Heart Desires: Find You In Love Maze

The night was dark and quiet.

Dark clouds drifted over the moon, casting an ominous shadow over the Mo family villa. The villa, so full of festive merriment earlier in the day, stood silently in the dark, enveloped in an eerie stillness. Suddenly, a gust of wind rustled the leaves as lightning streaked through the sky. A storm was coming.

Inside an extravagant room located in the east wing of the villa, the crystal chandelier sent diamonds of light dancing across the red wedding decorations on the walls.

Dressed in an exquisite Italian chiffon wedding dress with inlaid gems, Elli An sat alone before the French window with her back to the door. Her almond-shaped eyes, as clear as spring water, looked sadly out the window as she bit nervously on her bottom lip. Her pretty face was full of sorrow, and her heart was as dark and gloomy as the sky outside.

It was her wedding night with Jacob Mo, the second son of the Mo family. She had only met him once before, during the wedding. The situation was absurd, but she knew better than to complain. Her marriage and her fate had been decided for her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

At this moment, she heard footsteps approaching from the hallway, and the door swung open.

She paled as her heart thundered in her ears. It had to be her husband, here to consummate their marriage. Who else could it be?

She turned to look, but the lights went out with an audible click.

Her heart hammered uneasily in her chest. It didn't seem right for her husband to turn off the lights before she had had the chance to speak with him, but she kept her concerns to herself. They would have to consummate their marriage sooner or later, and she might as well get it over with.

The sound of his footsteps grew louder as he approached her, and she tried to keep still even as she trembled with fear.

She felt the nervous sweat on her forehead trickle down her temples. The sound of her own breathing sounded unnaturally loud in the dark. She thought she could hear him breathing next to her, but before she could react, he had pulled her from her chair and trapped her against the wall.

She tried to push him away, but he was a tall, well-built man and she was only a small, petite woman. She felt as though she were pushing against a wall.

The man seemed to find her attempts at fighting him off amusing. He let out a low, mocking laugh.

He enjoyed seeing her suffer and flail about in terror. He was the predator, and she was his helpless prey.

"Be a good girl and behave," he said in a low voice.

She shuddered involuntarily. The voice sounded strangely familiar. Where had she heard his voice before?

"No!" She pulled herself out of her muddled thoughts to voice her protest, but it was too late: he had tossed her onto the bed and pinned her down. She caught a whiff of his cologne, and her mind reeled in confusion. She was quite certain her husband had been wearing a different cologne during the wedding.

The sound of thunder rattled the window as lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the entire room. In that split second she saw his face. It was devastatingly handsome, but her blood ran cold at the sight.

It wasn't Jacob Mo! But before she could take a closer look the room had returned to total darkness, leaving her with her doubts and uncertainties. Had it only been a trick of the light?

She tried to resist, but he was like a ravenous beast. Tears streamed helplessly down her cheeks and onto the pillow. She felt violated, and her mind went blank as she tried to shut out what was happening to her.

Perhaps this was her fate. What was the point of fighting, if she couldn't win? Nothing seemed to matter anymore. If she wanted to save her family business, she would have to swallow her pride, endure the humiliation, and try her best to forget it afterwards. The fate of her family rested on her shoulders.

The man noticed she had stopped struggling, and lost interest. He had achieved his goal, and he knew there would be plenty of opportunities for him to make up for lost time later on. He had all the time in the world, and he wasn't in a hurry.

He undid the tie he had used to bind her hands together, and put on his clothes. As soon as he was dressed, he opened the door and walked out, leaving her to her miserable thoughts in the empty room.

She lay in the silence like a broken doll. Suddenly, she heard shouts and rapid footsteps from the hallway. Someone knocked frantically on her door, jolting her out of her waking nightmare.

"Mrs. Mo, oh, it's terrible! Your husband was on his way back when he got into a car accident, and he's still missing!" The servant shouted in between frantic knocks.

Elli An's blood ran cold. Her husband had been with her in the room a moment ago, right?

Was it possible that it was not her husband at all?

She didn't have time to think. She hurriedly put on her clothes and opened the door to find the maid's worried face looking back at her. "Alma, are you sure about that? Is it true?"

*It's true. You should go downstairs to comfort your mother-in-law. She's inconsolable. Your father-in-law left with a group of servants to look for your husband, but he isn't back yet." Alma Li dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. It was supposed to be an auspicious day for the Mo family, but now it seemed as if the day would end in tragedy.

Elli An's heart thumped violently in her chest as she followed Alma Li downstairs. Halfway down the stairs, she noticed a well-dressed stranger standing in the living room, smoking with his back turned towards the stairs. She couldn't see his face, but there was something about the way he stood, with his shoulders thrown back and his chin held high, that made her feel uneasy.

In the beautifully furnished living room, Jean Yang, her mother-in-law, sat on the sofa before the tea table, sobbing quietly. Elli An took in her puffy eyelids and bloodshot eyes, and knew that Alma Li had been telling the truth.

"Mom, are you waiting for Dad to return? You should go back to your room and rest. I'll wait here and let you know as soon as we have news." Elli An laid a hand on her mother-in-law's shoulder, her eyes bright with genuine concern.

Jean Yang smiled weakly, grateful for her daughter-in-law's gesture of kindness. She had been crying ever since the maid informed her of her son's accident, and the exhaustion from the wedding preparations earlier in the day was beginning to take its toll on her. She rose from her chair and gestured for Alma Li to escort her to her room.

At the stairway, Jean Yang froze in mid-step, as if struck by a sudden thought. She turned to Elli An and said, "Elli, is Jacob..."

She trailed off into a series of strangled sobs. The thought of her son never coming home again was too much for her.

"Mom, don't worry. I know he won't leave me behind. Not like this!" Elli An tried to sound brave, but she could barely finish her sentence. She blinked back the tears in her eyes as she wondered why the gods had chosen to be cruel to her.

Jean Yang didn't reply. She nodded weakly at Elli Yang, and walked slowly up the stairs with an exhausted sigh.

Elli An looked curiously at the man with the cigarette, but he kept his face away from her. With a shrug of her shoulders, she walked over to the sofa and seated herself as her thoughts began to wander. She thought of what had happened in the room earlier, and her skin began to crawl.

"He won't leave you behind, eh?" The icy voice dripped with venomous disdain. "You sound like a loyal, dutiful wife. How very touching! But I know better. You're the kind of woman who's always after a better catch. Out with the old, in with the new!"

Elli trembled all over with fear. She knew this voice. It was him! Elli An whirled around to face the owner of the voice, and the man smoking before the stairs met her gaze with an arched eyebrow. He had the features of a Greek god, and his expensive tailored suit showed off the perfect proportions of his tall, well-built physique. He was so devastatingly beautiful he put most women to shame.

Was it really him? No, it couldn't be!

"Why do you look so surprised? You didn't seem half as surprised when you saw me earlier." There was a dark gleam in Gregory Mo's beautiful eyes as his lips curved into a dangerous smirk. He moved slowly towards her, and caught her wrist before she could withdraw from him. His handsome face leaned into hers as she struggled in his grasp. "Elli, it's been three years. How have you been? We finally meet again!"

"Is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me. Are you surprised? Are you frightened?" His smile was warm and charming, but the tone of his voice was as dangerous as an icy dagger. "I came all the way here just for you, you know. It must be so lonely to stay in an empty room."

Her cheeks flushed, before turning into a sickly shade of white. Her eyes were wide with panic, but beneath the fear there was an undercurrent of other unspeakable emotions, including guilt and sorrow. She opened her mouth to say something, but the recollection of what she had done to him in the past hit her like a ton of bricks, and she closed her mouth again in shame.

"Hush now." Gregory Mo put his finger to his lips as a wicked grin spread slowly across his face. "Don't even try to play the part of the innocent victim again. I'm sick and tired of it."

"Let go of me!" It took all of her courage to defy him, but as soon as the words left her mouth she regretted the tone she had taken. She had wronged him in the past, and she deserved the contempt he was showing her now.

Gregory Mo glared at her. "Never. I'm never letting you go, not this time. This is just the beginning. You'll never be rid of me!"