind and forget the bad things that had happened to you. In future, only the happy times will matter to you, and trust me, it will make you feel satisfied with how you lived your life."000000