It was midnight and raining heavily.

A black car was moving at high speeds towards an old mansion in the outskirts of the capital. The mansion appeared to be empty but was well maintained and in good condition. There was a single light shining from the entrance.

The car skidded to a halt in front of the huge iron gate. Its door opened, and a woman in her late twenties got out. She looked like she was in a hurry and her eyes darted about as if she was searching for someone. She pushed through the gate and then ran inside, making her way through the rain. She looked worried and anxious.

Halfway to the mansion's door, she veered left towards the extensive garden and followed the pavement that wound its way towards the garden. In the dim light, she passed a few trees, before stopping a short distance from a gazebo in the center of the garden.

Four intricately carved pillars supported the gazebo, covered with a circular shade. It was placed at the center of a large pond with a small wooden bridge providing access to it, and the interior was furnished with two semicircular benches, placed opposite to each other.

Her expression changed from anxious to relieved as her eyes landed on the figure in the shadows. It was the young man standing with his back facing her.

He was wearing a white shirt and black pants; the  sleeves folded up to his elbows while his hands tucked into his pant pockets, the undone top buttons of his shirt showed the toned chest apparent between the folds of white silk. A black jacket was lying across one of the semicircular benches.

He appeared to be in his early twenties. His features best described as sharp with his pointed nose, deep black eyes, strong jawline, and thin, attractive lips. His skin was fair and looked radiant, reflecting the meagre amount of light emanating from the shaded lights which hung in the gazebo.

His frame conveyed strength. His black hair damp and messy because of the rain and hung down over his eyes. His face was expressionless as he stared off into the dark. His eyes blinked, but it was a slow, emotionless flutter of eyelashes.

Soaked from the rain, the woman approached him. When she was a few steps away, she called his name, "Lu Lijun," and waited anxiously for a response.

His eyes narrowed, but otherwise, there was no recognition of her presence.

The lack of acknowledgment made her anger flare, but she quickly got it under control. She breathed slowly and called, "Do you have any idea?" She paused again, thinking of her next words. "How worried everyone is? They are all searching for you. Let's go back."

"I don't want to," he said without looking at her.

His lack of virtue made her blood boil. "Then what do you want to do?" She breathed heavily before letting a tirade loose upon him.

"OK! Let it be then. I'm not here to handle your tantrums. I have a monstrous headache because of your childish behavior. Just answer my question so I can explain it to the others. Why did you walk out of your engagement at the last moment?"

She only hesitated for a moment before shouting, "Tell me!"

He stood motionless, no reply, no apology, not even an explanation. His stubbornness irritated her.

A litany of accusations spewed from her mouth, "How can you do this to Liwei? Do you know how much you hurt her? If you didn't want to marry her, why did you agree to it in the first place? Why did you give her false hope? And what about Father? How can you make him lower his head in front of everyone?

do you know what Mr. Wen will do now?"

She burned with anger as she shouted. But there was still no reaction from him. He appeared calm as he stared blankly into the dark. When she finished, there was only the sound of her heavy breathing, the rain, and the wind rustling the leaves.

She was in disbelief for a minute. Her breath quickened as time passed, and she began shouting again, disturbing the tranquil surroundings.

"Lu Lijun! I need an answer. What's in your head? What are you thinking to act so recklessly? Why are you like this? Just tell me, why did you do that?

Why?"

He turned around slowly, took one step towards her, and while looking into her eyes, he said softly, "Because I love you, Yuyan."

His voice was calm, and when he spoke her name, his eyes filled with love and warmth. He looked at peace as if it had lifted the burden on his chest. His dark eyes looked calm  and his lips curled ever so slightly.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him in shock. Taking a few steps back, she found a pillar for support and trembled as she leaned against it.

Slowly her eyes focused, and her senses returned. Her temperature rose once again, "What did you just say? Are you out of your mind? Are you crazy? How can y-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Lijun moved towards her. Grabbing her hands, he pressed her against the pillar and kissed her without a moment's delay.

Yuyan was shocked for a moment before she tried to push him away. Her struggles were insignificant against his strength. The more she struggled, the more intense the kiss became.

After a few more moments of intensity, he separated his lips from hers. But he was still pressing her against the pillar with her hands secured. His face was close—so close, she could feel his breath.

Looking intensely into her eyes and asked, "Why? Am I not allowed to go crazy for you?" And before she could react, he kissed her again. The passion he possessed seemed to want to engulf her completely.

With the harsh kiss, a sliver of pain ran through her body. She was still trying to push him away as she could not breathe.

After a few more moments, he stopped and looked into her eyes again. It was as if he was expecting to see something, but there was nothing else other than shock and anger.

She furiously asked, "W-what do you think you are doing?" and pushed him to run away, but there was no use. He pulled her back and held her tightly.

Pinning her left hand behind her back and placing his other hand on the back of her neck to hold her steady, he gazed deeply into her eyes and answered in a hoarse voice, "I am loving my wife."

He kissed her again with feelings that had been buried in his heart for a long time. Feelings that now exploded into the world.

In a while, Lu Lijun felt something was not right and realized that Yuyan had stopped struggling. He felt something warm and moist on his cheek. Though she was drenched in rain, he could feel her warm tears on her cold skin.

Lu Lijun stopped kissing her to take a  look, his breath still heavy.

Yuyan's eyes were closed, and tears rolled down her cheeks and she stood there like a statue.

Seeing her in such a state, Lu Lijun came back to his senses. He slowly released her hands and moved a few steps back.

It was raining heavily, and the sound of thunder grew more frightening. When he looked at her, he felt a pain deep down in his heart… as if lightning had struck it and burned it to ashes. He didn't know what to say or what to do and stood there, looking at her in a daze.

Realizing he had retreated; Yuyan opened her teary eyes, her expression painful and full of disgust. Moving towards him with a speed unknown to her, she slapped him with all her might and ran away, making her way through the heavy rain.

While running, her feet entangled with an errant root that had fallen because of the rain. She stumbled and hurt her knees and scraped her palm, but immediately stood up as if not feeling any pain. She ran towards the iron gate, raindrops pricked her skin, but it couldn't overshadow the sharp pain in her heart that grew more intense than ever.

She ran as if that place was hell, and the demon was chasing her.

Lu Lijun watched her retreating  back. He saw her falling and wanted to run towards her, but she had already gotten up and fled. He felt pain in his heart as he saw her hurt silhouette making its way through the rain. He stood frozen to the spot, not wanting to make the situation worse for her.

Somehow, Yuyan reached the gate of the mansion. When she saw her car, she hurriedly entered it, started the engine, and with the full speed moved away from that place. When there was some distance between her and the mansion, she stopped the car on the roadside and cried her heart out as she leaned on the steering wheel.

Time passed by just like that. Her face swollen, and her eyes were red because of crying. She was drenched in the rain but was not feeling cold. She looked lost, confused about what to do or where to go.

Since Lu Qiang passed away ten years back, Yuyan never thought about her life. She was young at the time… just twenty-years-old. She could have started a new life, but she devoted herself to protect the people and things he left behind. She tried her best to make all his dreams come true.

Her love for Lu Qiang was something that would never end, even if he was not with her. She closed her eyes and collected herself. Increasing the temperature in the car as she felt cold, she started the car and drove toward The Lu family's residence, Lu Mansion.

When Yuyan reached Lu Mansion, it was already three in the morning. The guard greeted her, opened the gate, and she drove inside. When she got out of the car, she suddenly felt a gust of chilled air hit her body, making her feet trembled and teeth chattered. Crossing her hands tightly across her chest, she dashed inside the mansion.

She opted for a hot shower when she rushed into her room. As she closed her eyes under the stream of water, she remembered the incident from a gazebo and felt disgusted.

She opened her eyes and reached for the shelf in the bathroom to take out the bottle of body wash and scrubbed herself, again and again, unable to remove the phantom touch. In frustration, she started to cry. She stared into the mirror on the opposite wall and observed her reflection. When her sight stopped at her lips, she rubbed it harshly with her palms, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

After being in the shower for a while, she cleaned herself and got out of the bathroom, covered in a bathrobe. Sitting at the edge of the bed, her sight fell on the small wooden photo frame which displayed her wedding picture.

In that picture, Jiang Yuyan was wearing an elegant white wedding dress, and Lu Qiang was wearing a black tuxedo. They both looked adorable as they gazed at each other with eyes full of love and happiness. Both his hands were on her waist, holding her closer to him, while her hands were placed on his chest.

Holding  the frame in her hand, Yuyan stared at the picture. A hurtful voice came out the next.

"Why did you leave me alone?" Her voice cracked as she sobbed. "You—you promised me, you would always be there with me a-and you will never leave me. You pro-promised to protect me. You said we would grow old together. I trusted you. But why?

W-why did you break your promise? I-I hate you! I hate you, Lu Qiang! I hate you!"

Holding the frame tightly to her chest, she closed her eyes and mumbled," I-I miss you. Please come back! P-please… Lu Qiang!" She was exhausted from the events of that day and fell asleep holding the picture close to her chest, with her legs curled up and a mumble of his name on her lips.

11 years ago.

At the Lu mansion.

The Lu family was discussing the upcoming family event sitting in the living room. The room was exceptionally huge, with a big rectangular leather sofa at the center and a beautifully carved wooden center table. A chandelier hung at the center of the ceiling, giving it a stately look, and most of the interior was white.

The walls were decorated with expensive paintings; each painting had a small wall lamp over it, casting light on the painting and highlighting its beauty. Antiques and the wooden shelves filled with showpieces occupied the corners. The huge glass windows allowed sunlight to enter the living room and brighten it up.

It was the fifty-fifth wedding anniversary of the head of the family, elder Lu, so the family had decided to hold a grand celebration party for the elder couple. The whole family was excited about it.

Elder Lu Huan, the man, old by looks but young by heart, was sitting on the sofa along with his wife Zhao Shuang. His face having wrinkles that looked deeper at the eyes with his jovial smile, his black eyes full of excitement to live every passing moment with happiness, a thin layer of grey hair neatly combed adding to his clean-shaven face and sharp features to make him look, one neat old man.

His wife Zhao Shuang was a lovely and graceful old lady. She was kind-hearted towards everyone, but strict at the same time. Only she could turn elder Lu into an obedient dog from a scary lion..

"Father-Mother, what do you think of our idea? Should we celebrate your fifty-fifth wedding anniversary grandly?" The elder son, Lu Jinhai, asked.

Lu Jinhai, the elder son of the family, a handsome middle-aged man, wearing a black suit, sitting at the right side of the sofa had strong built and defined features, carried an aura of one powerful person. His black dyed hair neatly settled in a stylish hairstyle and his black eyes resembled his father's eyes.

Others present there, noticed the change of expressions on elder Lu's face when these words were uttered and they prepared themselves to drink vinegar.

"You punk! How dare you ask this question? You should definitely celebrate it. Don't forget, you were brought to the world because we got married."

As expected, everyone was speechless. His wife, Zhao Shuang, looked calm as she knew her husband's nature. He never let go of a chance to show his strong presence slip with his sharp tongue.

'Father never disappoints me,' thought the elder son, having a smile on his face.

'What was the point in asking, dear brother?' the younger son, Lu Chen thought and sighed internally.

Elder Lu Huan was an old but lively person. Yet, he was moody. If he was in a nice mood, he would act akin to an angel, but if he was in a bad mood, he would transform into the devil. No one dared to defy him. Even his elder son Lu Jinhai, who was  one of the influential businessmen in the country, always bowed down in front of his father. The same went for his younger son, Lu Chen.

Everyone in the family respected and loved elder Lu because he always prioritized his family. He never stopped his children from doing what they wanted to do and always supported them. He loved his wife Zhao Shuang a lot that even at this age, everyone could see his affection towards her.

The Lu family men loved and respected their wives and never betrayed them. It was like a tradition from generation. As if this family's men carried an extra chromosome, the special chromosome 'M,' which stood for monogamy.

The atmosphere was silent. Elder Lu looked at everyone and spoke again, "As we are talking about your origins, we, Elder Lu and Zhao Shuang want to make ourselves prouder and take one step ahead as the originators."

Everyone looked at each other, hoping to understand the meaning behind those words. Elder Lu saw their clueless faces and frowned.

"I meant to say… now it's time for us to see our great-grandchildren."

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed in relief of having understood the meaning of the previous words.

"Nowadays kids won't listen to their parents so, we can't convince them," said the younger son, Lu Chen who was sitting at the left side of the sofa, opposite his elder brother.

Lu Chen, a tall and handsome man same as his elder brother, Lu Jinhai, but the age was making his belly popped out a bit, his grey eyes showing the gentle and caring side of him. The hair parted to one side and combed in a simple way, making his whole personality  look simple and approachable.

Lu Chen's words did nothing but anger elder Lu.

"Morons! You can't even convince your own children. Who is asking them to get married? To make a baby, marriage is not necessary."

Again, everyone was speechless and elder Lu continued, "They just have to get a woman and—aauuchh!"

Before elder Lu could continue, his wife Zhao Shuang pinched him to stop his shameless words and warned.

"Stop being brazen. Don't try to  make my grandchildren immoral like you and stop pestering them to fulfill your wishes."

Elder Lu couldn't say anything as he didn't dare to cross his wife. Moreover, what she said made sense as elder Lu had impregnated her before marriage, and she was quite  angry about it.

Everyone knew about this fact  and looked at Elder Lu in amazement. How did this blatant person become a scared cat in front of his wife? They were happy to see this, but couldn't show it on their faces.

Elder Lu glanced at his sons, knowing they were happy internally. His killer gaze startled the two sons greatly,  and it was as if they were communicating through their eyes.

'You rascals! Why were you in such a hurry to land on earth? You people destroyed my romantic life and took my wife away'.

Lu Jinhai and Lu Chen: 'Father is a liar! Your romantic life was rocking, that's why we could land here that soon'.

Elder Lu: 'Both of you will pay for this soon'.

The two sons could see a devilish smile on their father's face and his eyes full of mischief.

Lu Jinhai: 'Where to look?'

Lu Chen: 'Sob, sob.'