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They’d spent a good part of Wallace’s trip together, as well as his next trip, and the next, and the next He had taken things very slowly Meili was young He knew very little about her, nor she about hiing last naical, more isolated from the rest of the world

None of it mattered anyway All that ht each other

She had told hi artist, and that she’d left hos she’d hocked for cash—including the one that had resulted in theirfervently on her painting In return, he’d told her that he was an invest

And he’d told her one other thing, right up front He’d told her that he was married He couldn’t live with himself if he hadn’t She’d accepted it She kneas hers only when he was here She didn’t care She just wanted him And, God help him, he wanted her

Right or wrong, they’d gotten involved Wallace had told her their ly inforenius on her part Desperate to sell the Rothberg, she’d spent long hours scrutinizing Hong Kong’s upscale art galleries She’d seen Wallace visit three or four of the that he was an affluent art collector, she’d bribed his driver to tell her what hotel Wallace was staying at

She’d arrived ahead of hih hopes

Wallace had chuckled at her creative ingenuity So that was how she kneho and where he was But it had still brought her into his life And he’d treasured every moment they shared

That was a o

Yet, with the exception of Sophie, for whom he felt a paternal love that was in a class by itself, Meili was the last person who’d made him feel alive, vital, and needed Their affair had lasted three years, and it had ended because he was a stupid, insensitive fool Countless ti to undo what he’d done But as the point? Even if he ended his hter who needed hi Ultimately, there could be no future for them It was up to Wallace to let her move on, make a life for herself, and find a man who could truly commit to her

For so long, he had e he and Beatrice still had had shattered when Sophie died, and their divorce was finalized six months later If he hadn’t been a totally broken ht have flown back to China to see if he could find Meili and ht

But he was an e hihts of Meili faded into the past

Studying Cindy now, Wallace was still amazed by the remarkable resemblance she bore to Meili, both in appearance and in mannerisms Had Meili not been an only child, the two of them could be sisters True, the similarities were purely physical Their personalities, aht Still, there was soestures, in the way her face lit up when she was excited, that was a stirring reminder of Meili

Interestingly, the differences Cindy enco as the similarities Her poise, her sophistication, and her professional drive—they created an equality for him that had never been there with Meili Plus, noas divorced, with no e to save

“Mr Johnson?” Peggy’s voice interrupted his thoughts “Are you all right?”

Wallace regained his composure as quickly as possible “Yes, of course I was just thinking how proud of Cindy her uncle will be”