A Place In My Heart Reserved Only For You

At the Maria Orphanage located in H City...

Two kids-a little boy and a little girl-were happily playing with each other.

"Michelle, come over here."

"Grandpa Mike, were you calling me?" She had this innocent look on her face, just like most children had.

"This is Mr. Howard. He'll be taking care of you from now on. He already signed the adoption papers. You'll be a good girl and listen to your new father, okay?"

"What about Kevin? Will he be going with me?" Michelle looked at the dean with bulging eyes.

"Sad to say that Kevin won't go with you. But he'll have his own home, just like you," Mike said with a sad look on his face.

He knew that this world was far from perfect, and not every child had a chance to be adopted. He only said that Kevin would also get adopted so that Michelle wouldn't feel disappointed.

"Okay," Michelle mumbled. "But can I say goodbye to Kevin? And the other children?"

"Okay. Just hurry up," Mike said to her.

"Okay, Grandpa Mike," Michelle said, with a meek smile on her face.

"Go on," he said as he gave Michelle a pat on the head.

Michelle headed towards Kevin and said, "Kevin, I won't be able to play with you anymore. I'm going to live with my new father." Kevin couldn't help but feel a little down. "I'm sorry," Michelle said with an apologetic frown on her face. Both Michelle and Kevin got teary-eyed. They felt sad that they were going to be apart.

"Don't be sad, Michelle. You should be happy that you're having a new family. Many children in this orphanage want a family so badly, but no one wants to adopt them. You should feel lucky."

"But, Kevin, Grandpa Mike said that you couldn't go with me," Michelle sobbed. "I don't want to leave you," she added, her voice almost breaking.

Streams of tears slowly ran down her cheeks.

"Michelle, you just need to remember that no matter where you are, you have to live happily. Don't worry. When I grow up, I will find you. By then, I'll be able to protect you and take care of you. Just promise me that you'll take good care of yourself now so that I can find you in the future," Kevin comforted. His voice sounded weak and sincere.

"Is that a promise, Kevin? You'll find me? And you won't forget about me?" Michelle asked. Her tears were gradually subsiding.

"How can I forget you, Michelle? Here, take this," Kevin said, handing Michelle a beautiful necklace. "Grandpa Mike told me that this necklace was in my bag when he found me at the orphanage's gate. It's probably my mother's. Take this, to remember me by. And wait for me to find you."

"Isn't this very important to you? I can't take this," Michelle said.

"That's the point. That way, I can find you in future. I'll always remember that you have my mother's necklace. Take it, please," Kevin lovingly said.

"Okay," Michelle said, still slightly sobbing.

Then she wore the necklace. The pendant was a hexagram with an ancient dragon pattern engraved on it.

Michelle said her goodbyes to all of the children in the orphanage. They all had gifts to give exchange with her.

All of them were teary that Michelle had to go away.

After that, Michelle headed towards Mike's office. Her eyes were still red and her hands were full as she held all the gifts the other children had given her.

"I have already said goodbye to the other children." She was looking down, trying to hide the sadness on her face.

"Off you go with Mr. Howard. Remember to be an obedient child, okay?" Mike reminded. He was trying so hard to fight back the tears in his eyes.

"I will, Grandpa Mike. Goodbye," Michelle said as she waved her hand.

Seeing the sight of Michelle holding her new father's hand, Mike felt both happy and sad. He wouldn't hear Michelle's sweet voice anymore. But he was really happy for Michelle, especially since Howard Shangguan was from a rich family. Michelle would live a happy and comfortable life.

Meanwhile, Kevin was hiding behind a big tree, watching Michelle walk away from the orphanage. He swore to himself that he would find Michelle and never give up on her.

In the Grand Villa District, the most prominent district in A City... Michelle found herself facing a beautiful garden house. While she looked at its magnificence, she felt really uneasy.

"Everything's going to be okay, Michelle. Don't be nervous. This will be your home from now on. All of us are going to love you," Howard Shangguan said. "Let's go. I want you to meet your mother and your brother," he continued.

"Okay, Dad," Michelle obediently replied.

In the magnificent hall, a beautiful woman was sitting on the European style sofa. She was next to a boy about seven or eight years old. The boy immediately stood up and greeted Howard Shangguan.

"This must be Michelle," the woman said. "She's so beautiful."

"Michelle, meet my wife, Jessica Fang. She's your new mother. Next to her is my son, Patrick," Howard Shuangguan said to Michelle. "We'll be a really happy family," he added, smiling from ear to ear.

"Hmph," Patrick Shangguan stubbornly exclaimed. "Who's her real family?" he snobbishly added.

Bang! The loud slap had startled Michelle. She raised her head and saw that the slap came from Howard. He had slapped Patrick really hard on his face. Everyone looked stunned.

"Dad, why did you hit me? I'm your son," Patrick said, covering his face. "I hate you! And I hate her, too!" he shouted as he ran away.

"I'm sorry. I made him really unhappy. He doesn't like me. I'd better go back to the orphanage," Michelle said.

Jessica Fang grazed her fingers on Michelle's hair and said, "Don't be silly, Michelle. He just can't accept that he suddenly has a sister. This is your home. You're very welcome here."

"But my brother doesn't like me," Michelle innocently said. She was starting to get sad again.

"It just takes him a little warming up. Just be sweet to him, and I'm sure that he'll like you," Jessica Fang reassured Michelle.

"I really hope that my brother will like me," Michelle said, looking at Jessica with her sweet eyes.

"Come on. I'll show you your room. I'm sure you'll like it."

"Okay," Michelle said. She was feeling both excited and awkward.

As Howard looked at Michelle, he swore to himself, 'Monica, I will take good care of Michelle. No worries...'

It was a pink room. In it was a lovely toy bear. The wardrobe was full of cute dresses.

"It's so beautiful, Mommy," Michelle marveled. She was really stunned at how beautiful her room was.

"I'm so glad you like it. Your father worked really hard to prepare for this room. He was so sure that you'll like it," Jessica said. She looked at Michelle, buried in thought.

What a magic when two were related by blood. Michelle looked so similar to that woman.

"Brother, here's a gift from me to you. A sweet, sweet candy."

"Brother, here's my favorite toy. Would you like to play with me?"

"Brother, I'll be going to school. Would you like to walk with me?"

"Dad, Patrick still doesn't like me," Michelle said with a sad tone in her voice.

"Oh, Michelle, it's not that he doesn't like you. Haven't you realized that you have more candies and more toys? He even goes to school with you. All those toys and candies are from your brother. He's just too embarrassed to tell you. Lovely Michelle... How could anyone not like you?" Howard lovingly said to Michelle. He looked at Michelle with so much affection.

Meanwhile, he remembered another person as he looked at Michelle's eyes.

From a distance, Jessica was looking at Howard. Her sharp nails dug deep into her palms as she stared at him.

"Howard, when will you see me?" Jessica said painfully.

In just a flash, fourteen years had already passed.

"Michelle, my dear, you'll be graduating from college tomorrow. And today is your eighteenth birthday. Our classmates will host a party for you. Come one," Bree Su said. She was one of Michelle's best friends, the dearest one of them.

"Bree, forget it. I'm afraid it's better for me to not go. You know, my brother is very strict with me. He'll be so angry with me if I go home late. The last time I got home late, he let me sleep in the living room," Michelle said. "Just forget about the party," she firmly added.

"Don't worry, Michelle. It's your brother that we should forget about," Bree Su insisted. "You'll be graduating. Just find yourself a job and earn for yourself. Then, you'll be able to support yourself and forget all about your cold brother," she added with a slight anger in her voice.

"Bree, don't you dare talk about my brother that way. Even though he's a little strict with me, he's still sweet and nice."

"Oh, I'm sorry Michelle. I didn't mean to say it like that. But you should really attend your own birthday party," Bree Su said, still trying to convince Michelle. She quickly took Michelle's hand and dragged her along with her.

"Hey! Let go of me, Bree. I told you already that I won't go!"

Bree Su continued to pull Michelle until they reached the best bar in A City. Inside the bar, Bree Su guided Michelle towards a luxury room where their classmates were already waiting for Michelle. There were about twenty people waiting to greet Michelle with a happy birthday.

As soon as Michelle showed up in the luxurious room, all of them shouted in unison, "Happy birthday, Michelle!" Everything felt so lively as happiness filled the room.

Michelle looked at everyone who were giving her the most heartfelt birthday greeting. "Thank you. Thank you for celebrating my birthday." Excitement filling her face.

Bree held Michelle's hand and said, "Today is the birthday of our campus beauty, Michelle. Tomorrow, we won't see each other every day anymore. We will be scattered all over. All I can say now is let's enjoy this moment and get drunk!"

"Long live our youth!" everyone exclaimed.

As the party went on, Michelle's classmates got her drunk even though she didn't want to.

"Michelle, don't go home drunk. We weren't planning on going home today. We've checked in the hotel upstairs. You and I will share a room. Come one, I'll walk you upstairs. But let's stay first. I rarely come out. Let's just enjoy!" Bree chuckled.

"You stay here. I can go upstairs myself," said Michelle.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Bree asked.

"Of course," Michelle answered back.

Bree handed the key card to Michelle.

"Well, here's the card. We're at room 888. It's on the fifth floor. Be careful," Bree told Michelle. She was feeling a little uneasy because of how drunk Michelle was.

Michelle, who was obviously buzzed from the alcohol, said, "Room 888. Fifth floor. Can I go now?"

Before Bree could say anything back to Michelle, Michelle had already staggered towards the elevator. As Bree looked over Michelle's back, she thought that nothing bad could probably happen to her. So she turned around and went back to the room and enjoy the night a little bit more.

When Michelle was already inside the elevator, she covered her head, feeling really dizzy. She looked at the card and tried to remember which floor the room was on. "Which floor again?" she mumbled. "Oh, right. The eighth floor!"

Once she reached the eighth floor, Michelle stopped in front of room 8888. "Strange. Why isn't the door closed?" she murmured to herself. 'Could one of the employees forget to close it? Never mind.

I'll just go to bed. I'm so sleepy.'

She pushed the door open and closed it once she was inside the room.

The curtains were not closed and a faint moon light seeped in the room. Michelle staggered towards the bed. As soon as she lay down on the mattress, she fell asleep. There she lay without even noticing a man lying beside her.

In sound sleep, she felt a hand moving on her body.

'Am I dreaming?' she said to herself. 'Or am I just really drunk? Just forget about it. Go back to sleep, Michelle.'

Red-eyed, Carlos Yu looked at the girl beside him. His body suddenly felt a little hot.

"Gabriel Mo, do you think I will sleep with you after you drug me? There will be no more Mo Group in A City in the future.

Little girl, I have to apologize but you ran into my room by yourself."

The strange feeling Michelle felt was becoming more real. She struggled to shake off the hand she was feeling. When Michelle opened her eyes, she was startled by what she saw. Slowly, she became less dizzy and the alcohol had started to wear off of her. She quickly came to her senses and wanted to break off the man. But unfortunately, it was too late.

No matter how hard Michelle cried, Carlos Yu hadn't stopped. Under the influence of drugs, he didn't bother to listen to her pleads.

Michelle's efforts to struggle and shout were all futile.

Carlos Yu continued to pursue his predatory nature. Minutes after, Michelle fainted due to exhaustion.

Early morning... "No!" Michelle shouted. It broke the silence of the entire room.

Having a glance at the whole room, she put her hand on her forehead, slightly shocked. "Fortunately, all of it was a dream. I was almost scared to death." Sitting up, she asked herself, "Was it really just a dream?" She lifted the quilt that was covering her and looked at her naked body. From looking at her body, she realized that what she thought was just a dream turned out to be real after all.

Michelle suddenly burst into tears. Rushing to the bathroom, she crazily tried to rub off the marks on her body until it turned red.

"Tick tock! Tick tock! Tick tock!" The clock kept on moving. Michelle's phone was incessantly ringing while she still tried to rub the marks off of her body.

Immediately, she checked her phone and saw that Bree was calling her non-stop. She picked up the call and cried.

Bree instantly knew that something bad had happened to her. "Michelle, where are you? I couldn't find you anywhere."

"I've been in the room this whole time. Come here, please," Michelle cried.

"Room? What room? I'm also in the room! What room are you in?" Bree asked. She was feeling really anxious.

Still wrapped in her bath towel, Michelle checked the room number.

"I'm in room 8888," she said.

"What?! 888 is our room. I'm on the fifth floor. Wait for me! I'll get you," Bree said.

"I was in the wrong room this whole time," Michelle painfully said. "Come here and bring me a coat please," she continued. She was feeling really embarrassed.

Moments after, Bree finally arrived at room 8888. Michelle quickly opened the door for Bree and hugged her tightly. "Bree, what should I do?" She couldn't help but sob all over Bree.

"Do you remember what that man looks like?" Bree asked.

"I don't remember. I was drunk and it was really dark." Her words were almost drowned by her tears.

"If that's the case, then we're the only ones who know about this. No one else will hear about this. Just forget about it."

"Bree, this is my first time. And I lost it for no reason. I feel really bad," Michelle cried.

"It's not important, Michelle. Just don't think too much about it. Just remember that we were together last night," Bree said as an attempt to comfort Michelle.

"Okay!" Tears still fell down on her cheeks.

"Now get dressed. We have to leave this room as soon as possible."

After Michelle and Bree left, Carlos went back to the room. He didn't see Michelle leaving. There was a red stain on his bed sheet and a dolphin shaped ear stud beside the pillow. He murmured to himself, "Why didn't you wait for me? No worries, I'll just find you."

Michelle carefully opened the door and felt relieved that she saw no one. But in just a few steps, she suddenly heard a sulky and harsh voice.

"Wow, you remembered to go home last," the voice sarcastically said. "Where were you last night?"

Michelle flashed a meek smile, "Brother, you get up so early!"

Feeling fearful, Michelle was pulling her clothes awkwardly. She was afraid that her brother would find out what happened last night.

However, it seemed that Patrick already found it out. He grabbed her hand and asked, "What happened last night? Who were you with? Who's the man? He deserves to die."

Once she saw her brother's worried look, Michelle could no longer hold back her tears. "I...I don't know. I was drunk, and I went to the wrong room." Tears streamed down her face.

Patrick held Michelle in his arms. He patted her back to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Michelle. This is all my fault. I was so mean to you to the point that you're afraid to tell me about anything. I promise I won't do that anymore. Don't be sad, Michelle."

As he comforted Michelle, Patrick gritted his teeth and swore to himself that he would let the man pay the price.

Michelle was crying so hard that she fell asleep in his arms. Patrick gently carried her upstairs and put her on her bed. He tidied up her hair and swore to her, "I will protect you. I promise that."

Half a month passed by so quickly...

Michelle was passing by her father's study when she heard her brother quarreling with her father. Out of curiosity, Michelle listened to their fight by the door.

At first, they were arguing about business, which Michelle didn't understand. But when she was about to leave, she heard her brother shout, "I won't agree to use Michelle's marriage for business. Even if the company goes bankrupt and I have to live on the road to beg for food, I won't make Michelle suffer. Stop it with this crazy idea!"

Michelle was stunned. She headed to her room, completely baffled. When she came to her senses, she couldn't believe that her father's company was going bankrupt. 'It seemed that I am the one who will be able to save Dad's company. I owe them a lot -- Dad, Mom, and Patrick. I love them all so much. They took me in as if I were family. I want to pay them back.'

After she made up her mind, Michelle knocked on her father's study. Pushing the door open, she saw her father looking very stressed. His hand was massaging his forehead, as if he had aged all of a sudden. Michelle's eyes were getting red and teary even before she spoke,

"Dad, I heard everything you said to Patrick. I'm willing to do it." Michelle seemed so sure of her decision.

"What are you saying? How can I use my daughter's marriage just to save my company?" Howard said in shock. He looked up to Michelle with a stunned look in his face. "My dear daughter, you don't have to do this. I will find a way to deal with it. Just trust me, okay?"

"If there really is a way, I'm sure that you wouldn't have fought with Patrick like you did earlier. Am I right? Besides, I've grown up. I should already get married. You brought me back from the orphanage. All of you have treated me so well. It's time for me to repay everything that you've done for me," Michelle said. It was such a heartfelt gesture.

"Michelle... Oh, I feel so useless right now... When I adopted you, I said I would protect you and love you. But now I'm the one asking for a really big favor. I feel so useless."

"Dad, please don't say that. Don't blame yourself. I'm getting married in the future, anyway. If I can help you by getting married right now, then why not?" Michelle said, looking at her father with sincere eyes.

"You shouldn't be okay with doing that. I'm not afraid of living a hard life. Your brother just started his career. I don't want to drag him in this mess. And I definitely wouldn't drag you as well."

"Dad, what do you think of the man who I'll marry? Is he a good person?" Michelle asked.

"He's a very excellent man. He became a CEO at his young age, without the help of his family's power. His future is very promising."

"Dad, since this man is so great, then I'll be a lucky woman. You don't even need to persuade me. I've made up my mind. But don't tell brother yet," she said.

"Are you sure you want to do it? Once you're engaged, we couldn't take it back." Howard then opened another pack of cigarettes. It was already his third pack.

"Dad, my mind's already made. When will I meet him? I want to be prepared," Michelle said with a sheepish smile.

"How about tomorrow? It's better to settle everything soon."

"Okay. I'll have to make a phone call first. I just want to tell Grandpa Mike that I'm getting married." Michelle said goodbye to her father and headed towards her room.

"Hello, is this Grandpa Mike? This is Michelle," Michelle said on the phone.

"Michelle, is everything okay? Why did you call me?" Mike was so happy that Michelle had called him.

"I miss you, Grandpa Mike. And also, I called to tell you that I might get married. I haven't seen the guy, but my father says that he's a great man."

"You haven't seen him? What's going on? Tell me."

"Dad's company might go bankrupt. He hoped that a fixed marriage can fix it," Michelle said. Even though she tried to sound excited, it was still obvious in her tone that she was feeling helpless.

"Damn it! If I had known that Howard was that kind of person! If only I knew, then I wouldn't let him adopt you!" Michelle could tell that he was too angry to control himself right now.

"Grandpa Mike, it's not Dad's fault. I agreed myself. He didn't force me. Now, let's talk about something else. Have you found Kevin yet?"

As hearing Kevin's name, Mike felt really guilty and heartbroken. "He sneaked out of here days after you left. I'm sorry. I know it's my fault. I should have taken better care of him." His anger suddenly cooled down.

"It's not your fault, Grandpa Mike. I know he's fine. He said he'd find me," Michelle comforted.

"Well, Grandpa Mike, I have to go now. Please tell me if you have any news about Kevin. Bye, Grandpa Mike."

As soon as Michelle hang up the phone, she was buried in thought. 'Where are you, Kevin? If you don't show up soon, I will be getting married."

In the Heaven Earth Club located in A City... Carlos and his father Walter Yu were discussing about the expansion of their company. Suddenly, Walter Yu changed the topic. "I've found a girl who is willing to marry you. You'll be seeing her tomorrow. She's a nice and beautiful girl."

"What are you talking about? Dad! You're drunk. I'm too young to get married," Carlos protested. He scratched his head, thinking about the night he made love with a girl in his hotel room. "And I already have a crush on another girl," he told his father.

"Oh? Really? A girl finally impressed a boy like you?" Walter Yu joked. "Unfortunately for you, I have already made the deal. You have to go," he insisted.

"How can you do that to me? Isn't it supposed to be my choice? I don't even want to get married yet. I won't go. I don't care. You can go alone if you like," Carlos stubbornly said.

"You ungrateful child! Do you really want to piss me off? Do you think it's easy to raise a child alone? It's so hard to raise you especially when your mother died," Walter said in a guttural voice.

"Stop! Stop, okay? I'll go. Stop talking, please. You always use this trick!"

"As long as it works," Walter said to Carlos. He smiled at him, feeling proud at himself.