Flash Marriage: My Mysterious Man

"Ouch! That hurts!"

Pale as snow, Fiona Qiao woke up from her dream in the most horrifying way. She opened her eyes, revealing a layer of crystal mist which emphasized how delicate and feeble they were. Suddenly, her breathing started to get rapid and beads of sweat started to drip from her forehead indicating her fear.

At that moment, her body trembled and at the same time felt numb. Then, she slowly placed her hand right on top of the birthmark on her chest to soothe herself from the aching pain. In the pitch-black room, she bit her lips slightly while inhaling the minty breath of the man next to her.

No matter how hard she tried to get rid of it, she still failed to do so.

It was as if she also felt the pain from her dream in a very tactile way - the heat, the desperation and the helplessness that she could no longer endure.

Anyone who would see her suffer like this would most probably choose to close their eyes for it was a truly shocking scene.

As she thought of this, there was a sudden shiver down her spine. In fact, she had been bothered by this irregular dream for more than a month now. There was nothing she wanted more in the world than for this nightmare to stop.

That day, as she woke up in the hotel, something grabbed her attention that it almost burned her eyes. She got up and tried to make the bed when she noticed something - a glaring bloodstain on the pristine white bed sheet!

Moreover, she could not help but feel anxious for the damage had already been done, and it was impossible for her to clean up the mess in a very short time.

Snapping back to reality, Fiona Qiao covered her sweaty head with her hands. At that point, all she could do was lower her head in a feeble manner and sigh in dismay.

All of a sudden, her phone rang. It was her aunt, Melissa Han, who was calling. After she picked it up, her aunt on the other line worriedly spoke, "Didn't you promise that you would come back today? You've been living in our family for so many years. In fact, we also feel ashamed, but Olivia... "

Melissa Han paused on purpose, and Fiona Qiao already understood what she meant.

"I know. I'll be right back," Fiona Qiao replied in a mellow voice.

She had owed Melissa Han's family a great debt of gratitude. As a matter of fact, she could have probably been a thief on the street if the Ling family had not taken her in. But as she recalled what it could have been like for her without their help, she was forced to show a bitter smile.

She was upset, but she didn't feel harmed in any manner. In her head, she must do what needed to be done.

"Remember to come on time. The Fu family is on their way and we don't want to keep them waiting."

Hearing this, Fiona Qiao bit her lower lip quietly as she clenched her fist.

Meanwhile, today was a special day to hang banners, have a feast, and sing their hearts out for Olivia Ling, Melissa's daughter. Since it was Olivia's birthday, it was also the perfect time for the Ling family and the wealthy Fu family to discuss about the marriage. Olivia Ling didn't much have a choice on this one because even before she was able to see the world, she was already engaged to a boy in the Fu family.

Ideally, it was Olivia's fortune the Ling family was after in this union. But as it turned out, it was not what they had originally intended.

Fiona was there to replace Olivia in marrying the eldest son of the Fu family, Caspar Fu. Being paraplegic, Caspar would not be able to do anything even if it wasn't really Olivia who was marrying him. Afraid of losing face, the Fu family agreed to whatever was offered to them.

Word went around that the man was stubborn and isolated. Moreover, it was said that he had already hurt two of his servants, making all the others avoid him at all cost. What was worse was that he was thought to have been involved in the deaths of his two previous fiancees who fell ill and died.

Hearing these comments, Fiona already had a picture of Caspar in her head - a ferocious monster - which made the hairs on her back stand in horror.

On the other hand, Olivia was the Ling family's most prized possession, and her aunt and uncle's favorite. They had never wanted to push Olivia in a pit of fire when they arranged her marriage. Or at least, they were reluctant to do so. From time to time, they would plead and cry in front of Fiona, asking her to replace their daughter's position.

After thinking for a long while, the Ling family's persistent begging had finally come to a halt. Fiona accepted the terms and the Ling family praised her for it. Surely, they had waited for a long time to hear her sweet approval.

Meanwhile, that night, she had already given up as there was nothing she could do. Frustrated, she went out for a drink with her best friend and roommate, Rita Xia. They talked for a while as they emptied their cups one after another. However, on her way back, Fiona felt something odd. Walking in a dark alley, there was a man behind her who held her back, stopping her in her tracks. She lifted her leg and kicked the man, but her struggling was to no avail.

That night ended up in a hotel.

She tried to shake the scene out of her mind, but still failed. It just kept haunting her every night.

After Fiona hung up the phone, Rita Xia came back and saw her panic. She could not help but come closer to check if Fiona was okay.

Handing over a bottle of yogurt to her, Rita Xia smiled and said, "Hey Fiona, you don't look so good. Are you feeling better now?" But before she could answer, Fiona had already stood up. "Hey, wait! Where are you going? We're going to meet my dream lover. He has lost a precious cuff link recently and I want to help him find it. He'll definitely appreciate me for helping him,"

Rita muttered as her eyes flashed with excitement. Jeremy Fu would come to their school soon to employ new interns on behalf of his company, and Rita would never miss this opportunity to show her perfect performance.

Seeing that Fiona still wanted to leave, she quickly stretched out her hands as an attempt to stop her.

However, Fiona was very adamant about leaving. With an apologetic smile, Fiona replied, "Sorry, Rita. I just don't have the time today. I need to go to my aunt's house right away. She's waiting for me."

"Well... That's such a shame. Too bad you won't see my prince charming. He is coming, you know. You are going to miss this to show off."

"Well, it doesn't matter. There's always a next time." Fiona gave her back a gentle pat as she tried to comfort her.

"Well, you are right about that."

Fiona grabbed her bag and started to walk towards the door. She scoured inside trying to find her purse when...

All of a sudden, she stopped walking. After almost turning her bag inside out, a red diamond cuff appeared on her palm.

In that case, the man that night... No, it couldn't be that case. Rita was a good girl. She came from a decent family with good character, and had good personality and good taste. The man she fancied was definitely not the kind of playboy.

At that moment, her mind was in a complete mess as doubts clouded her mind.

Meanwhile, Fiona walked briskly back to the Ling family's house. When she was about to open the door, she stopped on her tracks. She was left there standing, biting her lower lip, while her face turned as pale as a ghost.

At that moment, all she saw was a red sports car's bright headlight speeding towards her. She wanted to flee but she could not move a muscle, as if her feet were nailed to the ground.

Suddenly, the tires rubbed against the ground and screeched at a high pitch. Swerving, the car managed to come to a halt beside Fiona.

Thankfully, she wasn't harmed in any way. Her jaw almost dropped as she froze on the sidewalk.

"Why are you standing here?" Olivia rolled down the car window and whistled at her to call her attention. She wore heavy make-up that was so thick it almost erased her original face. "My good cousin, I'm in such a bad mood today. And by the way, thank you for your help. Now, I really need you to take good care of the young master of the Fu family for me. Do you understand?"

Olivia smiled with pride. When she first heard that Fiona would be living with them, she felt nothing but upset. Since then, she tried to get rid of the annoying girl every chance she got. But now, thinking about, she even might have gotten the good end of a deal. After all, she would be hitting two birds with one stone; it was not that bad marrying a cripple.

At last, she could now receive her father's undivided attention. Fiona's innocent and annoying eyes would not be bothering her anymore.

Olivia thought evilly, 'After today, I am sure that God will help me torture that good-for-nothing Fiona.

You can be smarter and prettier than me all you want, but so what? I will make my own choices. You will have no choice but suffer with that cripple!'

Fiona clenched her fists. Taking a deep breath, she replied calmly, "Really? Oh, and Olivia, I heard that something was wrong with the Ling family's company? That's right. After I marry Mr. Caspar, I will start living the life that I've always dreamed of."

She was not that easy to be bullied, after all.

Suddenly, Olivia's face turned red with anger. "You... You have no business in running the Ling family's affairs! Have you realized it? I am the daughter of my parents, and you are nothing but a wretched shameless thief. For so many years, you have disgraced the Ling family. And now, you have no choice but to marry a cripple for me."

Hearing what Olivia had said, Fiona got flustered.

She had every right to be for her feelings were most certainly valid. And besides, who didn't have a bitter past? However, this time, she had no other choice. Over the years, Olivia had continuously sprayed salt into her wounds again and again. Seeing her in pain, with her wounds being poked open with blood made Olivia smirk.

Fiona agreed with the arranged marriage with the Fu family on Olivia's behalf, but Olivia not only didn't appreciate it, but also found it sarcastic.

At that moment, tears started to fill her eyes. Squatting down slowly, she picked up a brick and smashed it against the window of Olivia's fancy red BMW.

"Bang!"

Using up all of her strength, she put immense force as she hit the window. The window cracked and shards of glass flew everywhere.

All of this sounded exciting to Fiona who wanted to vent out her repressed anger.

"Fiona! Fuck! How dare you break my car! You... Oh, you'll see. I won't let you die so easily!" Seeing her car destroyed recklessly, Olivia flung open the door and got off the car. Fuming mad, her eyes looked hellish, as if she was ready to bite Fiona's arms off mercilessly.

She clenched both her fists in anger as she trembled. Her blue veins even started to pop out of her red skin. At that moment, she was an evil spawn sent by the devils.

However, Fiona remained unbothered by Olivia's rage. She always knew how hypocritical Olivia was. They all thought she was a well-behaved and well-mannered girl. After all, that was how she acted in front of them all this time. Instead, she was just a devil.

After all these years, Fiona had done nothing but swallow her pride as she received numerous insults and humiliation from the Ling family. She wanted to be able to return the favor by being independent after her graduation. All her life, she wanted to know how she could leave them without fear and guilt.

However, relief started to unhinge itself to her the moment she broke down Olivia's car window. She had always wanted to do that, but somehow, this was the first time that she acted on her urge to vent out all the rage building up inside of her.

Fiona then opened her mouth and continued, "Just do it. I'm not afraid of you. You can kill me if you want."

Her face bore a bitter smile along with a patch of bravery and a dash of helplessness. She didn't know what to do at that point and she was ready to die.

But unfortunately, she still couldn't.

Fiona had enough. She didn't want to argue with Olivia anymore.

Meanwhile, there was a car parked on the other side of the street, and the man inside it saw everything with his own eyes. All of a sudden, the man asked his driver, Jack Zhang, in a cold voice, "Isn't that grumpy woman Olivia? The one who is going to marry Caspar?"

Jack replied, "According to our sources, yes. She is the one."

Hearing this confirmation, the man punched his fist on the seat. The noise made by the impact startled Jack Zhang, which eventually made him break out in a cold sweat.

Wiping his forehead, Jack Zhang looked at the mirror. There, he found that Jeremy Fu was staring at the beautiful woman who stood behind Olivia. As he laid his eyes on her, he started to cup his chin as if he was thinking of something.

Fiona took a deep breath as she saw Olivia leave. Afterwards, she tried her best to change her mood and slowly walk towards the living room where everyone should be gathered.

When she arrived in the living room, she noticed that the Fu family had not arrived yet. Feeling a bit anxious, Fiona sat on the luxurious sofa. She felt so uneasy that she didn't know where to put her hands!

For so many years living in the Ling family, she always tried her best to keep a low key.

Suddenly, Melissa came over to her and grabbed her hand. Putting on a fake smile, she said, "This is so embarrassing, Fiona. I told the Fu family that you are recently experiencing terrible allergies. Here, wear this mask. Once the company gets through the financial crisis, we'll bring you back and treat you well."

Being well-prepared, she handed the mask to Fiona.

"Auntie, I would have died if you hadn't found me,"

Fiona obediently replied as she put on the mask. Even though she didn't exactly have a good relationship with Olivia, she knew she still had to repay this favor.

All of a sudden, Jonas Ling came into the living room. He didn't talk much, but at that moment he looked at Fiona with sadness in his eyes. After staying silent for a while, he began to say his parting message. "You must behave well in the Fu family."

Afterwards, he took out a bank card from his pocket to use as a dowry. However, Melissa drew it back quickly and forced a smile out of her face full of resentment.

Jonas Ling glared at her and was at the brink of saying something when they heard footsteps coming from outside.

Jonas and Melissa fixed themselves. Soon, they walked towards the door and stood up respectfully as they waited to greet the guests.

To everyone's surprise, it wasn't Mr. Caspar who was about to enter the living room. Instead, it was his brother, the new illegitimate son of the Fu family, Jeremy. He didn't have much of a good reputation as he was known to stir up turmoil in the upper class of S City.

Seeing Jeremy, the couple could not help but put on a long face as they were deeply upset. 'The Fu family didn't care much about this marriage, did they?' Melissa thought. This marriage was arranged by the deceased grandmother of Fu family, but that didn't mean they should take it with such attitude.

Upon entering the room, Jeremy put on his polite attitude. He stood up straight and placed glances at Fiona from time to time. Every so often, the corner of his mouth would curl into a mysterious smile.

Jeremy ignored the other members of the Ling family, making them extremely embarrassed.

"But where is Mr. Caspar?"

Jonas looked around for Caspar.

He would not make the decision to let Fiona marry into the Fu family if his company didn't have a big crisis. Being the eldest son, Caspar was the young master of the Fu family. It was said that he had been written down in his father's will that all his property would be left to him, and not to the illegitimate son who had just returned to the Fu family.

But why was Jeremy coming on behalf of the Fu family today?

Jeremy snorted. He touched the new cuff link that he wore with his slender fingers and smiled.

Narrowing his eyes, he spoke lightly, "As you are aware of my brother's condition, he asked me to come here on his behalf."

Jonas was taken aback. As soon as he saw Jeremy, he initially thought that the Fu family had changed their groom without prior notice.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Luck was on his side for this was only a false alarm and none of what he thought was true.

At that moment, Jeremy continuously stole glances at Fiona's very beautiful eyes.

On the other hand, Fiona felt that she was being stared at. Looking up, she met his dark and gloomy eyes. All of a sudden, flames of passion shot out from his dreary eyes.

The once melancholic eyes were replaced by ones that were bright and charming.

Never in her life had Fiona seen such a handsome man. As she stared at him, the corners of his mouth curved into a shallow swirl, turning into a powerful charming weapon. Anyone who would see this smile wouldn't be able to resist him.

"Uh, are you interested in me?" the man arrogantly asked as he crossed his arms and gave a little smirk.

"I... I am not."

Fiona trembled. She blushed and lowered her head out of embarrassment from being caught taking a peek at him. Fortunately, the mask covered her face. Otherwise, it would have been too humiliating.

'So, he's handsome. So what?' Fiona thought.

"Come on, let's go."

Jeremy came closer to her and grabbed her arm with his powerful hand.

Fiona was caught off guard as she did not expect this to happen. At that moment, all she felt were his warm hand. Unexpectedly, her broken heart felt a sudden warmth.

Staring at the man's side profile, Fiona saw his chiseled jaw. She continued to observe the man's features as her eyes slowly went down to his slender hand.

His fingers were long as if they were candles. But why was he holding her?

Still not letting go of her, the man's grip suddenly increased, eventually pulling her into his arms. Holding her shoulder with his other hand, he said, "Let's go, now. Otherwise, my family would wait for too long. We're going to get the marriage certificate today."

'Get the marriage certificate?' Fiona thought.

His words stunned Fiona. All this time, she had thought that they would only have a simple meeting today to discuss the plans for the wedding. It never occurred to her that she would get the marriage certificate in person so soon.

Her body started to turn cold. Trembling, she didn't know what to do as she turned to look at Melissa and Jonas who tried to avoid her gaze. Feeling left behind, she shook her head in horror.

Confusion took over her mind. She could still remember how they said that they would still give her some time to think over the matter. But apparently, what they said were untrue.

"Oh, and by the way, I forgot to tell you that the Ling family won't get cash flow until we get the marriage certificate. Understand?" Jeremy announced in a cold voice.

Hearing this, Fiona nodded.

In other words, if they couldn't get the marriage license, then the Ling family wouldn't get the cash flow at all. Somehow, it appeared that she was completely sold to the Fu family as a commodity with a fixed price.

On her way back, she once expected that the Fu family would one-sidedly cancel the engagement if they didn't like her.

"Come on, hurry up. Let's go and get the marriage license."

As Jeremy said these words, a sense of pity flashed through his eyes. Seeing that the woman in front of him was so innocent, he unconsciously held her shoulder more tightly than he should, as if protecting her.