Ardent Love: An Avenging Angel

The night was quiet outside. However, inside the villa, the moans and groans echoed in the household. The sound of bodies slapping with one another filled the room.

However, even then, the man didn't show any pleasure on his face. Once they were done, he could only look at the woman with deep disgust.

Without another word, he shot her one more look before stepping out of the room. This was her husband, Aron Gu.

Her hair was disheveled, with strands falling down her face. She was half naked, except for the night gown that covered half of her body. She looked pathetic. Tears welled up her eyes and her lips trembled.

Aron Gu had never loved her for the last three years.

In fact, she felt more like a tool for him to vent out his anger. He could do anything to her as he pleased, and he could even throw her away once he was done with her.

Even then, Aron never felt sorry for what he had done to her. Yolande Su closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than this entire nightmare to end. Aron Gu had never been worried of her feelings, but even then she couldn't bear hurting the man in front of her.

The room was as quiet as the gardens outside. Everything had finally settled down. Aron Gu was already lounging in the living room. However, he wrinkled his nose as a strong scent finally hit him. The odor made Yolande Su uncomfortable. With great pain, she picked up the clothes scattered across the bed and stood up from the cold plank, intending to clean herself up in the bathroom.

The pain was becoming more intensive with each step she took. Facing the huge mirror, she couldn't help but not recognize herself. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red from crying the entire time. She trembled, bringing a hand to touch her face.

As the eldest daughter of her family, she was the most appropriate woman for Aron. She didn't know how it came to this. Perhaps it was her love for him that lasted for over ten years that made her endure these three years of his seemingly endless torture.

Holding back her tears, her eyes flashed with regret.

Yolande Su had made a promise to herself that she'd take care of everything for three years, such as fixing all the things he'd needed, yet still be his perfect wife. If she was not able to change him, then she'd leave.

Yolande didn't want a penny of the Gu family's fortune. She'd leave her hometown if she had to. She was not planning to come back here again anyway.

Today was the anniversary of their three-year marriage, and it was also the last day of her promise.

Yolande raised her head up high as she cleaned herself, summoning the little pride and courage she had left as she walked out of the room.

"Aron, I have something to tell you."

Aron glanced up at the woman in front of him, gazing indifferently. There was a scornful glint in his eyes as he lit up his cigarette.

"Do you remember what day it is today?" Her heart clenched at the sight.

"You have the nerve to bring that up?" Aron puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"How many fucking times do you want to bring up what happened three years ago?" Slap!

Suddenly, everything seemed to have frozen into place.

The moment her hand connected with his cheek, it felt as if he was stunned to silence. How dare she? His gaze narrowed, eyes darkening when he finally registered what had happened.

He towered over her like a bull ready to turn over its first human. Yolande took a step back, her body trembling at the harsh stare. However, she didn't turn away. Instead, she stood her ground and faced him, accepting what was about to happen.

"You dare hit me?" Aron growled, raising up his knee to strike her.

Yolande choked, a hand grasping her stomach. A sharp wrenching pain sent waves over her abdomen as she fell heavily on the ground, panting as if she'd just run a marathon. She choked, beads of sweat sliding across her skin. Her vision was already getting blurry. It was so painful that she could almost faint at the pain. Yolande stared up at the man who hit her, eyes wide open.

This was the man she once loved.

She had once loved the stubbornness the man expressed, loved the fierceness of the way he looked at her, promising her the world. She couldn't help but smile bitterly. Aron was stunned for a moment. He wasn't meaning to kick her that hard. He just couldn't find it in himself to control his strength. As he bent over to reach for her, he stopped himself, giving up on the idea.

Yolande closed her eyes, finally at peace with her decision. "Aron," she started, her voice light as a feather.

"I think it's time we get a divorce."

"What did you say?"

He blinked, not expecting that the woman who had pestered him for three years would even mention such a word.

"You hate me, right? Then let me go. I won't bother you anymore,"

she coughed out, still recovering from the hit he'd given her. She staggered back up and stared deep into his eyes.

"I don't need your money. All I want are my properties. Tomorrow, you'll be in contact with my lawyer, and we'll be nothing more than strangers."

Without giving him a chance to reply, she swiftly turned her heel and walked right off.

In the past three years, she never thought that she'd be able to speak to Aron like that, to be that straightforward with him. Although she felt relieved that she finally spat the words out, she just couldn't stop the tears running down her cheeks. After all, she did loved the man.

However, just as she was about to open the door, a hand stopped her.

"Stop!"

With one big stride, he grasped her wrist, pulling her back.

"Let me go!"

She winced at the sharp pain as she tried to wrench his hand away. However, that only seemed to have tightened his hold.

"Who do you think you are to ask for a divorce?" he yelled. He dug his fingernails down her skin which only made her scream out in pain.

Slap!

Yolande slapped him with all her strength. The tight grip finally loosened, and she wrenched herself away from him, shoving him back.

"It's fair, isn't it?" she snapped.

Aron was simply stunned to silence. In the past three years, the woman had never even answered him back. No matter how he humiliated and tortured her, she endured the entire thing. Even when he was fucking her, she'd let him do anything he wanted.

"I've had enough of this!" Her shrill voice echoed throughout the hallways. It had been three years, and she was just done with his shit! "I'm done!"

Her lips were quivering, but she continued,

"Do you think I don't know? The affair between you and my sister?"

If she hadn't seen the two of them hours ago, then maybe she wouldn't have acted like this. But that was the last straw. She had enough!

"You saw us?" Aron raised his eyebrows in surprise. However, there was no trace of regret in his expression.

He reached up his hand to touch his cheek where she slapped him, a sneer showing in his face. 'No fucking wonder she's being so emotional today,' he thought. Now that she'd seen it, then there was no need to pretend anymore. Aron sat in the sofa, face as stoic as a statue.

"You want to know why I didn't like to touch your body in years, Yolande? Do you know? It's because I find you disgusting!"

He sneered even more once that he'd seen her flushed red. However, Aron was not going to stop right then and there. "Do you know how disgusting you are in my eyes? Honestly, it never occurred to me that a woman that looked so chaste, would sleep with a man over his eighties!"

"Enough, Aron!"

Yolande roared, about to raise her hand only to be caught by Aron before it could even reach his face. He raised an eyebrow.

"What? You want to hit me again? The less you want me to say, the more I'd talk!"

He roughly grabbed her jaw and pulled her face closer to his, nails digging into her skin. She flinched as his eyes darkened in fury.

"Do you know the difference between you and your sister? A woman like you doesn't deserve to be my wife!"

He finally shoved her away before wiping his hand on his coat as if he'd just touched something dirty. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stomped right off, slamming the door behind him. The enormous villa was now empty, nothing left but the howling winds and the rustling of leaves.

She sniffled, tears continuously running down her face. Her face was now stark pale. She leaned against the door, a hand running down across the handle, gripping it tightly.

It felt as if she had lost her strength to even stand up as she landed on the ground with a thump.

Everything was over now.

The man didn't love her, not even one bit.

Now, she was starting to think whether he loved her at all from the start.

Outside the villa, it was pitch black, like her soul. She had been walking around like a zombie all her life, controlled by her feelings for a man who'd never return them. It was time to start anew.

"Mrs. Gu, have you really made up your mind? As your lawyer, I don't advise that you give it up. You're still entitled to a share of Mr. Gu's property according to marriage article–"

He was about to continue in disbelief once they met again face to face. Usually, most women would try to earn as much as they could from these types of divorce cases. This was the first time he'd encountered such a woman.

"I don't want anything from him, Attorney Zhang," she interrupted before he could blabber on about the laws that could permit her in getting more money. "I've made up my mind."

She took up her pen and signed her name on the divorce agreement.

"But..."

"Don't worry." She smiled faintly. "I won't pay you any less."

Under her lawyer's confusing gaze, she quickly packed up her luggage and set off for home.

Sitting on the backseat of a taxi, she took one last look at the villa through the rearview mirror. She stayed there for the past three years, yet she never really formed any attachment to the place.

"Miss, are you okay?" the driver asked.

Yolande quickly wiped tears with the back of her sleeve. "The wind was just too strong. Sand must've gotten in my eyes,"

she said before turning to look at the window. She still had a long way to go before she reached home, so that she might clear up her mind for a bit.

Her family still wasn't informed of her divorce, so they began to make a fuss the moment she arrived. Honestly, she'd expected that her family would understand what she was going through and offer her a place to stay, but it seemed not.

"Why did you come back?" Harvey Su yelled at the sight of his daughter's figure coming from the door. He lifted up his cup from the tea table and threw it at her feet.

The glassware shattered around her, some shards even scratching her lower legs while the others fell into her shoes.

"Dad," she stuttered.

She wasn't expecting this kind of reaction, especially from her father. "I..."

"Don't call me like that! I don't have a shameless daughter like you!" Harvey Su heaved in anger, waving her off. His face was red as he breathed in and out.

"You know your father has a heart problem!" Her stepmother, Wendy Chu, stepped forward, patting her husband's chest. "You dare come back? Please, Harvey, calm down."

"I... I just came back to take something. I'll get going soon." She hastily turned around and left for her room.

Yolande had thought that her family would be there for her, not turn her away as if she were nothing but a beggar. She couldn't believe that she was being rejected by her own home.

Her feet ached as she trudged along, feeling the leftover shards digging deeper into her feet. Finally reaching her room, she jumped at the edge of her bed and nursed her feet, taking off the shards that had punctured her piece by piece.

"Why?" she whispered. "How did it come to this? What did I do to deserve this?"

As Yolande pulled out the last piece of glass, her hands trembled. They were stained with blood now.

Her husband had just insulted her and her father drove her out.

The two men she loved the most wanted nothing more than for her to disappear. Things were different back then. Back then, her father would greet her as the best daughter in the world, while her husband would tell her how much he loved her.

That was all in the past.

The more she recalled the past, the sadder she became. She hugged her knees. As she buried her face down to her knees, her tears fell down to her dress, mixing with the blood that had stained her white dress.

"Yolande?"

The door creaked open,

as a slim and attractive woman slipped into the room.

"Yolande, what's wrong? What happened? Why do you have blood all over?" Sunny Su rushed over to her, stunned at the scene.

"Nothing."

Yolande turned away, wiping the blood off her skin as quickly as possible.

She stared at Sunny Su coldly. This wasn't her sister anymore. She was nothing more than an enemy.

"Your feet... Are you injured?" Sunny Su turned to walk away.

"I'll get the medicine box!"

"Stop!"

Seeing how fake this was, Yolande couldn't help but wrinkle her nose in disgust. This was getting pathetic.

Sunny Su could only look at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yolande?" she said tentatively.

"Drop the bullshit, Sunny.

You think I don't know what you did? You bitch!"

Yolande's eyes were bright red. Ever since they entered her life, she had loved Sunny as if she were her own biological sister.

However, this woman had the nerve to betray her right behind her back!

"So you finally know now, huh?" Her innocent look had finally withered down, as Sunny sneered down at Yolande. She leaned over the doorframe, crossing her arms.

"Why?" Yolande demanded. "I've given you everything. I loved you. How could you do this to me?" Yolande felt heartbroken by it all. Her husband who had once loved her found it in himself to hurt her, and the woman that she grew up with betrayed her.

"If you're willing to do everything for me, why didn't you give Aron to me?"

Sunny raised her head arrogantly, snorting. She crossed her arms, unashamed of what she'd done.

"Look at yourself, huh. You don't deserve him. You don't deserve to marry him! All you are is a slut,

who's willing to sell her virginity to just anyone!"

It had never occurred to Yolande that they'd be like this over just one man. After everything they'd been through, she was willing to give it all up for Aron. How dare her?

"Bitch!"

Yolande said through gritted teeth. She jumped up from her bed and grabbed Sunny's hair, pulling her down the carpeted floor. All grace that she held was gone. She was furious, as her sister's words echoed in her eardrums. 'Slut, huh? I'll show her!'

Sunny didn't expect that Yolande would go through all these lengths to beat her. She immediately covered her head with her hands, quivering in fear. "Mom, help!" she yelled out, startling the people downstairs.

"Yolande! She–she wants to kill me!" Hearing the sound from upstairs, Wendy Chu rushed over.

"You bitch!" she yelled, seeing the scene unfold in front of her. She quickly pulled Yolande away from her daughter. "Let go of her!"

Without another word, she slapped Yolande. Her grip finally loosened as her mind fell blank. Grief overwhelmed Yolande, as she stood motionless at the scene unfolding before her.

It turned out everyone hated her. No one understood how much she suffered, how she'd feel throughout all of these. No one even believed her or even pitied her.

"Mom, she hit me!"

"Baby, don't be afraid. I'm here to teach this slut a lesson!"

Sunny sobbed as if she were the victim, as if she wasn't the slut who had just slept with someone else's husband. Yolande sneered at the sight, curling her fingers into fists.

The more cunning a woman was, the more pity she'd be able to get, it seemed.

This place, Yolande realized, as she looked around... she had never belonged here. Hearing Wendy Chu's vicious words, Yolande stalked out of the house, her suitcase in tow.

Her head tilted upwards from what little pride she left as she walked down the streets. This wasn't her home anymore. Since that was the case, where would she go after? As she strolled down the paved sidewalks, she realized that she had absolutely no idea. The city had been her home, her place. She was actually going to leave the city she knew and loved. But even then, as she looked back, she realized that maybe she didn't know it as well as she'd thought.

The cold wind blew over her as yellow leaves from Chinese parasol trees whirled around. Every street looked the same with every twist and turn that she had passed. All the memories she had here hit her like a dagger.

Yolande shook her head, strands of hair falling down her cheeks. However, no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't control herself from recalling all the memories she had here.

All these years, she thought she was tough, that she was strong, yet now, as she walked down the streets, she was just a pathetic woman. All these years, she tried to hold her head up high, yet now...

"Yolande, watch out!" someone shouted not far behind, but it was too late.

Just before she could react, a car sped over towards her, hitting her with full force.

"Bang!"

She flew back meters away, her head crashing onto the pavement. Blood pooled around her as she felt the skies spinning around. Everything was blurry now, even the sound had started to make her ears throb in pain. She tried to scramble back up, only to feel a sharp pain throughout her body.

Before she knew it, everything turned black.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

In an operating room of the hospital, the green light on the ECG machine kept on flashing. Several surgeons surrounded the woman who was brought in there due to a car accident.

Outside the operating room was the director and a suited man.

"Director, the woman's left kidney is failing. There are just too many blood clots. We have to remove it as soon as possible." A nurse ran towards them, looking out of breath as she glanced anxiously at the two.

The handsome man frowned.

"Is there any other way?" the director asked as seeing the man's expression.

Doctor Zhang, who just came out, could only shake his head. "We're trying our best to keep her alive right now. Her missing a kidney wouldn't do much harm to her."

"No way," the man interrupted. His determined eyes made everyone at a loss for words.

The director frowned, leaning in to whisper to the man. "Mr. Austin, do you think we should inform her family members?" he said. "If they agree to donate the kidney, then we can perform a transplant."

"They don't care she's at this state. Do you think they'd want to donate a kidney for her?" Austin Lin sneered.

"But if this continues, she won't be able to live that much longer with a malfunctioning kidney." Yolande could not afford more time. The more seconds that they were wasting, the more she neared her deathbed.

Although the life of the injured was more important, they couldn't find it in themselves to disobey Austin Lin.

"Mr. Austin, what do you think?" the director urged.

"Remove it then," he said it through gritted teeth. Although he hated the idea, it seemed as if the staff had left him with no other option.

Everyone sighed in relief as they rushed back to the operating room, prepping for the operation.

Austin Lin could only looking from afar, his face scrunched up with worry. He understood what it meant to have only one kidney. An ordinary person would suffer great amounts of pain,

and for someone like Yolande, who had a poor physical health in the first place, it'd be extra hard on her.

Austin Lin gritted his teeth.

He had seen her suffer, and he hated it, hated how he couldn't be there to actually help her. Austin Lin didn't want her to suffer anymore and bear all this weight alone. This was why he was left to make such a decision.

Four hours later, Yolande was already lying in one of the best wards in the hospital.

Her hand was covered with infusion holes, with tubes crisscrossed around her, as bottles of medicine hung on the iron rack of the bed.

Her palm was cold to touch. Austin rose up to fix the tubes, making sure that they all flow properly in her system.

Plock! Plock!

These days, Austin would take hours from his day to accompany her. Even if he'd assigned the best nurses to attend to her, he couldn't help but be worried about her.

He used to be silent and shy, but now he found himself telling her details of his day as he read her stories in hopes that she'd wake up.

He recalled how they first met each other...

People who didn't know them would think she was his beloved wife. However, for the others who actually knew them, Austin was nothing more than Yolande's friend.

Even Yolande didn't know that Austin had been loving her selflessly all this time. Even on her wedding day, he reeled himself as he watched her walk down the aisle, hoping for her happiness.