Love knows no bounds

Brandon walked out of the prison compound and breathed in a long stream of fresh air. He had just been released after finished serving his 3-month stint for assault. As he walked down the streets, he took out his mobile phone and looked intently at a photograph of himself and an ex-colleague Brenda. The photograph was taken a day before she was scheduled to leave for United Kingdom for her writing career, which coincided with the day he was sentenced to imprisonment. Even though Brenda wanted to stay by his side and be his source of support before his imprisonment back then, Brandon flatly refused, thinking that she would be jeopardising her future by doing so. He admitted he had feelings for Brenda. He thought of her from time to time during his time in prison and wondered how she was doing, but now that he had been released, he was hesitant to look for her, as Brenda is now a renowned writer, while he had nothing in his name.

As Brandon was deep in his thoughts, he heard someone call him. He turned around and saw his good friend, Adam. After exchanging hugs and a brief conversation, Brandon told Adam about his plans to look for a job, to which the latter agreed to help. With Adam's help, he got a job at Siva's restaurant, an Indian restaurant run by Adam's friend, Siva and his wife Selvi. Although the restaurant staff knew about Brandon's criminal record, they did not mind, as they were indebted to Brandon for helping to prove the restaurant and its staff innocent in a suspected food poisoning case a few years ago. With guidance from the restaurant staff and a bit of cooking skills which he acquired from prison, Brandon became adept at preparing dishes from the menu.

A month later, Brandon was preparing food in the kitchen when he received instructions to help a colleague serve Table 23, as the colleague went home after he suddenly fell sick at work. Brandon went to Table 23 with the food order and saw Brenda. When their eyes met, they both gasped in awe.

Later that day, when Brandon went out for a walk during his scheduled break, Brenda caught up with him, asking him why he did not contact her after his release, and that she had been looking for him. Brandon coldly brushed her off, saying he had no time for that, as he had to earn a living. When Brenda kept following him, Brandon berated her, claiming she was a nobody to him. "I am a nobody?" Brenda asked. "Don't you remember the day before I left for the United Kingdom...?" Before she could finish, Brandon's ex-girlfriend Victoria approach them. Brandon immediately ran forward and held Victoria by her hand, which shocked Brenda.

"See that, Victoria and I have gotten back together. I no longer have feelings for you. Now go away," Brandon said sternly. With that, he left with Victoria, leaving Brenda heartbroken.

Victoria told Brandon off for hurting Brenda's feelings. Brandon explained that he had no choice, as he could not give Brenda the happiness she deserved. He asked Victoria to put up with him for the time being, as Brenda was said to be returning to the United Kingdom for another work trip in a few days' time.

After lunch, Brandon was taking receipt of ingredient orders from Siva's restaurant. He was carrying the ingredients across the road when he was almost ran over by a sports car. Brandon lifted up his head to apologise, but when he saw who the driver was, he was shocked to see Nelson. Nelson used to be a good friend of his and Adam's, but they had now fallen out with him. Brandon tried to walk away, but Nelson stopped him, mocking him for being an ex-convict. Hearing those words made Brandon's blood boil. Flashbacks of circumstances leading to his imprisonment came into his mind. As a matter of fact, Brandon went to look for Nelson to confront him. He had found out that Nelson had a hand in the paralysis of their colleague, Terry. Terry had found out about Nelson's espionage and wanted to report him, but before he could do so, he was kicked out of the company. It turned out that Nelson had set Terry up. He then spread rumours about Terry being a corporate spy, which resulted in the latter being blacklisted. In a moment of desperation, Terry committed suicide, which left him wheelchair-bound. Brandon, who did not believe Terry was a corporate spy, was secretly looking for evidence to prove his innocence when he accidentally heard Nelson's phone conversation about divulging information about the development of their company's product to the rival company. He confronted Nelson, hoping he would confess, but Nelson denied everything, and even mocked Terry's paralysis. Both men had a fight, with Brandon assaulting Nelson with a brick. Nelson subsequently filed a police report against Brandon for assault, which resulted in the latter spending 3 months in prison. Brandon's thoughts were brought back by Nelson's continuous taunts. He ignored walked away, but not before warning Nelson to look out for karma.

The next day, Brandon and Adam met for dinner. Adam told Brandon that he had rejected a business deal with Nelson, which they both laughed about. Brandon then told Adam about his previous meeting with Brenda, and how he had asked Victoria to pose as his girlfriend to make her give up. While Adam felt that Brandon was a bit cruel, the latter felt that he was doing it for Brenda's good. Just then, Brandon received a call from Nelson, asking to meet him and Adam. Despite suspecting that Nelson was up to no good, they decided to meet him.

Adam and Brandon met Nelson at their prevoius haunt. There, Adam and Brandon asked for Nelson to give up. However, Nelson ignored all warnings and continued to taunt them. Adam and Brandon left in a huff, with Nelson warning them to mind their own business should they not wish to get into harm's way.

A few thugs appeared at Siva's restaurant and started beating Brandon. As they were assaulting him, the thugs mentioned the phrase "Mind your own business", which made Brandon believe that they were hired by Nelson. Adam was similarly attacked, whereby thugs assaulted him and infested his workplace with cockroaches and mice. Nelson taunted them for not being able to handle the thugs, threatening to make trouble for them once again should they try to stop him.

Fearing for the safety of his employers and co-workers, Brandon quit his job at Siva's restaurant, thanking them for teaching him its job and promised to stay in touch with them. He expressed his intent to work at the Mainland. When Victoria went to the restaurant to look for him, he told her that she no longer have to pose as his girlfriend. "What about Brenda? Does she know about it?" Victoria asked. Brandon shook his head. Despite Siva and Selvi advising him to at least inform Brenda about where he would be going, Brandon told Victoria not to do so, but before she could answer, he had already left. Victoria wasted no time in looking for Brenda, and found her and her assistant, Darcy at the writer's studio.

"Brenda, what are you doing here? Brandon is leaving for the Mainland," she said, gasping for breath.

"You must be mistaken, he should be looking for you," Brenda said, puzzled.

"Can't you tell?" Victoria asked. "It was just an act." The statement made Brenda confused.

"An act?"

"Ever since Brandon came out of jail, he felt that he had nothing left. He was afraid of jeopardising your future, so he chose to avoid you. He loved you from the start," Victoria explained. After getting information from Victoria about Brandon's whereabouts, Brenda thanked her and with the go-ahead given by Darcy, she ran hurriedly to the bus bay and saw a coach leave. After hearing from a bus driver that it was the same coach that Brandon was leaving in, Brenda ran after the coach, and when the coach stopped due to a traffic jam, she managed to catch up to the coach. She saw Brandon seated on one of the seats. She knocked on the window, demanding him to alight from the coach. With help from other passengers on the coach and the bus driver, she managed to get Brandon to alight. He asked Brenda what she wanted from him.

"Victoria has already told me everything. You're planning to leave just like that?" Brenda asked.

"There are so many job opportunities in the Mainland. What's wrong with me going back to my homeland?" Brandon retorted.

"Okay, fine. If you want to leave, by all means. But I'm telling you, if you leave, I will give up my career as a writer and spend the rest of my life finding you out, no matter where you hide," Brenda said firmly.

"What do I have against you? Why are you doing this?" Brandon asked exasperatedly.

"There's only one reason. That's because I like you," Brenda declared. "I kept every note you wrote and I remembered every word you said. Brandon Man, I'm telling you that you won't be rid of me for the rest of your life." Still, Brandon did not yield.

"We belong to 2 different worlds, with one on top and the other at the bottom. What do you like about me?" Brandon insisted.

"I like everything about you. In fact, I liked you 3 years ago," Brenda declared. Now it was Brandon's turn to be be puzzled. "3 years ago?"

Brenda then revealed that 3 years ago, she graduated the Academy of Writers and joined the workforce. As the economy was not doing well, there were not many full-time job opportunities available. She worked several part-time jobs to earn money until she fainted on the streets due to fatigue. Brandon happened to pass by and called for an ambulance. After she was discharged from the hospital, she looked for him, until she encountered him at the hotel where she worked part-time. From then on, she resolved to make Brandon notice her by working part-time jobs based on his schedule.

"I didn't expect to be able to know you, and you recommended me to work with you full-time, and after that, I became one of the colleagues you shared your house with. The day I moved to you place is the happiest day of my life. From then on, I told myself that it does not matter what I have to give up. It only matters that I'm with you. You're right, we belong to 2 different worlds, but it's you who's at the top, while I'm at the bottom. Without Brandon Man Tung-yin, there will be no Brenda Poon Siu-mun. I would rather give up the whole world if it means being with you," Brenda said firmly. Upon hearing Brenda's profession of her love towards him, Brandon could no longer control his feelings towards her. They embraced.

Brandon decided to accompany Brenda on her work trip to the United Kingdom. Nelson's espionage was exposed and he was arrested and prosecuted. Victoria started a relationship with Adam, whom she shared common beliefs with. Terry could feel his legs, and worked alongside Adam. He also developed feelings for Darcy, who looked after him throughout his paralysis. Brandon and Brenda got married the following year. By then, Terry could walk again, although he was still limping slightly. He had also been in a stable relationship with Darcy. During the wedding, Brenda threw out the bridal bouquet, which Victoria and Darcy caught at the same time, suggesting that either Victoria and Adam or Darcy and Terry would be next in line to get married, or both.