Wesley let out another heavy sigh. "What happened?"
"I slapped her in the face. Twice," Blair said into the phone in a smug tone.
Wesley remained silent, not knowing what to say.
She continued, "Should I wait for you to come back and beat me to a pulp, or flee away as quickly as I can? After all, I have heard people say that whoever dares to lay a finger on dear Megan would be doomed to an eternity of pain."
Wesley sensed the sarcasm in her voice. He warned, "You'll only be doomed if you don't wait for me there. Stay put!"
Blair grinned, as she played with a strand of her red curly hair. He had wanted her straight, black hair back the very day she had had this new hairstyle done. She had been waiting for him to take her to the hair salon. More than six months had passed since then, but she still hadn't gotten the chance. Instead, the very first thing he had done after coming back was visit and take care of Megan. She seethed with anger at the thought. "Sorry, sir. I've had enough of this."
"What do you mean?"
"I hate Megan, but you want to be responsible for her for the rest of your life. If I choose you, I have to put up with her crap too. I know that I can't divorce you since a serviceman's marriage is under protection. So, I'll just disappear. That way, you won't be able to marry another woman either. Perfect plan, isn't it?" Blair wasn't good at playing dirty tricks like Megan. She would lose this game in the long run if she continued to fight against the girl. So, she thought it would be better if she stayed away from all these people for the time being.
Wesley stepped on the accelerator. "Just wait for me at the house."
"Fine," she agreed without hesitation.
However, when he reached home, the only sight waiting for him was a wailing Megan with her swollen eyes. Blair was long gone.
He called her again. But her phone was switched off.
By the time he flew back to Y City and hurried to her office, Blair had already quit her job. It was an urgent resignation. Orion had signed the resignation letter for her.
Left with no choice, Wesley headed back to the military base. Using their tracking system, he was able to locate her. She was still within the city limits, in the countryside.
'What's she doing way out there?'
He called Adalson. It was only then that he knew that Blair's paternal grandparents lived in the countryside.
A pang of guilt filled his heart. They had been together for such a long time, but he had never tried to know more about her. And now, it looked like her grandparents were still very much alive.
The next day, Wesley arrived at the village where Blair's grandparents lived. With a few bags of nutritious food in his hands, he walked towards their house. Blair was squatted down on a vegetable patch, pulling out weeds. She had never done this sort of manual work before. It was strenuous.
Her gray-haired grandmother, Marie, was laying the vegetables on the ground to dry them under the sun. She learnt that that was how the farmers made dried vegetables. The old lady said to Blair with an amiable smile, "I told you not to do all that work. You're not used to farming. Leave it to your grandpa. Come here and get some rest."
Blair's silvery voice came from the vegetable patch. "I can do this, Grandma. If you and Grandpa can do it, so can I."
Marie shook her head helplessly. "Girl, come here. You rarely come for a visit to the countryside. Why don't you—" The old lady's eyes fell on the figure approaching them. "Who's that handsome guy?" She rubbed her eyes. "Am I seeing things now? We hardly get any visitors."
'What handsome guy?' Blair didn't raise her head to look. She thought it must have been someone merely passing by.
But his familiar voice caught her attention. "Grandma, nice to meet you. I'm Blair's husband, Wesley Li."
"H-husband? My granddaughter's husband?! Wesley?" The old lady was shocked, her eyes wide like giant saucers.
"Yes." He put the bags of food aside and bowed to the older woman to show his respect.
Blair had switched off her phone and had even gotten a new phone card. She had managed to buy a bus ticket without using her ID number. She knew that he would track her down sooner or later, but this was way too soon.
Marie nodded excitedly and gestured for Wesley to sit down. She shouted towards the vegetable patch, "Blair, come here—"
"Grandma." Blair sighed and got to her feet. She looked at her grandmother, devoid of any expression on her face. "Grandma, don't be taken in so easily. Would I keep my marriage a secret from you and Grandpa? He's a fraud. Drive him out!"
Marie's face instantly darkened. She glared at the man and snarled, "How dare you! You sure look like a decent man in that uniform. You almost had me fooled. Get out now!"
Wesley wasn't angry. He trotted out his proof. "Grandma, please look at this. This is our marriage license. See? Blair and Wesley. She's angry with me because we had a quarrel. I have come a long way to apologize to her."
The old lady took the license from his hand to take a closer look.
Blair quickly threw the weeding tools down and darted towards her grandmother. She reached out to grab the license. "It's a fake license. Who the hell are you? Get out! Or I'll call the cops!"
Wesley caught her little hands. "Blair… Please don't be angry. It's all my fault. I'm sorry."
She tried to break free while telling Marie, "Grandma, quick! Bring the broom! I'll chase him out!"
"Oh...okay!" The old lady came back to her senses and realizing that her granddaughter was in danger, she anxiously trotted inside to get a broom.
'A broom...to chase me away?'
Wesley sighed and said, "Blair..."
"Marie, Blair." A heavy, old voice rang from the doorway.
Blair's grandfather, Greenwood, had finally come back home from the market.
Marie trotted to the old man with a broom in her hands and said urgently, "Honey, you are just in time! This man is trying to take Blair away, pretending to be her husband! Call the cops!"
The old man looked at Wesley closely. "What nonsense are you spouting now? Adalson called me just a moment ago. He said Blair's husband was on his way to visit us. A tall and handsome young man, he said. Isn't that him?" He pointed towards Wesley. "Blair! What are you doing, just standing there and listening to your grandma's delusions?"
Wesley had earlier told Adalson about his plan to visit Blair's grandparents. It was obviously a good decision.
Marie dropped the broom. A big smile crept across her wrinkled face. "So, it's true. This handsome soldier is Blair's husband." She told Blair off, "You naughty girl, how dare you lie to me? Young man, come in."
"Thank you, Grandma. Grandpa, it's a pleasure meeting you." Greenwood nodded. Wesley took the food bags and followed Marie into the house.
Blair was left behind, speechless.
In the small living room, the two elders entertained their grandson-in-law with much hospitality. They made tea and cut some fruits for him. "Wesley, please feel at home. Have some of this orange. Your grandpa just bought it from the market. It's fresh."
Wesley took the orange gratefully. "Thank you, Grandma."
"Don't be so formal. We're family."
Greenwood sat opposite him and handed him a pack of cigarettes. "Need a smoke?"
"I used to smoke a lot. But I have quit now." He still planned on having a child with Blair.
"I see. Are you here to pick Blair up?"
Wesley threw a glance outside the window. The woman had gone back to weeding on the vegetable patch. "I wanted to apologize to her. I won't leave here until she's willing to go back with me."
Greenwood tapped his cigarette in the ashtray and asked with concern, "What happened? Did you tick her off? Adalson told me that you are an officer in the army. And you have a rich background. Did you cheat on my granddaughter?"
"No, no. I would never. I just came back to Y City from the border after a long assignment. But I was occupied with something else and didn't get a chance to contact her sooner. She's still angry about that." Wesley intentionally left out Megan's name.
Greenwood nodded understandingly. "I see. That's not a big deal. Rest assured. I'll persuade the girl."