‘’Let me go! You are strangling me.’’ My rationality was almost gone. I looked into the dark blue eyes which colour changed from their usual hue. At that moment, they looked inhuman. The light coming from them reminded me of a demon who came from the depths of hell. I felt freezing cold all over my body. I tried to kick him. He only snickered mockingly. A moment later, my body was lifted in the air, and my back hit the surface of the closest wall. I already had a problem with my breathing, but now I was left without air.
‘’Human brain can survive without oxygen from five to seven minutes. So, you have enough time to decide if you want to betray Kang Xianliang or to die.’’ My brows furrowed for a second. Betray? I had nothing to do with him! Why did this idiot think that Kang Xianliang and I were best friends? Oh my, these men, both of them, tended to jump to conclusions without considering the facts first.
‘’I can’t…’’ I patted his hand, indicating I wouldn’t be able to talk if I was deprived of air. He looked into my face and finally decided to realise his grip.
‘’Speak.’’ I took a deep breath, coughing a few times until I stabilize my breathing. I needed at least five minutes until I calm down and put my emotions under control. My mouth was dry when I opened it to speak.
‘’Kang Xianliang threatened my cousin’s life. Yan Corporation cooperated with Kang Enterprise in a deal. Bei He was Yan’s representative, and now Kang Xianliang blames Yan’s for the missing money.’’
‘’Wait, is Yan Si, your cousin?’’ Leonardo’s brows furrowed in thought. ‘’I didn’t know you have connections with Yan Corporation.’’
‘’Well, actually I don’t.’’ He gave me a quizzical look. However, I didn’t want to elaborate. As far as I knew, grandfather severed the family connections with mom and me. That meant I would never inherit anything from Yan’s. It wasn’t known to the outside world because it would be a stain on the family name. That’s why we were able to come back to China and attend Yan Si’s wedding. It was all about preserving face.
‘’What do you mean? Is Yan Si, your cousin or not?’’ I gritted my teeth irritably.
‘’Yan Si is my cousin, and Yan Cheng is my uncle. However, I have nothing to do with Yan Corporation. I am not their heiress nor young madam of Yan family.’’
‘’Why?’’ His hand was still on my throat, but he didn’t use force anymore. I felt the warmth of his fingers being somehow pleasant. This thought made me give him a penetrating look.
‘’Gossipy, aren’t we?’’ I smiled mockingly, hitting his hand. His eyes squinted warningly at me, but he let me go.
‘’I am happy Kang Xianliang, and you aren’t close.’’ Yes, definitely. Otherwise, it looked like I would be a corpse by now.
‘’Why? Who is he to you?’’ He gave me a playful smile.
‘’Gossipy, aren’t we? By the way, I will see what I can do for Bei He’s case. He worked for me before, and I can find a way to lend you a hand.’’
‘’Why will you help me?’’ Leo wasn’t a charitable person. He wouldn’t do something just like that.
‘’I won’t lose anything. Bei He irittated me recently when he was accused of assaulting a young woman. Besides, I like your eyes.’’ He winked at me, at my face became red with anger.
‘’How could you be that audacious?! You almost strangled me two minutes ago. And your hypocrisy is limitless. You were saying how you don’t want me to die in your territory, but you were ready to kill me.’’
‘’Firstly, I can strangle you and admire your beautiful eyes at the same time. Secondly, no one can kill you in my territory except for me.’’
I almost choked from his heartless words said with such a light tone. I had never imagined that his real self is so cold-blooded. This was in stark contrast with the considerate Italian gentleman I knew in my previous life. The man in front of me was like a stranger. His incisive cold eyes made my body stiffen with terror. And the reason for that was he would definitely end my life without feeling any remorse. I felt my body drenched in a cold sweat. Was I in love with a sociopath? Somehow part of me refused to believe it despite what my eyes saw. While I tried to come to my senses, he turned me his back. I watched as his body, dressed in a white Italian suit, left the room. A few seconds after that, my phone ranged.
‘’Luo, are you still in Bei He’s room? If you are, just go. Xi An will take care of him.’’
‘’No need, Yan Si. Someone else will do it for us.’’
‘’What? How is that possible?’’ I opened my mouth, ready to give an explanation but paused. I wasn’t quite sure about the whole story with Kang Xianliang and Leonardo. I had my assumptions, but I decided to keep quiet.
‘’Trust me. You are safe now. We can go back to China, and Kang Xianliang won’t bother you.’’ Yes, Yan Si was saved. However, the same couldn’t be said for me, as I found out later.
The next day Yan Si received a call from his father. The problem with Kang Xianliang had been settled. Uncle had anonymously received information for Bei He’s location, and he sent it to Kang Enterprises, leaving CEO Kang to deal with the stealer as he saw fit. My cousin almost hit his head on the ceiling when he jumped from happiness. Xi An and I had a sigh of relief.Now, when that burden had been lifted, and we had no more worries, we could enjoy our stay in Venice. We did all the things a typical tourist would do. We sailed on a gondola, we visited some of the landmarks like Doge’s palace, and we enjoyed an opera night in La Fenice. Also, we visited Gallerie dell’Accademia because one of Xi An’s most favourite periods was the Renaissance. Alas, all good had its end.After a week, we returned to China from our abrupt but funny vacation. The preparation for the wedding was in full motion, so both the fiancé and fiancé
After we left my mother at the family mansion, I received a message from her. As I guessed, she felt the situation between Kang Xianliang and I was fishy. She demanded an explanation after I went home.‘’What is it?’’ His cold voice sounded from my left. I turned my head meeting his side profile. His eyes were closed, and if it weren’t for his question, I would think he was sleeping.‘’Nothing. What business do you have with me?’’ I didn’t hide the animosity I felt toward him. After all, he threatened Yan Si’s life and scared me at the engagement night. My opinion of him wasn’t positive at all. I wanted to be as far away as possible from someone like him.‘’Didn’t you hear that the curiosity killed the cat?’’ His low chuckle caught me off guard. He turned his head, and his dark
I spent the whole night in the car with that crazy man. Luckily, he didn’t wake up until morning. I had enough time to reminiscence about the events yesterday. Everything was so surreal. If the backseat wasn’t filled with broken glasses and I didn’t have cuts on my body I would think I dreamt. By the way, that made me sit on the passenger seat. I didn’t want to sit in a pool of glasses. When I relaxed my body on the seat I gave Kang Xianliang curious look. He stopped time. It was for five seconds but the slow-motion was the same as the one in the movies. Which made me realise a few things.Firstly, the woman he mistook me with. It should be her. The one who reversed time back for me to change my fate. I wasn’t delirious that time. Part of me always doubted that everything was a dream. After all, this was out of common logic. That made me ask myself why. Why did she do it? What was her history with CEO Kang? Did she give him the ability to slow do
I thought Kang Xianliang would drop me at home. However, he continued driving to Kang Enterprises. The sun was up, and the traffic was high. Everyone could see the broken mirror behind the backseat. I felt really uncomfortable and tried to hide somehow. I knew it was a pointless feat, but the stares I got every time we stopped in front of a traffic light made me feel like a museum exposition.‘’Shouldn’t you change the car?’’ My voice was low and timid. I was too overwhelmed with the stares I received from the people on the walkway. One woman stopped with a widely opened mouth. If it wasn’t her husband who nudged her, I thought she would stare at us for a whole day.‘’No, why? I don’t see a problem with this one.’’ I gave him a disturbing glance. My mind couldn’t quite comprehend how it was possible to exist such a thick-skinned person. Let&rsqu
After we were done with lunch, my phone vibrated. I furrowed my brows. I forgot I put it on silent mode. I had twenty missed calls from my mother. Seeing this, I remembered some traumatic cases when the same thing happened, and after I went back home, she yelled at me for hours. Bracing myself for the incoming nagging, I called her back.‘’Luo McCarner, which hellish hole did you throw your phone in?!’’ I took the phone away from my ear, making an unpleasant expression. Uh, my hearing would be bad for some time.‘’Mom, calm down…’’‘’Don’t tell me to calm down! When did you go after that wild man took away? You don’t have a relationship with him, do you?!’’‘’Mom, it’s not what you think it is…’’‘’I swear if I find out you have something with this Kang Xianliang, I will pinch your ear and take you back in Scot
While I tried to recover from my shock of being in a relationship I knew nothing about, Han Wei noticed my presence.‘’So, the unfilial daughter decided to come home.’’ Her deriding tone made the blood in my veins boil.‘’Can you not jump to conclusions until you hear her opinion of the matter?’’ My mom said through gritted teeth. ‘’Maybe she has a reasonable explanation. Right, Luo?’’‘’I don’t have any relationship with that man.’’ My tone was firm and collected. I wasn’t sure what game Kang Xianliang tried to pull, but I didn’t want to participate.‘’If you don’t have a relationship with him, why were you photographed in one of the high-class restaurants in the city? Even the dress you wear now is the same.’’ Yan Si’
It was cold. My body was in tremendous agony. I was soaked in a pool of blood. I tried to move, but piercing pain circled through my veins. My heartbeat was wild. I inhaled deeply, trying to get some air, and at this moment, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Weakly I lifted my head and saw a bleeding hole below my heart.My first reaction was confusion. Wasn’t I saved? Why was I dying again in this warehouse? Was it all a dream? The woman who saved me, my travelling to China, Venice and Kang Xianliang? Were they created from my dying imagination? No. No, it couldn’t be. Impossible. What kind of hallucination was this? Everything was so real. But the pain of my broken bones and cut skin was real too. I felt despair filling my whole being. I started hiccupping and cried like a new-born baby. The air I breathed wasn’t enough, and soon I felt nausea.‘’I see you have woken up.’’
Seeing the muzzle of the gun, I felt strangely calm. Yes, firstly I was startled, but after that, my body relaxed. My shoulders dropped weakly while I contemplated whether I would have the time to feel the pain from the gunshot. Surely, it would be a less painful death than the one I narrowly escaped. Maybe, because my emotions were still under the influence of the earlier nightmare, I felt exhausted and numb. I didn’t want to fight nor plead for my life. It was pointless, as Xavier said. Just a waste of breath.‘’Miss McCarner?’’ The man’s voice brought me back to reality. He motioned with the gun to the chair in front of his desk. As if in a trance, I moved my legs from the floor and sat where I was told. My gaze was still glued to the pistol. He noticed my wary state and decided to put the weapon down. However, it was close enough for him to take it wherever he wanted.‘&