229 Piece by Piece

October 18, 20XX (Friday)

Xue Manor

After more than an hour standing behind the door, Zhao Yang could not take listening to her sobs and knocked, "Mei Li, will you let me in?"

Mei Li debated whether she should; her thoughts were still in disarray. Yang knocked again, louder and harder than before. She got up and allowed him to enter, knowing how stubborn he is.

Yang's eyes did not leave her person even for a millisecond as he sat himself down. He pulled her to sit on his lap and wrapped his arms like a bear's hug around her. He murmured in her ears, "Do you need to ask any more questions?"

Tensing at his words, Mei Li began to process all the information she had gotten and reviewed it. She knew she had questions; the problem was which to ask first. After a while, she asked, "This terrorist group, are they dangerous?"

Yang nodded immediately, surprising Mei Li at how sure he was of the fact, "Yeah, they have been the bane of Europe for a while, but Italy, France, and Greece had eliminated their base. Remember that island that blew up? That was the terrorists' headquarters."

"So there are no terrorists left?"

"There is one left. The man they call Fool." Yang answered honestly, grim at the prospect of Mei Li in the only Arcadia member left. The rumored most dangerous member of them all.

"The man in Italy!" Recognizing the name, Mei Li gasped in horror as her face blanched. The man that had almost kidnapped her in Italy mentioned the codename Fool! Suddenly, all pieces of the puzzle called truth pieced together, and the larger picture was seen. Her anger disappeared, and all that was left was uselessness and loneliness.

Yang's embrace tightened as he confessed all of the truth, "Fool has been reported to be here in Beijing. Chen Zhong's disappearance was likely caused by him as well as our car accident. It was also reported that he is said to be a fan of Miss M."

Mei Li almost vomited at the thought of a terrorist kidnapping her to paint. She shuddered at the thought of being held hostage by the group that had killed her mother and elder sister. Now she knew why the security around her almost quadruple in size.

Mei Li listened as Yang continued, "The gunshots in the event for the orphanage was likely caused by him too... We have been trying to track him down."

"Is this the reason why our first wedding is a secret and the second one is held immediately after it?" Mei Li asked. She had been curious about it ever since Yang had demanded this situation to happen. At first, Mei Li just brushed her suspension off with a shrug while thinking that it was normal to hold two weddings because they needed to spend their money on something. Now, she knew otherwise.

Yang nodded immediately again. He kissed the back of her neck and murmured, "The second wedding is a staged wedding. We prepared for an ambush on both of those days. I was glad that you decided on Xue Manor for our venue on the first because of how right the security they have here than ours."

Mei Li nodded and once again fell into silence as the gears of her head turned. Her wedding was a dangerous occasion, it seems. Mei Li's thoughts wondered at her mother's appearance. She turned to Yang and asked, "I am the spitting image of my mother, why didn't older businessmen from your company did not recognize me?"

"The Xue family's company is not a traditional business. They deal with the government rather than private individuals, that is why only high ranking public officials like my Mother and Grandpa could recognize you."

Hearing the knock on the door, Yang and Mei Li's conversation came to a halt. Both were curious when the doors opened like it hasn't been locked, and Chang Min entered like a paranoid brother. He stared at the two couple connected on the bed. The elder brother in him raged, but he knew that Yang's love for her was deeper than the core of the earth.

"Will you be alright?" Chang Min's apparent hesitation could be heard in his voice. His eyes were gazing at her hoping for her acceptance. Mei Li's anger disappeared when she saw the confident CEO turn into a puppy begging to be accepted. She knew that feeling well, and she could not find it in herself to forgive him from his secrecy.

Xue Mei Lin got up from Yang's lap and slowly snaked her arms to hold her brother's waist. Chang Min was like a fish out of water, causing Yang to snicker at his reaction. Without any more hesitation in his actions, Chang Min hugged Mei Li as tight as he could. This was the first time he had embraced her not as a friend of her boyfriend but as her brother. His teary eyes blurred further.

Yang watched in the sideline with a smile that was thankful for this event for finally happening. Now, it was time for Jerome Bonaparte to come and show himself to Mei Li. Hopefully, it would go as well as today had.

Nobody knew that within Mei Li's heart grew a hatred for her father, Jerome Bonaparte. He was the reason why she was sent in the orphanage. He started everything and did not care enough to love her. Mei Li was pissed when she realized who her mentor truly was. Her mentor had not only stayed at the Xue Manor like it was his own home but had also dared to lie to her face!

It seems that not everything will go as great as Yang hoped it would.