Imperfect Desires

Chapter 930 - How To Face You?

"Bring him inside," came Xiu's voice who was coming downstairs with her son in arms. She slowly came down while fixing the blanket around Rowan and took a seat beside Darren.

"What is he doing here?" asked Darren.

"We won't know unless he comes inside," answered Xiu.

Nora looked confused as she asked, "Darren, isn't Zhou Jinhai your elder half-brother?"

"Nora..." Dylan called out to her through gritted teeth but Nora didn't pay attention to him.

"He is my elder brother," answered Darren without any hesitation.

Perhaps, he had built a wall between them because of what happened to Chen Xiu and also because of Zhou Jinhai's mother but at the end of the day, he couldn't refute the fact that they were brothers.

The house help directed Zhou Jinhai and brought him to the lounge where all of them were seated. Finding everyone's eyes on him, Zhou Jinhai paused. It's been months for him to face people like this.

He not only spent two months in the hospital but he also had to go through physiotherapy for months. Even now, he couldn't move his arm like before. One could see from how frail he looked that he had been having a hard time. He had actually recovered now but even then the long illness left some marks on his body and deepened the marks on his soul as well.

Now, his eyes were calmer and steadier than ever.

He greeted everyone with a polite smile and sat down beside Dylan.

"I wonder what brought you here, Jin?" asked Dylan.

Zhou Jinhai placed a gift box on the table saying, "This is for my nephew. A small gift from his uncle."

Darren was silent for a minute as he stared at the gift box before looking at Zhou Jinhai, "This uncle is very late." Zhou Jinhai smiled softly at his brother. "How are you now?"

"I'm good," replied Zhou Jinhai. "And I'm sorry it took me so long to come here."

Seeing his reserved attitude, Nora stood up and dragged Dylan along with her saying, "We are gonna take Rowan to play with." And that's how she managed to even snatch the little tiger from Xiu's hands.

The help served tea for Zhou Jinhai and left as well.

"Dad told me about your son and I've been meaning to come since the time I learned about it. But..." He looked at Xiu and didn't continue.

"Are you that scared of me?" asked Xiu.

Zhou Jinhai shook his head, "Not really. I'm just not sure how to face you."

Xiu didn't say anything to that. Her attitude towards Zhou Jinhai was just as confusing and complicated as it had been months ago. She knew she couldn't expect Zhou Jinhai to just disappear from her life. It was not possible since Zhou Jinhai was Darren's brother.

And if no external factors had gotten involved back then, today these two brothers would have been as close they had once been. She unknowingly had come between them as Chen Xiu, she didn't want to repeat that now as Bai Xiu.

Besides, now Zhou Jinhai only had this brother. Since the time of their last encounter, his mother had still laid in a hospital but he never went to see her even when he has discharged from the hospital himself. According to him, he paid back everything to his mother with the blood that he shed that day.

He had already stopped talking to his sister and his mother a long time ago. But after that incident, he entirely cut himself off from them. Although his sister, Zhou Liqiu had nothing to do with it, he still didn't want to get involved with her.

She wanted to be their mother and he didn't want to even hear her name any longer. So, now, Zhou Jinhai only had his father and this estranged brother in his life. It took him a while to decide whether he should come to see Darren or not but eventually, his feelings for his brother pulled him here.

"And now you've got the courage to face me?" asked Xiu.

Zhou Jinhai shook his head, "Not really. But I have decided to stop running." Xiu's brows quirked up at him as he went on, "You said I'm a coward. You also said I've been running all my life from reality. You're right. I indeed ran and now, I'm tired. I'm tired of running and I'm tired of being indecisive. In the environment I grew up in, my life's decisions were always based on my mother's feelings. I had no say in it and that's why I never realized that something was wrong with this approach until I met you." He sighed out heavily, "Now, I want to take control of my life in my own hands." He looked at Darren and went on, "Your wife once said to me that I'm a hypocrite. On one side I say that I want to give back everything that belongs to you and on the other hand, I've never taken a step back for your sake."

Darren was surprised to hear that and he even looked at Xiu who had a thoughtful expression on her face showing that his brother was right. She indeed said that to him but he didn't know when she said it.

"I know you've been repeatedly saying you don't want anything..."

Before he could continue, Darren interrupted him, "I still don't want anything. I have everything I ever asked for."

Zhou Jinhai smiled when he heard that, "I know. You are lucky to have what you wished for. And I'm not gonna force you for anything either. I just wanted to tell you that I've accepted dad's offer. I'm gonna take over Zhou Family business."

"Congratulations!" said Darren with a genuine smile on his face. He knew how much his father had been looking forward to this.

"Thank you!" replied Zhou Jinhai. "Since I'm not gonna run away anymore from anything, I'm not gonna run from you either. I hope I can get my brother back."