When love find you

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.