Flash Marriage: Love Lives Eternally

It was late at night.

The Jazz Bar was bustling with people. Crazy dazzling lights kept on flickering. The deafening noise almost broke through the roof and soared into the sky. Men and women swayed with music while they flirted with each other.

At this moment, they forgot about their tedious life. Their feet moved to the crazy beat, releasing the pent-up restlessness from their body.

In contrast, a few people sat quietly in a corner. They looked out of place, least interested in the music.

"How is everything going?" the woman asked.

"Don't worry. Everything is fine," the man sitting opposite her assured her. "After tonight, I am pretty sure he will come down from that position. Once that happens, you'll be the hostess of the family."

His words pleased the woman. She picked up her glass and clinked it with his. "In that case, congratulations in advance. We'll make it happen."

The two of them sat looking at each other. Malicious smiles crept on both of their faces.

Mandy Ai was in a strange hotel room. Everything was a jumble. She couldn't make sense of anything. 'What happened? Why am I here? Where is Jacob?' she wondered. This place wasn't her home. In fact, she had never been here before.

All kinds of doubts were forgotten as she felt a weird feeling in her body. Her mind became blurry and all her thoughts disappeared. Instinctively, she clutched the bed sheet.

Even though she couldn't make sense of her surroundings, she knew she was naked. Cold wind from the air conditioner blew on her skin, sending tingles all over her body.

She found a faint chill coming down from her neck. She wanted to grab it and stop it from ravaging her body. But her hands were numb, allowing it to explore her body the way it pleased.

She moaned and twisted her body. After a lot of groaning, the restlessness that made her uncomfortable faded away.

With a start, she woke up. "It was nothing but a nightmare," she muttered under her breath. Relief washed over her face. It was a terrible dream. In it, she had seen the love of her life, Jacob Lin, accusing her of cheating on him. She had wanted to explain her innocence, but he wouldn't listen to it.

She sprang up from the bed and breathed heavily. It took her a long time to open her eyes. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

'It was just a dream. Just relax, ' she thought. 'Wait!'

Now that her eyes were wide open, she couldn't understand where was. 'What is this place?' she thought as fear crept through her. Soon, an excruciating pain went through her body. She lowered her head and found bruises all over her naked body.

The door to the bathroom opened, startling her. A man she had never seem before came out. His expression was indifferent and cold.

"Who are you?" She quickly pulled the quilt to cover herself up.

The man didn't say anything. Instead, he strode towards the bed, stared at her for a moment, and grabbed her neck. "To achieve your goal, you have played a dirty trick. You are a wretched woman! You make me sick."

He was overcome by a fierce anger. He grabbed her throat and began to choke her. She couldn't breathe. She struggled for her life, but he was too strong.

The instinct for survival made her react quickly. Perhaps the man was not paying attention to her action, or perhaps he was not prepared. With her sharp nail, she scratched his face.

A gruesome, red mark appeared on his smooth face.

Squinting his eyes, he glared at her. One could tell from his glance he had made up his mind to kill her. When he was about to attack her, the phone on the bedside bed suddenly rang. Distracted, he went to answer it.

"Okay, I know."

After answering the phone, he seemed less angry. It was like he had forgotten about her existence. He packed his stuff and got ready to leave. Before he closed the door, he looked at her and said coldly, "Don't hold those unrealistic fantasies! If you dare to mess around, I will make sure to choke you to death."

A few minutes ago, she had almost died at the hands of this stranger. She knew he meant to kill her and a chill went down her spine. She lay on the bed, breathing heavily. Once the door was closed, she allowed her tears to flow.

She had never found herself in such a situation before. All kinds of emotions surged up in her heart at this moment. The more she thought of it, the more she cried.

'What happened yesterday? Why am I here? Who was the man? And where did Jacob go?'

At the thought of Jacob Lin, she sprang out of the bed in a hurry, picked up her clothes and put them on. Before she stepped out of the room, a thought occurred to her. If someone recognized her, it would tarnish her reputation. Pulling her hair in front of her face, she sneaked out of the hotel.

On the way back home to Jacob Lin's house, she was restless and fidgety. She was certain he would help her gain some clarity on what had happened. With her heart thudding against her chest, she stood at his doorstep, straightened her clothes, fixed her hair and then gently knocked on the door.

In spite of knocking several times, he didn't open the door. She twisted the doorknob only to find out the door wasn't locked. A sense of uneasiness spread over her heart, but she walked inside nevertheless. He was her sole hope.

As soon as she reached the hall way, his bedroom door sprang open. Mandy Ai let out a small cry. But on noticing it was Jacob Lin, she seemed a bit relieved.

Just seeing him made her happy. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes. Trying to hold back her emotions, she mumbled, "Jacob..."

"Why are you here?" Before she could finish her sentence, Jacob's cold voice cut her off. He felt nothing but disgust for her. "Get out of here right now!" he roared, not bothering to meet her eyes.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Even in her wildest dream, she wouldn't have thought he could treat her like this. Thinking her ears had played a trick on her, she hurriedly towards him and asked, "What's wrong with you, Jacob?"

Repulsed by her touch, he quickly shook her hands off. "Mandy, you are a shameless woman. Don't you dare touch me with your disgusting hands."

His attitude towards her had changed completely. She had met him during her freshman year at university. Since then, their friendship had grown strong and turned into love. They had been together for three years. Over the years, he had treated her like a priced treasure. In fact, he was afraid to even raise his voice in front of her. 'What happened to that love?' she thought as her heart broke into pieces.

"Jacob, please don't treat me like this," she said, hoping he would at least explain the reason behind his fury.

He sneered, walked toward the tea table and picked up an envelope. Instead of handing it over to her, he threw it on her face. The contents inside were all over the place.

As soon as she saw the photos, she felt dizzy. There were photos of her entering the hotel last night and leaving this morning. Although she was all alone in these photos, her ruffled look told everyone what had happened.

"Jacob, listen to me," she said trying hard to maintain her composure.

"No need to explain. These photos are self-explanatory," he said with a mocking smile.

He gazed at her, his eyes as sharp as a knife. Slowly, his gaze slid down from her face and went to her chest.

Without giving her any time to react, he went forward and opened the buttons of her shirt. Her bruised skin was revealed.

"Mandy, do you still want to explain? All these years, I've tried my best to satisfy you. Is my love not enough for you? Is this how you repay me?"

He spoke at the top of his voice and his eyes turned red.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But his rage stopped her from doing so. After all, what was there to say? She realized nothing she said would justify the photos he had seen with his own eyes. Even though she hadn't done it deliberately, the truth was she had betrayed him.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. I didn't do any of this on purpose. Please forgive me this time, okay?" she cried out and grabbed his sleeve, pleading for his forgiveness.

"I don't know how any of this happened. I am sorry, Jacob, but please believe me..."

Raising his hand, he slapped her.

"Do you mean to say you were forced? Look at that photos! I don't see anyone forcing you inside.

Mandy, just shut up and get out of my sight. If you remain here, I might end up killing you. If you have an ounce of dignity, just get the hell out of here!" he roared.

"No!" She shook her head desperately, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed his sleeve, not letting him go.

Unable to speak, she tried to look into his eyes. But he turned his face away from her.

Something told her that he still felt pity for her. If she tried hard enough, perhaps he would forgive her. After all, they had been together for three years. How could they break up so easily?

Seeing she wasn't leaving, he said, "The harm has been done. Have some pity! Please leave now."

He was imploring her to leave. She couldn't understand how her life had changed so drastically in the blink of an eye. 'How can he hate me so much?' she wondered.

"Okay," she mumbled. The best thing she could do was leave his house. If he didn't believe her, there was no point in begging. She turned around and rushed out of the door.

He had thought it would take a long time to sort it out. However, she had left without a fight. Looking at her receding figure, he frowned.

Her mind was in a mess. After leaving his house, she didn't know what to do. She had gone there with a lot of hope. Everything was shattered.

She wasn't even aware of her surroundings. Suddenly, a car began to honk, bringing her out of her reverie. She turned around and watched a man getting out of his car. On looking around, she realized she was sitting in the middle of the road.

The frightened driver stood in front of her and said, "You're courting death, aren't you? If that case, find another way to kill yourself. Don't trap me, bloody bad luck!"

Realizing her mistake, she slowly got up from the ground, looked at the man and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Instead of accepting her apology, the driver spat on her face and got back into his car.

She lowered her head and smiled bitterly. 'My day couldn't get any worse, ' she thought and wiped her face with the back of her hand. When she was about to go back to school, a piercing pain suddenly rose from her ankle. She bent down to check and saw a large bruise on her ankle. Blood was gushing out of it.

She tried to move her ankle but the pain brought her to a halt. It looked like her ankle was sprained.

She took out a tissue and pressed it against the wound. Sharp pain shot through her ankle. In spite of it, she forced herself to walk. After the heartbreak she had experienced, no physical pain could deter her.

When she returned to the dormitory, Mandy Ai lost all her strength and fell down. She leaned against the wall and started to weep. Seeing this, Sophia Wan, who was playing with her mobile phone, put it aside and rushed towards her. "Mandy, what's wrong with you?" she asked.

Sophia Wan was Mandy's best friend and they had known each other since childhood. Their relationship was stronger than that of biological sisters. If there was anyone in the world who could help her in this situation, it was Sophia Wan. Looking at her, Mandy Ai helplessly asked, "Sophia, what should I do now?"

"What happened?" Sophia looked down and noticed Mandy's swollen ankle. Horrified, she asked, "How can you be so careless? This looks painful, Mandy.

Get up and I'll take you to the doctor." Sophie went to grab her coat. But the words that came out of Mandy's mouth brought her to a halt.

"Sophia, Jacob decided to break up with me."

"What did you just say?" Disbelief was etched over Sophia's face. Once again, she swatted next to Mandy and said, "Today is not April Fool's Day. Try this some other time."

Mandy couldn't help but cry. "Sophia, I've done something terrible. I betrayed Jacob. What should I do? Tell me, what should I do to rectify my mistake?"

Sophia had difficulty digesting this news. Gently, she held Mandy in her arms and patted her head. "It's okay. No matter what happens, I'm here with you."

Lying in her arms, Mandy cried hysterically and slowly fell asleep.

When she woke up again, it was already evening. Mandy struggled to open her eyes. When she got up, she noticed she was wearing pajamas. Her injured ankle had also been carefully treated and wrapped with gauze.

"Sophia?" she called out in a hoarse and unpleasant voice.

However, she didn't receive any response. She willed herself to stand up and walked toward the door. Just then, she heard a sound coming from outside.

Somehow, she remained there, trying to eavesdrop.

"When shall we go get the shares?"

"What? Why do I have a feeling you regret it? Are you still in love with that bitch? Then get back together with her."

"Enough. We'll meet there tomorrow."

Then, Sophia spoke in a low voice. She was whispering to the person on the phone as if she was talking to her boyfriend. She was walking toward the dorm room. Many came back to her senses and pretended that she heard nothing.

When Sophia opened the door and entered, she was startled by the sight of Mandy standing near the door. Her pupils expanded and panic coursed through her body. At this moment, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Sophia, what have you been?" Mandy asked.

Composing herself, Sophia put on a smile and said, "I had an important call from work. Are you hungry? The dinner I bought for you is still in the heat preservation box. Would you like to eat now?"

Supported by her, Mandy walked back to the bed and sat down. "No, I want to sleep," she announced.

Sophia wouldn't take no for an answer. She brought the food and sat beside Mandy. When she unscrewed the lid, the wonderful fragrance of the chicken soup wafted in the air. She scooped up the soup and helped Mandy eat. "Drink a little at least, Mandy. This is important for your health. Also, you can't sleep properly unless your stomach is full."

Seeing the care and love with which Sophia was treated her, Mandy's heart softened. She forgot all about the suspicion that had risen in her heart after she overheard the phone conversation. After drinking half a bowl of soup, she went back to sleep.

That night, Mandy's sleep was nowhere close to peaceful. She dreamed of the cold expression she had seen on Jacob's face. Next, she saw the murderous look with which the stranger had strangled her.

All these nightmares made it impossible for her to sleep well. Finally, she decided she didn't want to sleep any more. Instead, she motionlessly lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Her eyes were adapted to darkness so she clearly saw Sophia entering the bathroom. She was tiptoeing like she was afraid of waking Mandy up.

When she came out, she was all dressed up. Mandy couldn't help but ask, "Sophia, where are you going?"

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Sophia's body stiffened when she heard her call. "Why are you awake so early? You should try to sleep more. I have something urgent to deal with. Once I am back, I will keep you company. "

"Okay,"

Mandy agreed and watched her leave. A few minutes later, she got out of the bed in a hurry, picked a coat, put on her shoes and limped out.

Fortunately, Sophia was walking at a slow pace. Without much difficulty, Mandy managed to catch up with her. Afraid of being recognized, she pulled her hair in front of her eyes.

Her heart was thudding against her chest. She didn't want to be recognized. Sophia entered a teahouse. The waiter noticed something strange about Mandy's behavior. She asked him to give her a box next to the one Sophia was sitting in.

To her advantage, the walls were made of planks, making the sound insulation effect pretty useless. Mandy held the menu in her hands but her attention was elsewhere. Straining her head, she was trying to hear what was happening in the next box.

"Miss, what kind of tea do you want?" the waiter asked impatiently. She wasn't even addressing his presence.

Mandy came to her senses and casually pointed at a name on the menu. "This one, thank you."

The waiter wrote down the name and left. As soon as he left, she let out a sigh of relief. She heard someone speak in the next box. "Andrew! Don't think you are free to do as you please just because you are my uncle. You've even slept with my girlfriend. Do you know what will happen when people come to know about it?"

In an instant, she knew who was the man speaking. It was none other than Jacob, the man she had loved for the past three years.

"What do you want from me, Jacob?" a cold voice asked.

"You must transfer ten percent of the company's shares to me. Otherwise, I won't let go of this matter," Jacob said filled with determination.

Listening to this, the other man laughed and said, "In order to get the shares, you drugged your own girlfriend and sent her to your uncle's bed! I haven't seem a man as shameless as you.

I won't even give you one percent, let alone ten percent. Try all you want, you can't get money out of me!"

The waiter brought the tea. He noticed Mandy's face had turned pale. "Miss, are you okay? Is there something I can do for you?" he asked, thinking she was ill.

Mandy took the teacup in her hands as she listened to their conversation.

"Mr. Lin, think twice before you say something. People are going to laugh when they hear that Jacob's uncle has slept with his girlfriend," said a woman.

The waiter noticed Mandy was about to drink the hot tea. He went ahead and warned her. Once she came back to her senses, the steaming tea spilled on her hand.

"Miss!" the waiter exclaimed.

He thought she would scream with pain. But to his surprise, she just gazed at him and said in a hoarse voice, "What should I do?"

"What?" The waiter couldn't understand what she was talking about. She got up from her seat, and made her way to the box where the discussion was happening.

Rage pulsed through her veins. All this while, she had a cup of hot tea in her hand. Without any hesitation, she poured it on Jacob's face.

As soon as the hot tea touched his skin, he yelped. Covering his face with his hands, he jumped out of the room. Instead of being ashamed at being caught, he rushed towards Mandy and raised his hand to slap her.

Mandy stepped back, trying to dodge his slap, but in the process she ended up falling.

"Are you insane?" Jacob asked with exasperation.

It took Mandy a few seconds to digest the scene in front of her. Her best friend and boyfriend had cheated on her. She laughed like a maniac and asked, "Did you drug me and send me to your uncle?"

A look of shame swept through Jacob's eyes. He turned his head, trying to avoid her eyes.

He had done a shameful thing yet he didn't have the guts to own up his mistake. The room fell into silence.

It was broken by Sophia.

Standing in front of Mandy, she slapped her. The slap was as hard that it stung her face. "Mandy, when will you learn your lesson? How dare you follow me, bitch!"

Mandy's face was numb with pain. She looked back and forth between her good friend and her ex-boyfriend.

After regaining her composure, Mandy looked straight into Sophia's eyes. "Sophia, where did you learn to become a mistress? You are pretty good at this." Mandy got some satisfaction as she watched Sophia's face turn pale.

Now that she had tackled Sophia and Jacob, her attention went to the stranger from the hotel. "Mr. Lin, right? I have broken up with this scumbag two days ago. So basically, you didn't sleep with your nephew's girlfriend. I am his ex and that makes his threat invalid."

Jacob interrupted angrily, "Mandy, what nonsense are you blabbering? When did we break up?"

Mandy looked at him and answered calmly, "Just two days ago. Is there something wrong with your ears? Didn't you hear what I just said?"

A fresh swell of rage rose in Jacob.

He still wanted to say something, but Sophia moved forward and stopped him from continuing. Even though they had lost this game, she feigned a smile and turned to Andrew. "Mr. Lin, I want you to give it another thought. After all, it will be embarrassing for you if people come to know about it. I'll call you later."

After saying that, she held Jacob's hand and walked out of the teahouse.

Looking at them leave, Mandy didn't know what to do. She wanted to follow them and spit curses. Gritting her teeth, she swallowed her rage.

If she made a scene, nothing good would come out of it. If anything, her image would get tarnished. She couldn't make it so easy for them.

Suddenly, a sound came from behind. Andrew stood up and was now taking his coat. When Mandy looked him, memories of yesterday rushed to her mind. She vividly remembered how his cold hand clutched her neck in the hotel suite. Her body trembled at the thought of it.

Holding back her fear, she said "Mr. Lin, please wait a moment."

Andrew stopped but didn't turn around.

"Mr. Lin, they framed both of us. And now they have the audacity to threaten us! We are both victims. How about we join hands and take revenge?"

As soon as she spoke, she regretted it. She knew he had a bad temper.

Andrew turned around and gazed at her. "Who do you think you are? Why are you talking about cooperation with me?"

His words silenced her. He went on, "When it comes to cooperation, people think about benefits. Could you give me money, power or connections?

I'm sorry but you don't have anything to offer. You are just a helpless girl who doesn't have the ability to take revenge. You know that very well which is why you are begging for my help. Moreover, you picked Jacob as your boyfriend. Let's just say you paid for your stupidity.

As for me, I have my own methods to make him pay"