Take My Breath Away

Wesley had been around explosions for his entire career in the military. Not long after he boarded the boat, he sensed danger. He just didn't know where it was.

He started looking for the source of the unease he felt. He rounded a corner, and saw a few gangsters. They were pushing and shoving each other, throwing punches, wrestling and generally making nuisances of themselves. Then, one of them was thrown into Wesley, nearly knocking him down. His Pixiu pendant fell from his pocket and clattered on the deck.

Wesley bent down to pick it up, but before he could grab it, those gangsters dashed over. One of them didn't see the pendant and accidentally kicked it. The pendant flew through the gap in the railings and dropped into the ocean.

It was a gift from Blair. It was just a trinket, and Wesley could carry it around without arousing any suspicion. But now it was in the ocean and sinking to the bottom. He had to get it back.

Without thinking, he jumped into the water. Before he could even start to locate the pendant, the boat exploded.

He wasn't far away from the boat when it happened.

The impact from the explosion sent him flying. When he hit the ocean again, he was barely conscious and seriously wounded. His ears rang loudly.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his breathing began getting shallow. Soon, he lost consciousness.

He was lucky, though. A boatman happened to be passing nearby. The mariner hauled the unconscious soldier out of the water.

The boatman called a tiny town on a secluded island home. The island dwellers lived a simple life. They had very few luxuries, and no doctors.

When they got sick, they had to hop a boat, travel for hours, and then transfer to a bus to get to the nearest hospital.

But Wesley's condition was serious, and the boatman had no money. After getting him home, he operated on the soldier, removing shrapnel, cleaning his wounds, and sewing him back up. That was the extent of what he could do for him.

But getting Wesley off the island was a problem. The boatman didn't have the time to deal with it, so he took Wesley to a shabby cabin and left him there. Live or die, he was on his own.

The boatman's wife berated the kind-hearted man every day, because he had saved Wesley's life. The soldier was dying, and the woman thought it was bad luck.

Fortunately, their children were as kind-hearted as the boatman. They covertly brought the unconscious man water, and sometimes even juice. A

bout a week later, Wesley finally came around.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a tanned boy holding a glass. The kid was about to put a glass of water to his lips.

Seeing him awake, the little one was afraid—and curious. "You...you woke up."

Having been unable to eat for days, Wesley was too weak to speak. "Food..." he said in a hoarse whisper.

The boy ran away after hearing that.

Wesley could hear him shouting, "Dad! Dad! He woke up! He's awake and he's hungry!"

At that point, Wesley had been in a coma for more than a week. The boatman assumed he was dead already. When the boy ran up to him, he was digging a hole to bury the soldier in. But it was impossible. The boy couldn't be right. So he kept on digging.

But the boy didn't give up. He slipped into the kitchen and grabbed some food for Wesley.

In the cabin, Wesley moved his fingers and croaked, "Water." He was in no condition to eat now.

The sweet boy fetched the glass of water, used most of his strength to lift Wesley's head up, and tipped the glass to his lips.

It was a miracle. Wesley was alive.

But there was no way to call out. No communications equipment. They didn't even have electricity.

So without radio, TV, or phone, there was no way to know what was going on. All he could do was sit tight, and be patient. He would recover, and then he could get off the island.

After the boatman discovered he survived, he brought Wesley a bowl of rice at every meal.

When Wesley was almost at 100%, he asked the boatman to help him leave.

At first, the boatman refused. It was too far from the island to the D City docks, and the only way there was by boat. The rowing alone would be exhausting.

However, Wesley convinced him at last and promised him that he would repay him generously.

Once he was back in the city, Wesley had thought about calling his family, but he never got the chance. As soon as he came ashore, he came across Malcolm's people.

To make sure he would get home before dusk, the boatman rowed back the minute Wesley left the boat.

So when those men came upon Wesley, he was alone. He told them he was off visiting family in his hometown. Despite being skeptical by nature, they bought it.

They all thought Wesley died in the explosion. Malcolm thought he was a mole and took it out on his men. He had a short fuse anyway, and that just made it worse.

When he reappeared before their eyes, Malcolm suddenly wasn't mad anymore. They were convinced that Wayne was one of their own.

He had proven himself, and so Malcolm and his right-hand men all put their trust in him. The mission went even more smoothly than before.

Less than three months later, he was able to take advantage of that trust. Wesley gathered his men and mounted an assault on the gangsters' base. The operation lasted all of three days.

Right now, since the mission was over and he was back, Wesley didn't understand why Blair was trying to avoid him. "I jumped into the ocean right before the ship exploded. The pendant you gave me saved my life. But I lost it." Pixiu was supposed to shield its owner from harm. Maybe that was how he survived.

Blair wasn't with him, but she knew it had been difficult and dangerous, maybe even beyond her ability to imagine.

"Where did you get that outfit, anyway? And the pendant?" She had thrown them away.

"I saw you when I got out of the car. I figured I could always use a change of clothes," Wesley answered with a smile.

But he was on a mission, and couldn't blow his cover. The love of his life was only a few feet from him, and he had to pretend he didn't know her.

The car pulled into a parking lot. Wesley helped Blair out of the car and said, "I'm on leave for the next few days. Let's hang out."

"I don't—"

He kissed her, partially out of passion, partially to rob her of a chance to say no.

Nearby, another woman saw this, and it hurt her immensely. She had gone to great lengths to figure out where Wesley lived. Then she managed to gain entry to his apartment complex. All because she missed this man; she needed to see him again. And she did, only he was kissing another woman.

"Wayne," she called quietly. 'No, that's not his real name.' "Wesley," she called again.

The couple heard her. Wesley broke contact and looked in the direction of the voice.

Wesley recognized her right away. He was glad Patty was there. He had actually been looking for her. But right now, he was with Blair.

Blair was shy. Hearing a woman's voice, she pushed Wesley away.

He had to give up. He didn't turn around until he had straightened Blair's mussed hair for her. His arm was around Blair when he looked at Patty, whose face had turned pale.

When Blair turned around, she recognized her face. That was the woman she saw Wesley with at the club.

But this was almost a different woman. The woman at the club was a vixen, fake eyelashes, eyeliner, lipstick, and a sexy dress.

Today, she looked rather ordinary. Still pretty, but not so made up, in a plain black dress.

There was no love between these women who loved the same man. Blair subconsciously moved closer to Wesley, proclaiming ownership of the man beside her. In addition, Patty had married Wesley. Blair felt threatened.

She was also afraid. Afraid this woman was here to take Wesley away from her; and that Wesley's homecoming was just a fever dream.

Maybe it was time to wake up. It was possible that Wesley's mission wasn't over. Or that he really did love this other woman who he was married to. And she'd have to watch as they hugged and kissed, and be powerless to stop it.

If that was how it was gonna be, Blair would be crushed and devastated.