He first offered Dawn that deal via her lawyer two weeks ago. Prior to this moment, he almost gave up on ever hearing back from her. Because of that, he started devising ways to get Dawn back through more unsavory means so that he could apologize and explain to her that he’d taken their marriage seriously even if it hadn’t been official.
But now, here is a message. She agreed to his plan. She would see him.
His heart soars with excitement. However, Phantom was right. The timing is a bit off.
Phantom seems to speak for both of them when he says, “What are the fucking chances that your girl would say yes on the same day Kuang asked to meet with us again?
Yes, what are the chances?
But perhaps this is an auspicious sign, Victor thinks to himself as he walks into the restaurant with Phantom. Not only does he have the chance to win Dawn back, but Kuang asked for this meeting. The 24K Dragon hasn’t made any retaliatory moves against The Silent Triad since Victor called off the engagement three months ago. So this might mean that they’ll be able to continue their partnership without the need for face-saving bloodshed.
However, Victor begins to have misgivings about his optimistic outlook as soon as they enter the restaurant.
Kuang is sitting at the exact same table the hostess had randomly placed them at in April. That wouldn’t be so strange. But Kuang is also wearing the exact same outfit he wore on that day. A light gray suit with a purple cravat. Victor remembers thinking back in the spring that it was a rather strange and fussy outfit choice that only a dragonhead of Kuang’s renown could pull off.
And when Victor tries to take the seat next to Kuang at the four-person table, Kuang says, “No, not there! You must sit in the same place as last time!”
Kuang indicates the chair directly across from him.
After a slight hesitation, Victor decides to indulge the older man, taking the seat he indicated. But he exchanges a look with Phantom as he does so. His cousin’s expression is just as wary and perplexed as Victor feels.
As soon as they sit down, a waiter appears.
“I’ve already ordered your drinks,” Kuang informs them as the server wordlessly sets down a high-end Japanese whiskey for Victor, a Sam Adams for Phantom, and a Midori sour for Kuang.
The same drinks as last time. Victor exchanges another look with Phantom.
“I hope we make it far enough into our discussion to order food this time,” Kuang tells them in an aggressively cheery voice after the waiter leaves with a promise to be back for their order. “I’ve heard good things about this restaurant.”
A creeping sense of foreboding replaces the hopes Victor walked in with, but he keeps his unease off his face and simply waits for Kuang to get to his point.
“I hear your Providence complication is done,” Kuang says, picking up his Midori sour. “I believe this means that you are no longer such a fool for love, young Zhang.”
This time, Victor doesn’t look to his cousin, even though alarm bells are going off inside him. He keeps his gaze pinned on their ex-partner, even as he begins to make a mental list of who might be keeping Kuang informed in their organization. Not one of the men they took with them for the meeting with Luca, or else Kuang would know he was actively trying to get Dawn back.
“I was glad to receive this news,” Kuang continues. “I thought that you might come to your senses. So after our last unfortunate conversation, I did not tell my daughter that you had chosen not to honor your commitment. After her unnecessary graduate degree was done, I called her home and told her to prepare herself for her upcoming nuptials in August. Instead of starting this war you’ve invited, I told myself, ‘be patient with the young man, Kuang.’ Give him some time to come to his senses. I’m sure with a few months of thought, he’ll make the right decision. A better decision.”
Kuang sets down his Midori sour, even though he hasn’t taken a sip. “So today, I am offering you a chance. A chance to, shall we say, rewind. We will go back to that day when we were supposed to meet. Instead of talking about broken engagements, we will speak of future business. And I can find it in my heart to forgive you.”
His offer sounds pleasant enough, but then the affable look drops off Kuang’s face. And he looks directly at Victor to add, “As long as you marry my daughter as we originally agreed.”
Victor considers Kuang’s words, keeping his outer expression a perfect blank, even as a storm rages inside him.
Kuang is also hoping for an Operation Good as New.
Victor has often considered himself an excellent decision maker. When he looks at problems, the solutions to solving them usually shine clear and obvious among his choices. But not this time.
Three dates. Dawn’s lawyer doggedly negotiated him down to that small number. He only has three dates to convince Dawn that she should give him another chance. And as arrogant as he can be at times, he has to admit that it might not be enough.
Her father’s words about her never forgiving him continue to ring in Victor’s head.
On the other hand, choosing Kuang would reestablish the status quo. He would have to give up Dawn, but he could salvage the partnership. And he’s older now, not as eager for violence as he had been in his 20s. Kuang’s rewind proposal could be the perfect solution.
But only if Victor is willing to give up Dawn.
I will always choose you.
The boyish promise he made her when they were only eighteen echoes inside his head. Mocking him now that he’s a man in his thirties.
“So what will it be, young Zhang?” Kuang asks, his voice taking on a note of impatience. “We can either go back to the way we used to be, or you will become my most reviled enemy. I will have your decision now.”
Victor swallows. This is his father in the parking garage. Asking him to choose between Dawn and his triad all over again. And it feels as if the universe is giving him a chance to correct the mistakes of the boy he used to be.
After several moments of careful consideration, Victor raises his hands to announce his decision.
6
KOYAMO
“So, we are playing another set tomorrow night at L’Grotte Noir,” the punk rock singer says.
Koyamo picked her up last night after too many drinks. And she rubs at her hangover headache as she watches the singer pull on a pair of ripped, pleather jeggings and a cut-up tank top. Koyamo is fairly certain it used to be a T-shirt before its current incarnation as a loose rag worn over her lacy red bra.
The singer’s Swiss-Italian accent dances over her words, husky and melodic. “Would you like for me to put your name on the guest list?”
L’Grotte Noir is a popular club. Cool and trendy. Only the best bands play there.
“No, thank you,” Koyamo answers without even pausing to think about it.
The singer looks disappointed. And Koyamo has to fight her old Japanese instinct to say something polite to save her feelings.
“It is that kawaii girl still lurking inside of you, refusing to ever let me just be mad at you,” Nora once teased her.
That was why she picked the singer from the band in the first place. She had a bold spirit that reminded Koyamo of her ex. She’d screamed her songs directly into her audience’s faces, and she hadn’t seemed to care what others thought of her. Also, her sharp between-set rhetoric had been full of clever plays on words and scathing social commentary. At least on stage.