Chapter 283 - You're Worth It

Late in the morning, Yong Liwei was woken up at the sound of groans coming from the woman who was sleeping beside him.

"Stop… no…"

"Mengjie?" he called, gently shaking her to wake her up.

'Mengjie!"

Lu Mengjie snapped her eyes open and instantly sat up. The chilly sweat drenched her as she struggled for breath. Her lovely face was distorted by torment and suffering. Her eyes stung with tears as she threw her hands to cover her body.

Yong Liwei reached to touch her shoulder, making her flinch. He felt a pang in his chest, seeing how scared she looked. She snapped at him, her eyes filled with horror but the instant she saw him, it dissipated and instead, was replaced with relief.

"You had a nightmare." He wiped her forehead with his hand before he pulled her in his arms.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered as she quietly sobbed on his shoulder. She thought that she could relegate the memories back to the deep, black pit where they reside. However, when the dreams started up again, she felt sick to her stomach. 

"There's nothing to apologize for here." He stroked her hair as he tried to calm her down. Was it because of the letter again? 

"I…" She started. This caused Lu Mengjie discomfort in her neck and caused her to grimace as her throat tightened because of its dryness. As soon as her voice returned, it was barely audible. "I was in my second year of high school when it started… when I first received his mail."

Yong Liwei turned to look at her, his frame rigid and his eyes cold but he remained quiet, patiently waiting for her to continue.

She took in a deep breath, swiping the tears off from her cheeks before she continued. "The first mail was a photo of me undressing in the school's girl's locker room. I was confident with my skills when it came to hacking so I tried to find out the IP address but… he was better than me. I couldn't catch him even if I tried to use my mother's AI."

Lu Mengjie was so confident that she could find him with her skills but failed in doing so. He was another expert in hacking and she couldn't take him on. The person called himself 'XX' and he continued to send her stolen photos of her. She thought that he was a student or maybe a staff member in the school so she tried to look for him without telling anyone. It was her dignity and pride at stake.

When she gave up, she finally planned on asking for her mother's help but the mail she received that day stopped her from doing so. XX began blackmailing her by telling her that he would spread the photos if she told her parents or anyone around her.

Ever since, Lu Mengjie became conscious of the people around her, especially when she felt like someone was watching her every move.

It was during her last year of high school that XX began taking it too far. By blackmailing her, Lu Mengjie ended up doing what he wanted. He forced her to go to a motel every week just so he could take more photos of her using the hidden cameras he had installed in the room. He made her wear inappropriate clothes, do improper poses. He had seen every inch of her body through the hidden cameras he had installed around her.

XX was a person she had never met for 3 whole years. Even if she was not touched, it traumatized Lu Mengjie greatly until he finally stopped during her second year in college. She had to secretly attend a therapy session for a year just so she could forget and move on from the trauma that he caused her.

It was the main reason why Lu Mengjie preferred to keep a low profile all this time. Even photos of her were rarely seen on social media. She kept herself hidden, traveling from one place to another just so she could avoid the nightmare of her past from reoccurring. She left most of her work to her brother while she got herself busy and distracted by jumping from one place to another.

She hated having taken photos of herself but for some reason, whenever she was with Han Yizhou or Yong Liwei, that never mattered. The fear of being pictured never occurred to her whenever she was with him. Instead, she wanted to be gazed at by the man she loves. 

The recent news about her marrying Yong Liwei must have caused XX to come back. It was the first-ever news that showed her appearance.

She couldn't keep it in anymore. She knew that Yong Liwei had the right to know about her dark and horrible past since his reputation was at stake. He should know what was coming. She wanted to get it over with as quickly as she could just to get the whole thing out of her system.

"This… this could come out if he's back… you may be humiliated and have your reputation ruined..." she continued numbly, looking at her knotted hands as she spoke.

"Ruined? Me?" he yelled with a blood-curdling tone in his voice. He was filled with rage. "I don't care if my reputation is ruined. If I have to kill him in front of everyone else, I will!"

She felt a chill run down her spine. It was not only in his tone of voice but also on his face. He wasn't only deadly because of his appearance. Yong Liwei was a man who would do whatever he needed to get what he desired. It was just like that night when she saw him covered in the blood of Hunter and his men. Although she had never seen him overtaken with anger just like this. The ruthlessness in his eyes was filled with overwhelming rage.

"I-I'll handle it. I'm not the same as back then, I will not allow him to take control of me anymore. I… This is my problem. He's not worth your time, Liwei… He's not worth the effort."

"You are, damn it! You're worth it! Worth every, my EVERY effort and time! I'm going to track down that imbecile, and make him wish he was dead!"