"Explain what's going on, Vi! You're asking for a divorce only to go on a date with another divorcee?!" Sam snapped.
"No… It's not like that… How did you even find me here?!" Violet folded her arms in defense.
"If you didn't want me to track you down, then don't post on your alternate ID!" Sam scolded as he took a seat, making Violet recall that Sam was also following that account for fun.
She tried to calm down and took a chair to sit in front of him. "Listen, I was here on vacation. To sort out my thoughts. To run away from the divorce, I announced, but have not heard from him…" Violet was instantly interrupted by Sam.
"Only to meddle with another divorcee?" Sam was being sarcastic.
"No. Only to hear from his lawyers... Trying to finalise without giving alimony." Violet's eyes teared up as Sam studied her with pity. He held her by her shoulders.
"When did you receive this?" Sam questioned in a gentler tone. "Two days after I raised the divorce," Violet said quietly.
"I'm sorry, sis…" Sam pulled her in for a hug as she forced herself not to sob.
"It felt like he was already prepared for divorce even earlier than me. I… I couldn't help but think he probably had been unfaithful all this time, but I don't want to know. I don't dare to know Sam…" It was the second time Violet was vulnerable again after her divorce announcement.
"It's alright… It will be fine. I'm here to help you out and fight for alimony." Sam comforted her as she shook her head.
"Don't. We don't need that money. I'd rather not be in contact anymore." Violet said in her shaky voice.
"And Sebastian?" Sam could not help but be curious about him.
"That was an impulsive act. Just one thing off that stays here when we leave…" Violet forced herself not to tear up again as Sam hugged her, knowing she was probably feeling too serious about Sebastian to be breaking down again.
"You probably were confused by your situation... But I don't think you should continue anything else with Sebastian Lu, given his large-scale divorce saga lately." Sam warned as Violet nodded and held onto him tightly, sobbing quietly. He gently patted her head to comfort her, understanding her disappointment.
"Why are you here?" She finally asked when she calmed down a little.
"Did Dad send you here to force me home to continue the marriage?" She pestered as he shook his head.
"He had no idea. No one knows where we are. He thought I was away at work. I had some issues at work actually." Sam sighed as Violet frowned.
"What happened? An artist causing a problem? Your artist? Is it Jade?" Violet questioned knowing Jade was one of the best artists Sam had worked with and cared for at work.
They had such great chemistry that sometimes, Violet wished they could end up together but she knew it was difficult given Jade's rising popularity. Sam knew his sister had totally shut herself off the world while she escaped on this trip.
"There's tabloid news reporting about the house I share with Jade. It had grown to such a large scale that I had no choice but to leave the company to not affect Jade further." Sam explained, which shocked Violet.
"What do you mean?!" Violet panicked.
"I in fact registered a fake marriage with Jade to own a house together to save on lodging costs. However, you know the paparazzi and their speculations that we are in a relationship since we were caught leaving and entering the house together almost daily. So, it was only right for me to leave to minimise the impact on her popularity," Sam explained.
"Wait, what? You're married?" Violet questioned as he nodded. "Since when?" She asked.
"Since I got that house…" He reiterated.
"But I'm also divorced. Before I flew here, Jade amicably got our lawyers to sign the divorce papers. Though she insisted that I have the house, I still had it transferred to her name alone. I don't think I need it for now." He explained, which reminded Violet of the condominium she was living in with Dexter, and she wondered if it was going to be left to her, too.
"Right… my house too…" She mumbled.
"I believe he will leave it to you," Sam said as she shrugged, forcing herself to not tear up as Sam hugged her and gently patted her back to comfort her.
Sam felt bad for her tough days as he was equally enduring his. Despite being a new Chinese New Year, it has not been smooth sailing for either of the siblings.
"By the way, Maliwei has a roadshow coming up for his new comic in Qi Tai at the end of next week. He is looking for a speaker. Do you want to try it since you have been posting vlogs?" Sam asked. Violet remembered Maliwei was Sam's good friend in school, who was a successful comic artist now.
"Alright, why not?" Violet accepted the offer without much to think about.
"But you need to leave tomorrow to prepare in advance. Besides, I think it's best if you visit Dad and settle a few things with the lawyer before you leave for the job." Sam suggested as Violet's mind drifted back to Sebastian with a distant look in her eyes.
"Why? Don't want to be apart from Sebastian?" Sam teased as Violet looked away sadly.
"You know the ending, then WHY did you start?" Sam could not help but emphasise his "why" as Violet started to tear up again.
"Silly…" He hugged her while she sobbed.
"You know you fall hard in love, yet you get yourself tangled. I understand you long for someone to love after a failed marriage, but not like that." Sam lectured as Violet nodded.
"I don't. I especially don't want to marry ever again. I will explain to him," Violet said bravely, with tears still flowing from her eyes as Sam smiled and helped her wipe them away.
"I will go with you. I should properly introduce myself too." Sam suggested as he pulled Violet to his room.
Sebastian was having his instant noodles when he heard the knock.
"Sam… Violet…" He noticed her still wet, puffy eyes as he invited them into his room and hid his noodles.
"There's no need to hide. It's not like I'm still with the agency or a paparazzi. Nothing to report that would benefit me." Sam told Sebastian while putting a hand out for a handshake knowing Sebastian must have heard of his news.
"I'm Sam Chu. Violet's older brother. Nice to meet you, Mr. Lu." Sam, introduced as Sebastian, shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chu. Call me Sebastian, that's fine… Great to finally meet you after hearing a lot of good news about your performance, but the recent tabloids have been nasty." Sebastian pointed out with a grimace.
"Sam, please. Yes, I have resigned… Tabloids and their ripple effect." Sam shrugged.
"Oh dear, that's very unfortunate…" Sebastian said but had an idea toying in his mind for a while except the person he wanted to involve had changed. He went to fetch his wallet and returned with a black card written in gold wordings.
"Here, my name card. Call me if you need help. I would gladly help even with recommendations but I was wondering if you would like to be my personal manager instead?" Sebastian offered instantly.
"I'm sorry, I thought your agency would have assigned you one?" Sam asked.
"They do, but the relationship with the company has not been well over the contract period. I still have a short six months, and with the recent divorce saga, the company won't be nice. Besides, I don't think they intend to renew my contract, and it's time for me to explore other alternatives. In the meantime, I thought it would be good to have my personal team and not trouble the company. That way, I could keep them at peace till my contract ends." Sebastian explained, and Sam was tempted by the offer as his gaze fell onto Violet, who was dosing off.
He frowned at his bored little sister, who needed more chances to speak with Sebastian and sort things out.
"Let me think about it. Meanwhile…" Sam pointed to her sister, who was struggling to stay awake as Sebastian nodded and walked over to her. Violet forced herself to stay awake.
"We will be leaving tomorrow. Sort things out." Sam said sternly to both of them before leaving the couple alone. When they both hear the door closed, they both immediately apologised to each other only to end up laughing.
"What are you sorry for?" Sebastian questioned while gently tapping on her nose.
"That our brief date is ending soon…" She pouted with tears.
"Silly… You have my number. We could still keep in touch…" He explained.
"You're not leaving yet?" She asked as tears continued to well up unwillingly from her eyes.
"I'm staying with Carrissa and Gerald for a bit more. If you're in Qi Tai let me know anytime. Come visit me…" He invited nonchalantly leaving Violet confused if he wanted to be together or if it was really a one time off thing.
However, she chose to listen to Sam and not be too involved with Sebastian. After all, he was an artist, and fame comes with a price. Hence, she did not reveal she was going to be there at the end of next week.
"Thanks for everything. Don't send me off. Stay here. We will see each other again when we do." She forced a smile as she slipped her hands away from his and made her way out of his room bravely before quickly running back to her room with tears welling even more.
Don't cry. You know this was the end, Vi. Stop. Don't cry… But her body just never listened to her as she found herself wrapped in Sam's arms, comforting her sobby self till she fell asleep.
Sebastian forced himself to smile too as he comforted himself with his reddening eyes.
It was supposed to be a one-time thing. You both have agreed to this, Sebby. It's time to move on. It's not worth it. Sebastian closed his eyes and made his way to the fridge to grab some beers, and drank the night away in his agony.