Mature themes. Violence. Abuse. Etc. Read at your own discretion.
Mengmeng's creep of a boyfriend had left her here in the haunted stone house by herself. She didn't know what to think of the bastard. He had told her about this place he had found that he thought would be interesting to explore with her.
She hated haunted houses, horror, suspense and anything scary, but her boyfriend found them exciting and thrilling. He had forced her here, undressed her against her will and then gifted her with a strange set of underwear he must have gotten from somewhere, putting it on her. The bra didn't have much padding. It had what looked like the bones of two hands around each breast piece, seeming to clasp them tightly. The bra had been firmly secured, despite her disgust.
The underwear was similar, containing one big hand cupping the front of the underwear and another, cupping her backside. The tips of the bony fingers could be felt through the material, tickling and digging into her sensitive flesh. When she moved, they rubbed against her in an intimate way, tickling and stimulating her until she felt a bit of moisture down there.
Her wrists had been secured to a ring set into the stone wall above her head, and she had been blindfolded. Her legs had been spread apart and secured to the wall rings by cuffs as well.
"Tao," she called out in a trembling voice. "Tao, where are you? Come back. I'm scared," she called, sobbing. "Let me go. I'm getting tired and it's cold. This isn't funny. It's not funny at all. Come back. Hurry up and come back already."
There was no sound.
Instead, she felt the air growing colder as time passed. As she shivered, the new underwear her stupid boyfriend had given her seemed to tighten and the bones seemed to grip her tighter.
It felt like the hands on her bra were squeezing her breasts lightly, as if examining her.
"Tao? Is that you?"
There was no reply. No breath of warmth. She was quite sure she was alone, and yet it felt like someone was touching her body, causing all her body hairs and goosebumps to rise.
The hands on her breasts moved and she heard the clattering of bones. The bones were moving and creeping piece by piece beneath her bra, and then moving as if they were a real hand, squeezing and feeling her. Pinching her nipples.
Then the bones in the underwear began moving, making her gasp. She wriggled as the bones migrated beneath the material and began rearranging themselves down there, examining, pushing and pulling various areas open. She gasped and groaned again when they found her holes and began pushing their way inside, going in and out.
"Tao, is that you?" Mengmeng whispered and then squealed when she was pinched by multiple bones in so many sensitive places at the same time. "Tao, this isn't funny. Let me go. Stop this. I want to go home. Isn't it going to get dark soon?"
Mengmeng began to pant and gasp as the hands and bones moved and teased her, making her come not once or twice, but repeatedly, making her moan and squeal. She could feel fluids dripping down her legs and cooling in the cold air. Sweat dripped down her skin.
It was hard to think anymore. She had forgotten how she had gotten here or what she was meant to be doing. She was hot. Felt so hot.
Suddenly, she felt the bra and underwear being torn off her body. An icy presence had invaded the room and its touch felt to comfortable and cooling. The underwear was also torn off.
Cool lips pressed against hers and cold hands massaged her hot body, sliding all over her, making her sigh with relief. The hands slid downwards and a long finger easily slid inside, making Mengmeng twitch with surprise at how cold it was, making her clench a little tighter.
Soon, two and then three and then more fingers were inside, stretching her walls wider and making her dance on them.
"It's been a long time since anyone brought me a gift. I thought that all those people had already died. Good thing I came to check or you might have died. Since you are here, I will accept you. The last sacrifice. Mine," a cold voice whispered in Mengmeng's ear, tickling her. "Mine."
Something icy pierced through her core, making Mengmeng cry out in pain. But before long, the pain settled and turned into something much more exhilarating, eventually sending her flying.
"Good. Good girl," said the icy voice. "I can't take you away tonight, but I will make arrangements and return for you. Now that you are my woman, I will take responsibility for your future. Since you should be the last sacrifice, I won't make anything difficult for you. I will take care of you for the rest of your life. You don't need to be afraid. Those dirty things won't be able to touch you anymore."
Mengmeng vaguely heard the icy voice in her ear while she was beginning to fall into an unresistable sleep of exhaustion.
She woke up to a sharp blow across her face.
"You sl*t," her stupid, angry boyfriend's voice shouted, slapping her across the face again. "How dare you? How could you cheat on me?"
Roused, Mengmeng moved, making all the chains binding her to the walls rattle.
What was going on? She didn't understand.
The blindfold was roughly torn from her head, making her blink in the light streaming in from the doorway.
"One night. I left you here for one night to help you toughen up and this is how you repay me? I should never have invested my emotions into this relationship. Maybe my friends were right. You really are just a pretentious b*tch who shows one face to me but secretly has been seducing other men behind my back."
Mengmeng looked down at her naked body and all the bruises and marks she had collected during the night. Her burning cheeks were rapidly swelling up. Tao really hadn't held back any strength when he hit her.
His fist landed in her abdomen, winding her.
"I don't want a dirty b*tch like you anymore. You've disappointed me, Mengmeng. Really disappointed me. What a let down. I thought so highly of you and respected your wishes for us not to go the final step before marriage so much, and this is how you have repaid me? Forget it. Forget I ever loved you. You aren't worth it. How could you let other men touch you and take your virginity? Why would you betray me like this?"
Tao stormed out.
Mengmeng didn't even have a chance to reply or retort. She looked down at herself and rattled the chains binding her to the wall.
He was the one who had put her in this compromising position in a position of vulnerability. He was the one who had forced her to come against her will, beating and threatening her. He was the one who had left here here all night. Probably, he had been angry with her for some unknown reason. Possibly for refusing to go to bed with him? Who knew how men's minds worked? He was the one who had chained her here and now he was blaming her?
Mengmeng was tired. Beyond tired.
And he had even gone and left her here, still chained to the wall for any passerby to take advantage of. Had he been the one who had planned everything last night so that he could 'righteously' break up with her? That was possible. In the recent weeks, the man had been becoming more and more frustrated. She had known a break up was inevitable, but she hadn't expected it to happen in this way.
Disappointment? He was the disappointment. It was his fault but he had blamed everything on her. Maybe he had already cheated on her long ago.
Mengmeng lowered her head and closed her eyes.
Tired. Just too tired.
Daylight faded together with her voice. She had been calling for help for hours and as a result, had lost her voice. She had watched daylight faded and the warm breath of sunshine leaves, replaced by cold evening winds. Her stomach growled.
Tao wasn't coming back, was he? Did he want to kill her? Was this another of his sadistic and controlling lessons to try and break her, forcing her to do what he wanted? She should have broken up with the son of a dog egg long ago. She should have heeded the early warning signs but she had wanted to believe in him. Wanted to believe in the power of love.
She was wrong. Really wrong. She regretted ever meeting the idiot now. He had been so cute and puppy-like at the beginning. So sweet and romantic. How had it become this? How had he turned into a greedy, two faced pig after all the hardships she had helped him through, nearly emptying all her savings just to help him find his feet. All her sacrifices and hard work had been for nothing. Fed to wild dogs. No. Even wild dogs had a sense of loyalty. He was a kind of traitorous, disloyal beast all on his own.
Mengmeng shivered in the cold. She wondered if that icy man would come back tonight. She seemed to remember his voice whispering that he'd be back to take her away.
Sneezing and shivering through the night, Mengmeng somehow survived through the freezing night, relieving the pressure on all her fixed joints every now and then as best as she could. The night had seemed cold and desolate. Devoid of all humanity. It had been such a long night that she had thought morning would never come.
By morning, she had a fever. Where the shackles around her wrists and ankles were also swollen and rubbed raw after a panic attack that she was going to be left to die here and then an angry temper tantrum that had nearly dislocated her joints. Now, she didn't want to move or think anymore. Just soak up the warmth from the morning sun.
An entire day passed, but she barely noticed the track of time, dipping in and out of consciousness. Night fell and all she knew was that she was sore and cold. The rest of her was numb.
She wondered if and when that stupid ex of hers would remember she was chained here, slowly dying. Maybe his plan was for her to die.
Her parents and grandparents wouldn't even notice. They lived and worked in a different city and they only exchanged phone calls once every week or so. They usually only spoke on the weekend. It wasn't the weekend yet. Was it?
For some reason, Mengmeng couldn't even work out what day of the week it was. Even if she wanted to make a phone call, she couldn't. Tao had taken her phone.
If and when she ever got out of here, she would take her things and move out of his friend's place - if his friend hadn't already thrown all her things out. His friend had always seemed a little bit too close to Tao. A little jealous of her.
Day and night passed again. Mengmeng was more often unconscious than conscious now. She felt like the fever had gone, leaving her numb with a bone deep coldness. She didn't even shiver at night time anymore.
Her hungry stomach had finally stopped stabbing her with sharp pains. She could finally drift off into a peaceful rest.
Voices and the sound of feet outside could be heard. Someone was coming but Mengmeng couldn't even open her eyes anymore.
There was a shout.
"I've found the girl! The tipoff was true. There's really a woman chained here. She's obviously been abused."
"Where are the bolt cutters?"
"Get the thermal blanket ready."
Someone's warm patted her cheek and tried to wake her up by Mengmeng didn't have the strength or will to respond. The hands felt hot to her cold skin. Very hot. It was nice to feel something so warm against her skin. She had forgotten what warmth was. What a kind touch was.
People immediately began examining her and treating any wounds. She was cut down and strong arms caught her, with many careful arms carefully lifting her onto a warm bed where she was wrapped in warm blankets. They felt like the warmest blankets she had ever been covered by. In fact. They felt too hot.
People introduced themselves to her, constantly talking and trying to wake her up. She had only been able to slightly wince at the painful stimuli.
"Hurry, get her to hospital. She has hypothermia and who knows how long she's been here. Definitely more than one day from the looks of it. We'll take the evidence. You all hurry to get her help."
"Her blood sugar is so low. So is her blood pressure."
"This place should have been demolished long ago. Now that this has happened, we'll make sure this abandoned old place is properly taken down so that no one else can do this."
"What kind of sick person would abandon a pretty girl to die like this?"
Safe. Rescued.
Mengmeng wanted to open her eyes and thank her rescuers but she couldn't. She thought she had been abandoned by the entire world. Now she knew she wasn't completely abandoned. People had come for her. Kind people who didn't want to leave her to die in the cold, all alone. She didn't know what kinds of sins she had committed to deserve this, but she was certain she would find a way to make up for this.
She would do good deeds in the future. She would give to the poor and provide for the needy. She would help the oppressed. She would help the orphans and single parents. At least, she wouldn't exploit them or help anyone else take advantage of these vulnerable people groups. She would cook and bring cheer to the shelters for the elderly.
She would repent to heaven and change her ways. She would not be so selfish and self-centred anymore. She would give back to the people who had felt her life was precious.
If she still had a job when she went back.
The police had investigated and found her deadbeat ex-boyfriend. They had brought him to visit her in the hospital, telling him how she had been assaulted and was now on the verge of death. They threatened him with intentional injury and if she died, he'd be charged with manslaughter.
Tao cracked and confessed that he was the one who had chained her up and then left her there. His irrational brain and poor logical choices were questioned by the police while Tao cried. They lectured and scolded him.
"If she was chained up, how was she supposed to protect herself from any predators? How was she meant to resist or escape? You tell me? If I tie you up and beat you up, will you be able to resist? After discovering someone had taken advantage of her, you not only didn't help or console her, you beat her and left her there to die?"
"I thought she'd be able to break free by herself or that somebody would go there to set her free? I thought she had escaped and was just throwing a tantrum, not wanting to go home. How am I supposed to know she didn't manage to escape at all?"
"Here, let me cuff you to your chair and leave you for a few days. See if you can escape on your own."
"Stop it. Don't get emotional."
"This idiot thinks it's easy for people to escape from being cuffed and restrained. Let him have a taste of his own medicine. He forced the girl there against her will, probably abusing her emotionally and physically, knowing she was scared. He left her in a known haunted house where people have died before. He didn't consider that criminals might be using the place as a hideout or that there was even something dangerous there. He left her on such a cold night. The temperatures dropped to zero that night. She could have died of exposure just on that first night. If she hadn't been assaulted and taken advantage of by somebody, she might truly have died of the cold that night. Then the next morning, he beats her up when it was his fault for getting himself cuckolded. He even abandoned her there, thinking she could escape by herself. If she'd been able to escape, why didn't she escape during the night when she was taken advantage of?"
"It was her fault!" Tao burst out. "It was her fault for not letting me touch her and making me so frustrated. I'm a man. She should know that real men have real needs, but she refused to let me bed her. She deserved to be punished. If she dies, it's because she deserved it!"
There was silence.
"I've heard of unreasonable men, but this... really..."
"He deserves the harshest punishment the law can give. For someone so selfish..."
"I think there must be a few screws loose in that brain of his. He probably didn't even think. Too busy thinking about himself and his 'needs' and satisfying himself by cheating on his girlfriend with her housemate."
"You, boy, are no man. Not even a real man. Real men know how to protect and take care of their loved ones. Real men know how to control their urges and respect their partners. A real man knows not to think with his lower body. You're going to get what you deserve."
"You've obviously been though highschool and university and are a manager at work, and yet, it's as if you have no brains. I don't know how you have even kept your job without being fired so far."
"It's because the young lady has been helping him and giving him money to bribe people. His friends said so."
"Of course," Tao retorted. "As my girlfriend, she has to support me. Otherwise what use is she? Everything she has is mine. How dare she go against me? Of course I have to teach her a lesson in obedience if she doesn't do what I say."
"Such a good girl ruined by this idiot. Alright. Get him out of here. He shows no remorse for his actions. I can't stand the sight of little b*starts like him who thinks the world revolves around them and are entitled to everything without putting in any effort. He must think he's still living in the dark ages. I can't stand the sight of him anymore."
"Have you managed to make contact with the girl's family?"
"We haven't been able to put her SIM card or her mobile phone back together. That idiot was at least clever enough to smash the phone and cut the SIM card up."
"No, it was the housemate that did that. The idiot is so brainless, there's no way he would have thought of destroying her phone."
"That means the mistress should also be brought in. Most likely she masterminded everything and convinced the idiot to do what he did. There's no way he would have been able to think up such a scheme. With his kind of thinking and temperament, he would have eventually just up and beaten the poor girl up."
"In that case, use her ID cards to trace back the historical records to see if we can find her parents or a family member. Go through her social media accounts. We should be able to find them through there."
Mengmeng wondered what she had ever seen in Tao in the first place as the voices faded away. How had She ever thought he was smart or clever. She had always had moments of doubt about his intelligence, but she had always believed his words that he just hadn't been given an opportunity or that his chances to shine had been stolen from him by underhand means. True. With his intelligence, how had he become a manager unless he had bribed people? To think she had been so blinded by love for him.
Well. She had been cured now. Cured of the love disease. From now on, she would never, ever fall so deeply in love again. It was good that she could escape from that mean prick. Good that he and her mean housemate were going to prison. They deserved it.
Her heart still ached, but she had already made the decision when he had blamed her the morning after she had been taken advantage of by the strange icy man. She had to put this to rest. Her wounded heart would recover. Eventually. She was going to get over this. Be alright.
The police would find her family. She'd be able to go back home. They would love her and make a fuss over here.
She wouldn't think about the skeletal underwear set that Tao had forced her to wear again. Maybe she imagined it. Had a hallucination or a nightmare from her fear. Nobody seemed to have found the torn material or old bones. Nobody had mentioned them. Who knew.
Or maybe the haunted house had truly been haunted and the ghosts had come out to play with her body in such an embarrassing way. Anyway, she wasn't going to be telling anybody about it. Nobody would know.
When she woke up, she'd just skip that part of the story when she had to tell the police what had happened.
During the night, icy fingers stroked her cheek gently, waking her up.
"I'm sorry," the voice of the man from that night whispered in the dark, making her shiver. She couldn't tell if the shiver was from fear or from a thrill of excitement.
She could remember what he had done to her and from what she had heard the police discussing earlier, he had saved her life by taking advantage of her. So she had rather mixed feelings about him. His touch that night had also been a relief and a comfort. He had certainly made her feel good. Good enough that she was almost willing to overlook the fact that he had taken advantage of her and then left her there to be beaten by that stupid ex who had left her to die. If he truly wanted to make her his and take responsibility for her, he should have set her free and taken her away.
"I'm sorry," the man repeated. "I was wrong. I thought you were someone left for me from my enemies as a placating gesture after I had been drugged. I forgot there was no way there was anyone left of that old group when I had taken such pains to thoroughly eradicate them. I'll have that old stone house pulled down so that such a thing won't happen again. I shouldn't have left you there. I should have found a way to take you with me. Look at you. Look what happened to you. It was my fault. If you can hear me, don't worry about your medical fees. Don't worry about the people who have bullied you. I'll help you vent your anger. I'll help you pay and find your family. I will propose to your family and marry you in an aboveboard manner. I'll tell them that I met you in passing and you helped save my life. And I fell in love with you. That should be romantic enough, right? Just don't refuse when you wake up. Since I've decided on you and already made you my woman, you can only be mine. Don't be scared. I will take good care of you in the future."
A cold hand took Mengmeng's hand and wrapped around it, making her feel like a child again. Her small hand was almost completely enveloped by his big one. Her hand twitched, trying hard to squeeze his hand back.
"You can hear me? Good girl. Rest well. Get better. I'll take care of everything else."
Mengmeng had the deepest and most refreshing sleep she could ever remember after that. When she woke up, despite the sharp pain of the IV line in the back of her hand, she felt much better. Stronger. Warmer.
With a nurse's help, she was able to sit up and eat some porridge for breakfast. A nurse also supported her when she needed to go to the toilet, helping her push the IV bag on a pole.
The nurses brought her scones with jam and cream for her morning tea, with a nutrition supplement drink, saying she was too light and needed to gain her weight. Hearing she was awake, the rest of the day was busy with doctors and the police. When night fell, she fell asleep after dinner after a cursory cleaning up, feeling exhausted. The police had confirmed with herwho her parents were and how to contact them. And then given them a call. Her parents and grandparents were coming tomorrow to look after her. When she was better, they would take her home to take care of her better.
The police had talked to her workplace and she had been given as much leave as she needed to recover. The cheating couple were in prison, awaiting their court appearance. Somebody had paid all her medical expenses already and had arranged for her belongings to be taken from her rented room.
Mengmeng felt a comfort. Safe. Warm. Food. Cared for. Finances and accommodation had been taken care of. What more could she ask for?
She felt the presence of the icy man last night, when he came to hold her hand for a while and stroke her head. He had left after a while, leaving a kiss on the tip of her nose, without saying too much. She had clutched hold of his hand, not wanting him to leave, but he had gently extricated himself from her grasp. Her hand had taken a long time to heat back up after that.
In the bright morning, she was woken by the sound of her family's voices and their tears. She had haltingly told her story and told them about that scumbag ex-boyfriend, reassuring them that she was no longer in love with him.
"I'll have him locked away for the rest of his life," her father declared, getting up to start making phone calls.
"We'll make sure that girl is locked away for the rest of her life too," her mother said, looking pointedly at Mengmeng's grandmother who was already on the phone. "Do society a good turn and remove a scourge."
Mengmeng told her family about the icy man who had been helping her and told them how he could only visit at night.
"Then we'll wait for him to come and meet him tonight," her mother said. "Your grandparents will go back to the hotel and rest this evening and your father and mother will take the night shift. Don't worry. We'll repay him the money owed. We won't let you be indebted to him."
"He might propose marriage," Mengmeng rubbed her nose.
"Really?" her mother was taken aback. She narrowed her eyes at Mengmeng. "Have you been double timing before you broke up with that dirtbag? I'm sure I never taught you to be a cheater."
"Mum! Don't you know your own daughter?" Mengmeng protested. "How would I dare to do such a thing? I invested all my emotions and money into that cheater. I was so deeply in love with him, ready to say 'yes' the moment he proposed. I had no time or eyes to look at anyone else."
"That dirtbag didn't deserve you," her mother said. "You better have gotten over him like you said you have. Then how did you meet this icy stranger? What's his name? His background? If he's suitable and has already proposed, then there's no need to delay. Once your parents have thoroughly investigated him and we approve, the two of you can directly get married and then only prepare the wedding banquet."
"Mum, there's no need to rush," Mengmeng gave a helpless laugh. "Let's take things step by step and do them properly. I think that is what he would prefer too. Actually I don't know anything about him. I don't even know his name. I only know that he's been very good to me and taken care of a lot of things behind the scenes for me."
"He hasn't even told you his name? Age? Date of birth? Job? Family?"
Mengmeng kept shaking her head and her mother flicked her on the forehead, making her eyes water.
"Alright. Your father and I will interrogate him tonight. See who he is. But if he's one of those super rich or super powerful people, we don't want him, ok, baby? Do you like him?"
"A little bit? I think? I don't know," Mengmeng said. "I have mixed feelings about him but it's mostly positive. I think he helped rescue me from something? He said I rescued him but I don't remember."
"When did you first meet?" her mother furrowed her eyebrows.
"Ah," Mengmeng hesitated. Her memories of a lot of things from before she nearly died had faded and become a bit vague. Although she was sure she had never met the icy man before that fateful night, she wasn't entirely certain anymore. Her memories had become that confused. Dreams and nightmares had mixed with memories, making her uncertain what had been real and what had not. In any case, she didn't really trust her own memory at the moment.
"You don't know?"
"Did he cast a spell on you or something?" her mother's brows wrinkled. "No. I have to talk to you father."
Mengmeng chatted with her grandparents and enjoyed their love and care before they began to grow tired, returning to the hotel with her mother first to rest and cook her dinner. Her father sat by her side, stroking her head while typing messages and emails on his phone with his other hand, dealing with some work matters.
"Baby," he paused and looked at Mengmeng with gentle eyes, "in the future, regarding matters of the heart, don't give your whole heart away again. Like this time, always reserve one part of yourself so that you can give yourself a way out if things go wrong. You need to always ensure you can still think clearly and rationally, so that others can't scheme against you so easily. Also, next time, don't give all your money away like that. Always keep enough for yourself. You shouldn't have to sacrifice everything you have for someone else if they don't give back an equal amount in return. If you aren't sure or can't keep a clear mind, next time, bring him home for your family to see. I guarantee your father will judge and see clearly through these things for you. For this matter, you have learnt a painful lesson. Your father can only protect you so much. My baby needs to know how to protect herself too. Ok? I don't want to get a phone call from the police again like we did this time. I nearly lost my baby. Our entire family almost had strokes and heart attacks from the shock. You can't do this to us again. We're all getting older and can't take such bad news well."
"Mhmm. Yes, Dad," Mengmeng reached out to give her father a firm and long hug. "I'll listen to you. I'll let you see the man first."
"As for the icy man you told your mother about," her father said, holding her tightly, "let's forget about him, ok? From they way he's been so mysterious, he can't be a good thing. You can't remember your first meeting clearly and he only ever visits at night. This is a very suspicious thing. A good man would approach you in the daylight with all actions honourable and aboveboard. The only redeeming quality I see so far is that he has wanted to meet us to discuss marriage first. Even so, baby, I don't have a good impression of him."
"Father, please don't judge me before you have met me," said a low and gentle voice from the doorway. "Please forgive my interruption. I heard my wife's parents had arrived and rushed over so that I could meet you all."
"Father? Wife? The two of you aren't married yet, are you?" Mengmeng's father glared at her with a sharp look before taking a good look at the stranger.
Mengmeng waved her hands in denial. Even she didn't know when she had become this man's wife. Just hearing the man's voice sent a strange thrill through her body.
"Father, your daughter is as good as my wife. I have already set my heart on her," said the man in the doorway.
Mengmeng craned her head to look up.
Goodness. A giant. He was so tall. She hadn't felt or noticed that he was so tall before. No wonder his hands were so big. This was the first time she was looking at the icy man. His voice and aura didn't feel quite as cold as it did at night time. He wasn't ugly, nor was he extremely handsome. He was on the more good looking side or ordinary with high cheekbones and well defined nose bridge. He looked nothing like she had imagined, but those broad shoulders and the way he moved proved he definitely had some good muscles and training either in martial arts or dance. Perhaps both?
Mengmeng's father jumped to his feet after looking at this giant carefully and slightly skittered as he did so.
"Noble Lord Huai," he gasped.
Noble Lord Huai? Who was that? Mengmeng tilted her head and the giant folded over to give her a kiss on the forehead.
"Good afternoon, little wife," the man said to her, sitting down on the edge of her bed and taking her hand in his hot ones.
Hot? This was the first time he wasn't icy cold to touch. Mengmeng frowned and took his hand in both of hers, turning it over and examining it carefully. She put the hand to her cheek and the giant smiled lovingly at her, cupping her cooler cheek with his hot hand.
"Miss me?" he asked her in a low voice.
Her father coughed.
That sent a spike of exciting alarm through her and Mengmeng hurriedly dropped the hand, glancing at her red faced father. The man refused to be let go like that and took her hand in his once more, completely enveloping it.
"Baby, is there some sort of mistake?" her father asked her in an almost pleading manner. "This isn't your icy man, is it?"
"Icy man? Me?" the giant looked down at Mengmeng with eyes so soft that she felt all her insides squirming with discomfort.
Mengmeng nodded.
"I see," he said with one controlled nod. "I apologise."
"No need," Mengmeng stumbled to talk in her nervousness, tripping over her words. "I was worried before that maybe you had a condition with a cold body or blood circulation issues. Now that I see you're ok, I'm relieved."
"You've been worried about me?" the giant man's smile widened in delight and he swooped down to drop a kiss on her nose, before Mengmeng could dodge.
"Baby, didn't you and your mother agree that if the man is super rich or powerful, we won't want him?" Mengmeng's father interrupted.
"Yes," Mengmeng nodded. "Do you recognise him? Is he super rich and powerful?"
"Yes," her father nodded emphatically. "So much so that if he insists on having you and harms you in the future, we, your family, won't be able to help you. He doesn't exactly have a good reputation either."
"Really?" Mengmeng looked at the giant who didn't seem flustered by what her father had just said, staring at her calmly. "Is that true?" she asked the giant.
The giant nodded in a slow and regal manner, still looking at her calmly as if waiting to see how she would react.
"Your father isn't wrong. Being with me, you could be targeted by my rivals and enemies, but you won't lack for anything you need either. I have enough to provide for you and our children for at least five generations. Nobody would dare to bully you or your family again and your family businesses would also thrive due to your association with me. I take care of my own people very well. You can ask anybody in the upper circles of the rich and powerful in the entire country or any of the underworld bosses. Anyone who dares to harm one of my people will definitely be dealt with decisively."
"Oh," said Mengmeng, feeling a little dazed.
"Noble Lord Huai, our family is just the average upper middle class working family. We are nobody to you and have no connections. You have so many other options. My daughter is not worthy of your status. Why would you choose her?"
"Because I am not a good thing?" the man smiled at Mengmeng's father, putting pressure on him with just that one smile enough to make him sweat.
"Then are you a good thing?" Mengmeng's father pushed through his fear to retort. "You could be her downfall."
"I am," Noble Lord Huai's smile widened a little bit, looking fierce and defiant.
"What?"
"Let me put it this way, Father Qiu," Noble Lord Huai clasped Mengmeng's right hand in both of his. "Your daughter is already mine. I have already partaken of her body. Since she is my woman, you don't really have a choice. I am a very responsible person who says what I mean and do what I believe. Since I have taken advantage of your daughter, no matter that it was an accident and a mistake on my part, I will be responsible for her. If I had known that she was in that place because she was being bullied and it wasn't because of the scheme I imagined it to be, I might have gone about things a little differently, but she would still ultimately have become my woman. If I hadn't been there that night, she might have died. So, in a way, I saved her life. Otherwise you would be here receiving a dead body. I have already dealt with those who dared to scheme against me. Those who schemed against your daughter and bullied her will also be likewise dealt with. It was my mistake that she wasn't rescued sooner. I will admit my mistakes and receive my punishment for it, but rest assured. Your daughter will be in the safest hands there can be in this country and even the few countries around us. I will take care of her heart, body and souls with all my might. She is a good girl and should be treated with the respect she is worthy of. All beings are equal. If I say your daughter is my equal and worthy of me, then she is."
Mengmeng's father could only open and close his mouth for a while, unable to speak under the huge amount of pressure that the giant was exuding. Mengmeng patted the giant's arm.
"Uh, can you not be so fierce, please? I can barely breathe. I don't want my dad to have a heart attack."
"Sorry," Noble Lord Huai said and his heavy aura was somehow sucked away, as if it had never been there.
"Already your woman? Mengmeng, explain," Mengmeng's father turned around to speak sternly to her. "Did you cheat on that scumbag first?"
Mengmeng covered her face, blushing hard. How was she supposed to talk about this? Why did both her parents immediately jump to conclusions? Did they really think she was such an untrustworthy human being?
"No, Dad, listen to me," Mengmeng said in a flurry, biting her tongue. "Although I don't really remember clearly anymore, I'm pretty sure..."
"You don't remember clearly? Has the doctor checked your head? Are you ok?" Mengmeng's father interrupted.
"I'm fine. The doctors said there's nothing wrong, but..." Mengmeng began, her voice getting smaller and smaller.
"But trauma, especially life and death types of trauma coupled with shocking betrayals, can affect the memory. The brain tries to protect itself by forgetting certain things and details. It can be recovered and return to normal in some people, but not in others. It's nothing serious to worry about. She should be fine once she has gotten through this period of time, feels safe and secure, and relaxes. It will be important for her to go home and live with the family for a while to help with her recovery," Noble Lord Huai said, stroking Mengmeng's hair, cupping her face in both his hands and kissing her lightly in the lips, leaving Mengmeng in a slight daze.
"Get your hands off my daughter," Mengmeng's father blustered, smacking the man's hands away from his daughter and standing up. "You sit on the chair and stop touching her. I'm right here. Have you no shame? What do you mean she's your woman? She's not married and I haven't given her hand away yet! I don't agree!"
Seeing Mengmeng was still in a daze, Noble Lord Huai's lips twitched upwards.
"You've probably heard the story that she was chained near naked in a haunted house and left there by her boyfriend?" Noble Lord Huai said in a solemn manner. "And then how she was assaulted that night and taken advantage of?"
"Yes," said Mengmeng's father in a tight voice through gritted teeth.
"That night, I had been to a business party with some associates. I wasn't careful enough and was drugged with an aphrodisiac by someone probably wanting to forcefully put a gift or favour in my bed. I escaped, and ended up near the old abandoned house. That place was one of my bases of operations in the early days. Later on, it became a place where my enemies and rivals, or anybody who gives tribute to me would leave me gifts when they were pleading or begging for my mercy or assistance. It was a place where many lives were sacrificed to appease me. Although all the people who know of those old practises are dead, I thought that somebody had slipped the net, leaving your daughter there as a present for me to request I spare their life. Since I needed help and couldn't go to the hospital - you know how it is when a powerful person is found to be vulnerable, the jackals will pounce - I took your daughter to relieve the pain and neutralise the drug in my body. I was the one who assaulted her and took advantage of her. I deeply apologise to you and to her."
Mengmeng's father threw himself at the giant who allowed himself to be beaten. When Mengmeng's father withdrew and sat on the bed wearily, Noble Lord Huai casually rubbed his face and gave a gentle smile.
"I have wronged your daughter and so accept the punishment this time," he told Mengmeng's father. "There won't be a third time."
Mengmeng's father just covered his face and wept, turning around to hug his bewildered daughter. When he had calmed and quietened down, Noble Lord Huai spoke again. He didn't have a single hair out of place.
"Are you calm now? Then I will continue my story. When I arrived that night, somebody had put things in the room with your daughter to attract evil spirits and dirty things. When I got there, I saw those dirty spirits touching her and she was unable to escape. They were the type of evil spirit that toys with women until they die. Since I was there and I needed her help, I destroyed those dirty things and warded off those evil spirits. And then I took advantage of her. She needed me just as much as I needed her that night. If I had not been there, those evil spirits would have killed her before she died of hypothermia from the cold temperatures. You could say that we both saved each other."
Noble Lord Huai paused and cleared his throat.
"Go on," Mengmeng's father said in a hoarse voice, not lifting his head but caressing Mengmeng's hand.
"I didn't have the tools to break her free and I thought whoever had put her there would return to free her or at least ensure she wouldn't die. I had to return to deal with those people who thought they could coerce me into a more advantageous deal for them, but on the way, I was attacked and almost assassinated. I had to spend the next few days clearing up the mess, not having time to check on your daughter until two days had passed. When I discovered she was still there, I sent a hint to the police to rescue her as I was still caught up in events and wasn't able to go free her myself, not trusting anybody else not to take advantage of her being a potential weakness of mine and using her to force me to do things I do not want to do."
Mengmeng's father stood up again with burning eyes. He punched Noble Lord Huai in the face again.
"You left her there! She nearly died!"
"I apologise. I was wrong and accept this punishment. This is the second time. There is no excuse for not protecting one of my own properly. There will not be a third time," Noble Lord Huai bowed his head, dabbing at the blood from his split lip with a tissue he had drawn from the tissue box by the bedside.
"There had better not be," Mengmeng's father sat down on the edge of the bed, breathing hard and trying to control his temper. Noble Lord Huai's lips twitched as if he had achieved a small victory.
"Believe me, Father," said Noble Lord Huai, "I am just as angry with myself as you are with me. I had already had her identified and investigated, learning about her issues with that scumbag boyfriend. I moved as quickly as I could but I was still not fast enough. I am truly very sorry."
Mengmeng's father took in a few deep breaths, his nostrils flaring.
"Father, when the hospital allows it, I will arrange transport for you to be able to bring my wife back to your home to recover. I am willing to allow her to stay with you for as long as she wants or needs. There is no rush for the marriage unless she becomes pregnant. We didn't use any protection that night, so there is a risk. If she becomes pregnant, I apologise, but I will come to take her back to my home where I will have a maternity nurse care for her, and where I can keep her and the child safe from potential enemies. If she becomes pregnant, I will take her to get the marriage certificate first. Everything else can be dealt with later. Otherwise, we can take our time getting to know one another until she has recovered. Then I will formally come over to propose and organise the wedding."
"There is no room to refuse?" Mengmeng's father asked in a weak voice.
"She is my woman. What is there to refuse? Can you withstand my anger?"
"Noble Lord Huai," said Mengmeng's father in what sounded like a weak and frail voice, "imagine you have a daughter. Imagine someone comes to forcefully take her away without considering whether she agrees or not. If your daughter does not agree and you do not agree, will you allow that man to take her away?"
"I'd kill him if he tried to force her against her will," Noble Lord Huai declared.
"My case in point, although perhaps not so violently," Mengmeng's father said, holding Mengmeng's hand. "My baby is my and our family's treasure. We had her in a time of great difficulty against many odds. Without my daughter's consent, you will not be able to take her away except over my dead body and the bodies of our family. If our family die protecting her, she would definitely refuse to go with you."
"Mmm. Over my dead body," Mengmeng agreed.
A heavy pressure crashed down on them, making Mengmeng and her father struggle to breathe or even lift their heads.
"Wife, you are already mine," Noble Lord Huai said in a soft voice after a long and tense moment. "Are you willing to accept me?"
"Can you - can you relax first? Too much pressure," Mengmeng replied in a strained voice. "Can't breathe."
"Sorry," Noble Lord Huai said in that calm and soft voice, but his nose had turned white from holding in his temper. He retracted his aura but not completely. "Can you answer now? Are you willing to accept me?"
"Maybe? I don't know," Mengmeng wiped the sweat dripping from her forehead and nose. "I don't know you well enough. I don't completely dislike you, but I don't exactly like you either."
"Then why did you bring my hand to your face earlier?" asked the giant in a bewildered voice, the rest of his heavy aura completely disappearing. "I thought it meant you liked me."
"Misunderstanding," Mengmeng coughed. "I was surprised by the warmth of you hand and wanted to check that it was really that warm. It's always been cold before. Icy cold."
"Oh. I get cold like that when I'm not well," Noble Lord Huai blinked.
"You weren't well last night? So you're feeling much better today?"
"You noticed last night as well?"
"Isn't it obvious? How can I not notice when your hands were like ice blocks?"
"I'm sorry! You're the first to have noticed."
Noble Lord Huai and Mengmeng looked into each other's eyes for such a long time that Father Qiu, Mengmeng's father stood up to block their line of sight. From the looks of things, his daughter had already been hooked and the man was just taking his time reeling in the line.
"When can I come and visit your house with the formal wedding proposal?" Noble Lord Huai coughed and rubbed his nose.
"Wait until my baby has completely recovered," Father Qiu said, "and then we'll talk."
Meanwhile Mengmeng yawned and used the bed controls to lower the head of the bed and lie down more comfortably. She felt drained.
"Then I hope she gets pregnant," Noble Lord Huai said with a cheeky smile. Mengmeng sat upright with a gasp and a look of panic. "Then I can bring her home sooner. No matter what, I won't accept my child being born out of wedlock. He or she shall be born within a loving marriage. Is this understood?"
"I agree. That would be best if such a thing happens," Father Qiu said, wiping his forehead. "Let's hope our Mengmeng doesn't get pregnant so early. It's too soon after all that has happened."
"You can't give her abortion drugs," Noble Lord Huai said. "Don't harm her health. It's already too late for the morning after pill and I would rather she didn't have to take one of those either."
"We will let nature take its course," Father Qiu agreed. "My baby's health is the most important."
"Agreed," Noble Lord Huai standing up and trying to get closer to Mengmeng. "I have to go."
"You aren't touching her."
"May I look at her?"
"Only through me."
"God in heaven," Noble Lord Huai looked skyward, "please allow my wife to become pregnant so that I can take her home sooner and my father-in-law won't get in the way."
"God in heaven," Father Qiu followed suit, "please don't allow my baby to get pregnant so soon so that she can take her time to recover and so that this man with ulterior motives can't touch my treasure."
The two men glared at each other and then smiled. The moment Mengmeng's father appeared to relax, the giant took a step, turned her father aside with a hand, leaning down to kiss Mengmeng into a daze, holding her father away with one hand easily until he had had his fill.
Then with a cheerful smile, Noble Lord Huai strode out, leaving Father Qiu calling angry insults at him. Turning back to his daughter and seeing her touching her lips with a dreamy smile, Father Qiu felt his blood pressure go through the roof. His carefully tended, tender little cabbage was about to be stolen by a lanky bear. He couldn't reconcile this, no matter how he thought about it. How could he let anyone steal his baby away, especially after her heart had so recently been broken by the man she had loved? No, he had to quickly bring her home and lock her away so that she could recover, becoming fat and chubby again under their family's care. Look how much weight she had lost. His baby had been hurt so badly.
If he had been bolder and not so easily worn out, he should have hit that man a little harder a few more times. He deserved to be beaten up. How dare he take advantage of his daughter on front of him? Did he not respect his future father-in-law? Wait. What father-in-law? He wasn't accepting this son-in-law. No way. He had to hurry back to the hotel to discuss countermeasures with his parents and wife. There had to be a way they could protect their little treasure from the big bad wolf.
When he saw Mengmeng fall asleep, he took a taxi back to the hotel, only returning with his wife much later in the evening.