She reached for my jacket again and began to pull it from my shoulders. Her mood had changed, and she was looking directly into my eyes.
My thoughts stuttered midstream. Every nerve ending went into hyperdrive, my body instantly remembering, as if I had never broken our kiss.
She slipped the jacket off. “Can it just be us now? For tonight?” Her pupils were dark, infinite pools. “No more lies?”
Daiyu leaned down and captured my lower lip with her supple mouth, and then we were kissing, her fingers running across my bare back, my hand reaching for her suit zipper, brushing past her arm, her breast, before finding the pull and tugging. The sound of her suit unzipping while she pressed herself against me, undressing me as we kissed, made my mind reel.
She pushed back a long while later, her palm warm against my chest, and gazed down, drinking me in with her eyes. Unabashed, she took her time. I stroked her shoulder blade, the curve of her waist, letting my hand run over the swell of her hip. Her long hair fell like a curtain, sweeping across my shoulder, and I eased off her suit top, revealing a simple black T-shirt beneath. My fingers grazed her stomach, lifting the edge of her shirt; she helped me, pulling it off, and my breath caught. She had nothing on underneath. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” she whispered.
It was such a bold declaration, so like Daiyu—the girl who was used to getting everything she wanted, who always managed to surprise me. The girl who persisted all alone in finding the ugly truths about her own father. Yet there was a vulnerability in the arch of her neck, in the way her eyes softened in the dim light as she searched my face.
I took a leap of faith, she had said to me.
It was my turn to jump.
“Me too,” I said, kissing her fingertips. “I’m yours.”
Her full lips curved into a smile.
For the remainder of tonight at least, our worlds would hold only each other.
EPILOGUE
THREE MONTHS LATER
The news reporter stood in front of the abandoned Jin Corp building, as the cambot panned from the double gold doors upward. The exterior of the building had held, just as Daiyu had said it would, but the interior was almost completely destroyed.
“After three months of investigations, there have been no new leads on the bombing of Jin Corp. The main challenge has been that the hundreds of security cameras revealed no unusual activity the night of the attack, and most cameras stopped functioning after the four explosions destroyed much of the building.” The news reporter was dressed in a gray skirt and light blue shirt, not a hair out of place, despite the humid weather.
Victor’s in there.
Lost in the rubble.
I sat in my large bed, propped against the cold headboard. Spring rain came in sheets, so thick it obscured the city views below. Fingering my Vox restlessly, I forced myself to watch the news update, ignoring the burning behind my eyes.
“Crews have been trying to clear the inside of the building, but the environment is highly volatile, and progress has been slow,” the news reporter continued. “In the meantime, another indictment has been brought against Jin Feiming for bribery and coercion as three more e-mail exchanges surfaced between politicians and a man who went by Mr. Wu, a criminal directly linked to Jin with evidence provided by the same anonymous source. The e-mails detail Wu preventing the introduction of environmental laws to improve Taiwan’s polluted air and waters through threats and bribes under Jin’s direction. Jin Feiming left for Beijing just a few days after the bombing and has not returned since. He has never addressed the accusations lodged against him but has the most prominent attorney in Taiwan, Chao Haiping, working in his defense.”
Lingyi and I had exchanged only a few messages since the bombing. So it was Arun who had told me she was the anonymous source behind all the leaks on Jin. I had already suspected it, but the knowledge made me miss Lingyi and the way she always followed through with conviction.
The screen cut to footage of Jin in Beijing; he stood in Tiananmen Square with the Forbidden City behind him.
“It’s with great excitement that I announce the building of a new Jin Corp just outside of Beijing,” Jin said, smiling with charm into the camera, his dark eyes bright with enthusiasm. “The loss of our original Taipei headquarters was unexpected, but only a minor setback. I can’t think of a better place to rebuild and manufacture even better suits than before, with more features and cutting-edge enhancements—”
A reporter shoved a small silver microphone forward as others followed suit. “Mr. Jin, could you please address the allegations from politicians back in Taiwan who have stepped forward and accused you—”
Jin didn’t even blink but continued as if he’d heard nothing. “I absolutely expect the new Jin Corp to be up and running within the next year. With the impressive resources we have here in China and the unrivaled workforce, I fully anticipate bringing new suits onto the market at price points that every person can enjoy—from the working man to those who can afford more luxury.” He nodded graciously, happy and at ease. “I promise they will be available again globally within two years’ time.”
“Mr. Jin, with your suits defunct now, shouldn’t our main focus be on cutting back pollution and improving our environment?” the reporter asked.
Jin lifted his dark eyebrows in amusement. “That’s a fantasy,” he replied. “Childish, naive dreams. We humans are consumers; we use resources and we buy things. And why shouldn’t we? There will still be a demand for Jin suits when we come back onto the market.” He swept a hand behind him, and the Forbidden City was barely visible, the palace’s curved rooflines melting into Beijing’s heavy smog. “And none too soon.”
The camera cut back to the original news reporter standing in front of the abandoned Jin Corp building in Taipei. “Meanwhile, the Old Taipei Theatre that was opened and funded by Jin’s own daughter, Jin Daiyu, has had long lines since its grand opening in May. Let’s go to Peng Jielan for the story.”
My heart lurched at the sound of Daiyu’s name.
The wall screen showed her in a sleeveless pale blue dress, cut short enough to reveal most of her stunningly toned legs, as a crowd of rich yous swarmed around her in fancy dress. She had attended alone, as head of the theatre and the hostess of the gala. Jin might be in disgrace with some in Taiwan, but his name and his wealth still carried weight.
The evening was a raging success, the yous were whisked home in their aircars and limos, trapped once again in regulated spaces, wondering why the government didn’t actually do something about the polluted air. Especially since they didn’t have their suits to venture out now, like before.