The redeveloping site, West of Jing city,
When the coldness of the wet floor penetrated her skin, Li Juan woke up with a dizzy head.
Squinting her eyes to the glaring light, she made a vague effort to move, but for some reasons, her movements were restricted as if her body has become stiff due to poor blood circulation.
She is not sure how long it has been since she was knocked out of consciousness.
Li Juan continuously tried to push open her heavy eyelids and stay awake. However, the throbbing pain and fatigue made her memories turn into a fuzzy mess.
She tried very hard to recall everything and suddenly remembered the scene where she stood at Aunt Mei Rong's living room before someone covered her nose and mouth with a fancy smelling cloth.
All of sudden, cold water was poured over her head, washing away the grogginess from her mind.
Once she regained her bearings, Li Juan found out that her limbs were tied up and her mouth was covered with tape.
Li Juan froze slightly as she realized that she was held as a hostage,
She tried to sit straightly and all of sudden someone grabbed her thick hair to pull her up from the wet floor.
Li Juan's face scrunched in pain as she was tossed towards the cold wall like a sack of rice.
Where is she? Li Juan quickly observed her surroundings and found that she was sitting in an old empty swimming pool.
"We meet again, Li Juan,"
A taunting female voice heard from above, forced Li Juan to lift her head.
Ning Jing who was surrounded by bodyguards looked at Li Juan smilingly. Though she appeared beautiful as a newly bloomed flower, the wicked smile on Ning Jing's face was enough to send chills through one's body.
"No no, you are not Li Juan, you are Bai Yue Ling now. The young miss of Bai family, the princess of Yu palace, how is it? Are you satisfied with your current accommodation?"
Li Juan narrowed her eyes as she faced the woman who was looking at her with absolute glee,
"Ah I forgot, you had a memory loss," The corners of Ning Jing's mouth carried a mocking smile as she crouched down to Li Juan's eye level.
"I used to be your friend before you stole something precious from me,"
Li Juan stared at the woman coldly. Though she doesn't recall spending time with Ning Jing, she could feel the animosity from the woman.
"Not only you stole something from me, but you threw it away once you got another toy," Ning Jing sneered and pulled apart the tape which covered Li Juan's mouth.
"Who...are...you?" Li Juan struggled to speak as she t breathed heavily.
"You ruined my life and inquiring about my identity?" Ning Jing's eyes flashed a glint of lunacy as she spat out the words,
"Tang Wei Sheng, whom you stole from me...He is the sole reason which connects you to me,"
Li Juan studied the woman who was on the verge of exploding in anger.
Ning Jing, the one who was supposed to marry Tang Wei Sheng.
Li Juan somehow recalled the face which has been on the hot search of the social networking sites in C country due to a scandal with the CEO of Tang Corporation. From her journals and her colleague's words, she could conclude that Ning Jing had a hostile approach towards the entire team due to their lukewarm response to Li Juan's relationship with Tang Wei Sheng.
But that was a year ago and what is now?
Li Juan's train of thoughts was broken by Ning Jing's malicious remarks.
"Do you know how hard I tried to make him mine? We were about to get married and you ruined everything,"
"I don't know what you are talking and I no longer associate with Tang Wei Sheng," Unable to relate with Ning Jing's claims, Li Juan retorted back.
To be honest, she wasn't sure about how many people's lives has been ruined by the Tang family, in order to protect the pride and status of their clan. Even though Tang Wei Sheng apologized and repented for his family's atrocities, that does not nullify the pain that Li Juan had to suffer.
"But he doesn't think like that," Ning Jing sneered, "There is only one woman in my life- Li Juan, no one can replace her, my moon,"
There was a visible shock on Li Juan's Haggard face when her ears picked up the term, "my moon,"
"Tang Wei Lang...he is back?" She asked inwardly, "There is no way that would have happen,"
"Even on the bed, he kept calling out your name," Ning Jing gritted as she reached out to grab Li Juan's loose hair,
"A slut like you...why he thinks that you are irreplaceable?"
Li Juan grunted when a sudden pain washed over her.
"Did it hurt?" Ning Jing asked with a fake concern as she loosened the grip over the hair. But in a glimpse, the murderous aura returned to herself and she frantically clutched Li Juan's neck as if she is trying to choke her.
"Then you should have known that how furious I must be when he called me by your name,"
"Cough...l don't...cough...I don't have any,"
"I've been compared to a whore who slept around with men to achieve her goals and guess what, I am still treated as a stranger for the man whom I waited for the entire life. Does that make any sense?"
"I don't love him...I have someone else...I have a family," Li Juan somehow managed to render the words as she wiggled to let loose from Ning Jing,
"Then why the hell he still hung up on you?" Ning Jing retracted her demonic claws and glared at Li Juan who was heavily gasping for air,
" Why did he say that no matter how rotten you are, he will never let go of you? Why? What is so great about you that he refused to love me?"
Ning Jing maniacally shook Li Juan's shoulders as her eyes spat fire,
"I made a mistake that night. I should have killed you when I had the chance at Tu valley. I should have smashed your brain and killed you right there. Even after all those, you crawled between us,"
"I swear...I don't have any relations with Tang Wei Sheng... it's over between us... please believe me," Li Juan requested in a yielding tone. Ning Jing was acting like a psychopath and even the slightest protest from Li Juan ignited the murderous thought in her.
A sudden phone call breakthrough the eerie atmosphere,
"Miss, it is from your grandfather," One of the henchmen extended the phone towards Ning Jing.
"Silence this bitch," Ning Jing ordered and walked away to attend the call,
"Please let me go,"
"SLAP," A heavy slap fell on Li Juan's face. The slap was so powerful that, Li Juan's scalp went numb for a moment,
A brutal-looking henchman grabbed her chin and covered Li Juan's mouth with the tape and tied her to the handrail on the floor of the swimming pool.
Li Juan glared at him with reddened eyes.
It was the same man who attacked her back at Mei Rong's house.
"I heard that you are fierce one. Do you know what happens to people like that? Their death will be far worse than a stray dog," He menacingly said and fondled her face. "So be silent and wait for your death,"
Death!!!! The chaos in her mind stopped all of sudden.
Are they really going to kill her?
There is life growing inside her...there is a man who waited for his entire youth for her. Finally, she is experiencing the happiness that has been stolen from her life. And how can she die like this? No no...she will not die.
The sound of Ning Jing's boots echoed in the empty swimming pool.
"Do you want to hear the good news?" Ning Jing's angelic face was adorned with a sinister grin when she asked in an exhilarated tone.
"I am getting married tomorrow, to Tang Wei Sheng,'
A slight hinge of hope gleamed in Li Juan's eyes.
'I should be happy like every other maiden who is getting married to the person whom they love. But I am not...I am not happy at all....he traded himself for you," Ning Jing snarled,
"The mighty Tang Wei Sheng begged me to marry him in order to save you,"
Li Juan stared at her in disbelief,
"I didn't believe when he asked me to come to the civil bureau for registering the marriage. But now," Ning Jing stopped for a moment,
"it irks to know that he still chose you over me which leaves me with no other options than killing you,"
For the first time in the evening, Li Juan's eyes widened in absolute fear,
Noooooo!!!! She screamed at the top of her lungs. But only a muffled noise left through the tape.
"I cannot die like this, Yangyang...our child.. they did nothing wrong," Li Juan scuffled to tear the rope which tied her to the pole.
She regretted her decision to send Huang Zi Tao home and walk right into their trap, forgetting about the life growing in her.
Ning Jing turned towards the henchmen and one of them climbed out of the swimming pool. After a moment, heavy streams of water rushed in through the inlets, filling the shallow pool.
"Think of it as the repayment of the lives that you have been ruined," Ning Jing said as she began to walk away as if she had nothing more to say.
"Make sure that she dies this time," She ordered her henchmen and got out the swimming pool that has been filling with water.
Li Juan's brows tightly furrowed together as she figured out that the situation has turned extremely bad for her.
Her eyes frantically searched for a hinge of kindness from the men who were standing on the rim of the pool, watching her drowning.
She was the end of her tethers and there was no way to escape.
Is she really going to die?
What about their little bean growing inside her womb?
Li Juan flapped her body in the water which has reached her chest.
"Please...please..let my child live...please don't punish my child for my wrongdoings," Teardrops rolled down her cheeks and joined the surging water engulfed Li Juan who was fighting for her life.
"Someone...please..save my child,"
As an unknown fear crept over her frail body Li Juan felt like she has been pressed down by a huge boulder,
As if someone was clutching on to her throat, suffocating her...choking her to death...pitching darkness and heavy silence,
The ice cold water was shrouding over Li Juan, entering her nostrils, making it is way to her lungs, squeezing the tiny life out of her.
This is it.
This is the end of her.
"Xiao Li!!!" Lee Tae Yang's voice rang inside her ears. "Promise me.... you won't leave me again,"
"Yangyang...I am sorry for not keeping my promise. My baby...Mamma is sorry for-" Even before Li Juan could apologize, everything turned dark around her.
This time, heavens decided to turn a blind eye towards Li Juan's prayers.
A thin channel of blood gushed out from Li Juan's lower body and began to spread out in the water, painting it in crimson red.