"That's just the way it is over here."

    I was filled with a sense of bitterness that I couldn't control. The sound of his voice made me feel like coughing. I was clenching my jaw.

    So he was finally back in Singapore, a place he didn't want to acknowledge, talking to someone he didn't love. He came back to mourn a father he didn't know, he came back to mock everyone entrenched in their boring routine lives, he came back to say the words, "I wish I was back over there."

    Suddenly I was seized with impatient anger. Why was he so privileged? Who gave him the aristocratic right to waltz back into my life?

    "I want to meet you," he said.

    "I'm very busy" I replied stiffly.

    "I'm sure you could spare some time," Brendon said, tripping slightly over his rushed words. "I'm not going to be here very long. Three weeks max, maybe less."

    I have to forget you, you understand. I can't let you into my life again.I don't love you. I don't like you.

    You've branded and scarred me with your fire. Now leave me be.

    "Okay. I'll meet you. But just for a while."