Filed to story: Loving You In My Final Days
She was about to look for a certain handsome creature when she felt a strong presence behind her. Her skin tingled and she immediately knew that she didn’t need to look for him anymore. Large, smooth hands landed on her shoulders as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“May I have this dance?” His deep, sexy, masculine voice sent shivers down her spine and before she could react, Mr. Qin had already taken her drink and placed it back down on the table. He took her hand and guided her towards the dance floor, where a few other couples were also dancing.
He took one of her hands and smoothly placed it on his lower back and held the other one in his hand. He then slipped his arm behind her and pulled her close to him, leaving no gap between their bodies. Abi’s brain had stopped functioning at this point and all she could do was follow his lead.
She was glad that her grandfather taught her how to dance back when she was a teenager but she never would have thought that she would have to use it on a night like this and with a person like him. She never thought that it would feel like this – exhilarating, intense, magical and so much more. She wondered if Cinderella felt this way when she danced with her prince for the very first time.
Her heart was beating so loudly but strangely, she didn’t feel tense. She was dancing with him so smoothly, just following his lead and she knew she shouldn’t be amazed but she was. He was just so good at this. The way he touched her, the way he led her, the timing of his every movement were all perfectly in time with the music. He was extremely graceful that even she could tell that his movements could only be formed from constant training from a young age. Not only that, she was sure that it could also be from the constant attendance with other noble people of similar backgrounds at events like this. He was noticeably graceful in his movements and adding to it a slight hint of arrogance that was probably drilled into him from birth, she could not think of anyone else who drew everyone’s attention without trying, not even the most amazing and successful actors in the world could compare. He was simply magnificent.
Now that she was this close to him, Abi finally had the chance to study his face.
His nose, his lips, his jaw and every contour of his face was just… perfect. There was no other word to describe it. Even though he was wearing a mask, she could still see his grayish eyes through them and they were simply spell-binding. She felt like if she ventured close enough, his eyes would pull her in like quicksand, where there was no escape, and she felt like that was what was happening to her right then.
“Penny for your thoughts?” the man finally spoke, startling her from her reverie.
Abi somehow quickly regained her composure as she responded, “I didn’t expect that you would bring me to a party like this.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“I wouldn’t say that, but… This is my first time attending a party like this so I feel a little overwhelmed,” she confessed and he gave her a soft enchanting smile, flashing a set of perfect, ultra-white teeth. If only his eyes would smile as well.
“You find the party overwhelming, but not me?” He taunted, seemingly quite amused before his mood shifted yet again. “Tell me about yourself,” he added, now serious.
“I am an only child and I’m currently living with my grandparents and my father.”
“Are you a student?” Surprisingly, he didn’t ask about her mother. Everyone else she said that to, would usually follow up with ‘how about your mother?’ but this man surprisingly didn’t. This was perhaps a very good thing because until now, Abi was still unable to comfortably talk about her mother.
“No, I graduated last year.”
“What course?”
“Music.”
“What do you do now? Create music?”
“No. My family runs an orphanage so I am currently helping there for now. I assist the teachers, read stories to the kids and teach music lessons as well.” Abi didn’t know why he wanted to know these trivial things about her and she couldn’t fathom his interest at all, but he continued to stare at her with those penetrating eyes, as if her normal life’s story was somehow interesting. She knew it was far from interesting. She really didn’t have anything worth telling him, now that she thought about it. Her life was utterly normal and peaceful, so peaceful that most people would think it was boring. She could not think of a single interesting thing to tell him because nothing interesting happened to her before he showed up in her life.
So before the man could ask again, Abi was quick to beat him this time and asked him a question first. “Mr. Qin, what’s your full name?”
“Mr. Qin, what’s your full name?”
As her voice died down, the music also stopped, indicating that their dance was over. She didn’t want to leave the dance floor yet, without hearing the answer to her question, but the man had already pulled her off with him.
He brought her towards a huge staircase and they both went up the stairs. He then led her along a corridor and they didn’t stop until they went through a big set of doors which led out to an open air garden. The garden was a beautiful sight to behold. The flowers were in full bloom, an assortment of different types and colours, and the petals seemed to be glowing from the moonlight. But that wasn’t all. The view from where they stood was magnificent. The lights of the skyscrapers and the lights of the city below were spread out in front of them like a bright painted canvas.
The man walked towards the railing and leaned on it, facing her. She finally realized that the man was wearing a vintage, classic black suit. She had been so focused on his face until then that she didn’t even notice his clothes. As she looked at him standing there, she couldn’t help but gape at him. His clothes looked like they were made for him. His black jacket hugged his broad shoulders perfectly and showed off his well-built physique. He had the look of an immortal god who came down to Earth just to show these measly humans what perfection looked like.
When he removed his mask, he looked at her with those same probing eyes.
Abigail followed suit and lifted her hands to remove her mask as well. Because her silver and blue mask covered her face from her forehead to her cheekbones, no one had seen her face yet, except for Mr. Black Leather jacket.
She slowly pulled it off and looked at him as she put it down, her chin up in the air, as if daring him to reject her this time. The man was silent, his eyes glued on her face but his expression didn’t give anything away.
Under the moonlight, Abi waltzed towards him. The silver stones on her dress sparkled, her eyes glimmered and she looked like a goddess – alluring, mystifying and simply beautiful.
The man looked like he couldn’t tear his eyes off of her.
With her head up, Abi stood right before him and said, “Mr. Qin, you still haven’t answered my question.”
“I’ll tell you once you pass the test.”
“I still didn’t pass the test?” Abi was shocked. She thought that she had at least attracted him. She was pretty sure because he still hadn’t moved his gaze away from her. What did this mean? Did this mean that her observation was wrong and he still found her unattractive?
Abigail was speechless. She didn’t know how to react or what to think.
The man watched her expression and the corner of his lips lifted up before he moved and leaned in on her. He bent close to her until his lips were about to touch her ear.
“Indeed, you’ve proven yourself well. You certainly exceeded my expectations,” he whispered. His breath touched her skin, electrocuting her nerves, that she almost forgot to breathe. His voice seemed to have some sort of magic as it lingered in her ear.
But the fact that she was wrong in thinking that he was still not attracted to her was enough to awaken Abi’s dumbstruck nerves. However, the smile that was about to appear on her face faded as soon as she heard what he said next.
“But not yet, you still haven’t passed the test,” he said and Abi immediately looked at him with widened eyes.
