Timeless Adoration

Swoosh Swoosh

On a starkly silent night, the heavy gasps and rapidly prodding footsteps were unusually clear in the deep street alley.

Cindy Luo seemed to be rather flustered, her face red and her forehead covered with sweat as she staggered on her feet.

Every now and then Cindy Luo squeezed her eyes as she clutched her stomach with her hands to contain the sharp pain caused by excessive alcohol.

The alcohol was getting better of her with every passing moment. At that moment, she was in unbearable pain.

But Cindy Luo couldn't afford to stop!

Especially after she saw a familiar figure at the bar gate just a while ago.

Cindy Luo could still not get over the cold and condensing look on his face and his piercing eyes. At the moment, she could think of only one thing.

She didn't want to see him again!

She hated him so much!

That was exactly what caused Cindy to run all the way from downtown to this deserted street even though she felt extremely exhausted.

After a while, Cindy Luo's legs felt so heavy that she started to drag her feet till the time her legs started to feel numb.

Cindy Luo halted in the middle of the road and bent over. The stabbing pain in her stomach was pulling her down and her heart was pounding against her chest. She then took a deep breath.

The uncanny silence all round and night breeze biting into Cindy Luo's skin made her tremble.

All of a sudden, she felt a dull chill on her back.

She swallowed hard and turned around.

However, all she could see was the ruthless darkness staring back at her.

He... He didn't catch up! He did not come after her!

A mix of anger and disappointment flashed across her face.

"Huh...

How foolish of me? What was I expecting?" Cindy thought in her mind.

Had he not thrown Cindy Luo out of the house already? Yes! He had left her alone already.

He had made his choice. He chose the woman he loved and she was the one who would be his bride! And that was certainly not Cindy Luo.

And Cindy Luo...

She felt aggrieved and sad, with tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

All of a sudden...

"ZZZZZZ --"

The sound of a sharp brake pierced the darkness of the night as a speeding car stopped right beside Cindy Luo.

And before she could even look up and see what had happened, she found herself wrapped by a big strong arm, the hand of which was covering her little mouth.

Next, the other hand wrapped tightly around her waist. Cindy Luo could feel the warmth of his body, which made her heart beat faster.

Before she could even react, she was forcefully pushed into the car.

"Phewww Let go of me... "

Cindy Luo struggled until she smelt a familiar perfume coming from the man. After that, she became a little calm.

However, the calmness was momentary. Barely two seconds had passed before Cindy Luo found her anger surging again and she started grasping even harder.

She struggled with all her might to free herself, but the more rebellious she was, the tighter the man held her in his arms.

The entire scene of the man driving her out of the house in front of the other woman came alive in front of Cindy Luo's eyes. How the woman had nestled in his arms as if they might have already made love...

The very thought of it felt like a dagger stabbing into Cindy's heart.

Cindy's eyes had turned red as blood, and she struggled even harder to free herself. She made up a strong will and put in all her strength to free herself from the stranglehold.

Looking at Cindy throwing her limbs while being in his arms, Marcus Huo' eyes darkened.

A momentary distraction on his part could have been enough for her to succeed in escaping.

Marcus Huo pursed his lips slightly. His hand that was covering Cindy's mouth slid down a little. And unexpectedly...

"What?"

Cindy let out a scream and froze all of a sudden.

At the moment, Cindy remained still. She was too scared to move. She held her breath and even forgot to struggle.

Only her petite face was as hot as a soldering iron.

As for Marcus Huo, although his action was unintentional, at the moment, he had no intention of letting go.

Finally, it was not until Marcus Huo' handsome face got closer to her that she came back to her senses.

Cindy raised her hand and hit Marcus Huo hard on his face.

"Clapp!"

The sound of the slap echoed through the deserted lane as Cindy slapped him with all her strength.

But Marcus Huo stood up to it.

Even Cindy herself got a little confused.

Before she could even react, the man asked in a gentle and concerned voice, "How much have you drunk?"

Cindy was a little surprised. However, she was in no mind to reply to him. She bit her lower lip hard and turned her face away from Marcus Huo.

What was he trying to prove? Was he caring about her?

At a point when Marcus Huo, the man who planned to marry Cindy had thrown her out of his home, what was the point of showing concern towards her now?

Marcus Huo reached out his hand and turned her face towards him, but Cindy slapped him again.

"Don't touch me. Let go of me. It's none of your business!"

She growled at him in anger.

"I don't even care what you say!"

Not even a moment passed before the tender look on Marcus' face gave way to coldness.

His eagle-like eyes looked like black holes. Marcus held Cindy in his arms.

The next moment, Marcus took off his tie and unbuttoned the three buttons on his shirt. Then he tucked her chin with his other hand and let himself loose on her body. Cindy gasped as she felt his strong muscular body brushing with every part of her own body.

Cindy, stiffly, glared at the sexy man in a white shirt with her eyes full of anger.

"What... What are you doing? Let go of me."

Cindy could even hardly identify her voice as she spoke. Her voice sounded incredibly feeble and trembling.

"Honey, everyone should be responsible for their own deeds, and even you are no exception!"

Saying this, Marcus suddenly approached her and swept his breath into her ear, causing her to tremble lightly.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand..."

Cindy swallowed the rest of the words.

Her lips got closed together tightly by his lips. The slightest movement on her part would only make him press his lips harder on her.

Cindy's entire vision was blocked by Marcus's enlarged handsome face. And that made her even more afraid to look up.

Marcus' masculine smell surrounded her. Cindy didn't dare to breathe deeply. Even a little bit of his breath would make her feel limp and numb. Cindy was slowly falling into a daze. All she could hear was the sound of her heart beating against her chest. And now, even he could feel the pounding of her heart against his chest.

Cindy was deeply confused. The unrequited love over the years made her want to sink into it at this moment.

"Did you go to see her yesterday?" Marcus asked in a soft voice.

"What? What?" Cindy blurted as Marcus loosened his grip all of a sudden.

Just at a point when she felt she was about to suffocate, the strong pressure suddenly disappeared. Cindy took a deep breath and felt a little relieved. But his question left her baffled.

"She's dead!"

Marcus stared at her and continued.

"What? What did you just say? You mean that woman... That woman is dead?"

Finally, she was able to understand what he was talking about.

"Did you go to her yesterday? Just tell me the truth." Marcus asked again.

The words felt like a whip on Cindy's skin. She looked up in surprise. Then she looked straight into Marcus' deep eyes.

Was he the same person who was so doting towards her even a month ago? He even pampered her and took good care of her.

But now, all the tenderness in Marcus' eyes was replaced by coldness.

Meanwhile, some sound caught her attention.

Cindy's mournful eyes opened wide gradually. She rubbed her eyes to make sure that she did not see it wrong.

The chill crawled up her spine and she sat there dumbfounded.

In the dead of night, many police cars zoomed in and finally stopped around them.

Several policemen got off and stood beside the car.

They all looked at the care expressionlessly. Their piercing eyes made Cindy quiver uncontrollably.

"So... Do you suspect that I have killed that woman? No! I didn't!" Cindy defied.

At this moment, Cindy was at the end of her wits. She used all her strength to growl, her little face full of incredulity.

"But there are only your fingerprints on that dagger!"

Boom!

Marcus' magnetic voice came again. But this time, it made Cindy's head explode in an instant.

"It hardly matters whether you admit it or not. The evidence collected by the police proves you to be a suspect!"

Marcus' suppressed voice echoed in Cindy's ears, making her heart tremble.

Cindy let out a sigh that brushed through his chest. She remained still with a stern face. Looking at her, Marcus felt heartbroken.

Marcus closed his eyes and resisted the urge to break into an uncontrollable sob.

There was nothing much that Marcus could do to change the situation. No matter how reluctant he was, he had to face the fact.

"Honey, you have to go with them, okay?"

Marcus said in a flat tone with a sense of stillness in his eyes. But as Cindy looked into his eyes, she caught a hint of coldness in his eyes.

Hence, as it turned out, Marcus thought she was the killer. That was the reason why he came after her.

It was not because he was worried about Cindy getting drunk.

Hearing such words from Marcus, Cindy's heart sank to the rock bottom.

How could she forget that the woman who got killed was Marcus' fiancee!

Now that she was dead, Marcus had every reason to hate Cindy all the more?

And why not? They had solid reasons to suspect Cindy.

Because Cindy liked Marcus.

For as back as Cindy could think, she and Marcus had been together for eighteen years!

Then, all of a sudden, just a month ago Marcus declared that he was going to be engaged. But surprisingly, his fiancee was not Cindy.

The news left Cindy devastated. How could she even take it?

Cindy tried every means to stop it.

Right from coquettish behavior to threatening calls to even sneaking through the window into his room and climbing onto his bed...

In the end, she was even kicked out of his house.

Cindy was on the verge of losing her mind. She was not being able to come in terms with the fact that Marcus chose some other girl over her.

In the past eighteen years, Marcus had never treated her in such a ruthless manner.

Unable to get his attention, Cindy thought of negotiating with that woman on her own.

Indeed, Cindy had a lot of conflicts with that woman. She even went to the extent of having a fight with her like a shrew.

But killing... It was something that made her tremble with fear at the very thought of it.

In fact, the woman had called her up the day before, but she refused to go...

So it was a plot!

A naked conspiracy! But, who could it be?

Thinking of that, Cindy's heart tightened. She bit her pale lip and the bitterness slipped into her throat.

Cindy looked up at him for one last time and asked, "Do you really think that I killed her?"

Cindy's feeble voice drifted in the car. She waited for Marcus to reply, but for a long time, there was no answer from him.

The uncomfortable silence made Cindy snort softly. With thick sour surging up her throat, her lips curved a few seconds later.

Cindy's porcelain face looked as fragile and desperate as a crescent moon.

She stretched out her hand slowly to the door followed her whole body that moved towards it.

Marcus remained unmoved.

Cindy stepped out of the car. Marcus clenched his fists all of a sudden and resisted the impulse to pull her back into his arms.

Her delicate figure looked lonely and cold in the darkness of the night.

Cindy did not turn back even for once and hence, so the pain in Marcus' eyes went unnoticed by her.

Cindy took brisk steps ahead towards the police cars.

She looked resolved and never look back!

The lights of the police cars kept on flickering.

But now Cindy didn't care about it at all. She didn't even care whether she would be labeled as a murderer or not.

It seemed as if her entire world had crumbled on the ground. The resolute look on her face was the outer cover that merely held together but inside it were the broken pieces of her heart.

Meanwhile, something that she was completely unaware of was that there was a group of black bodyguards in the shade.

Their guns were pointed at the policemen.

They had clear instructions from their master to protect Cindy no matter where she went or how long it would take.

If she had lost even a single penny, they would be killed like a thousand times! None of them could afford such consequences. So they would do anything to protect her, not to mention killing those policemen.

What everyone, even Marcus, didn't expect was that...

It had been barely two minutes since Cindy got in a police car.

"No --"

As soon as Marcus noticed something wrong, he got out of the car quickly and tried to stop the police cars. But before he could do that...

"Bang -"

All of a sudden there was a powerful explosion right in front of Marcus' eyes and the police cars were blown up in the sky.

A blazing fire was reflected in his eyes, and the impact of the heatwave and the gas continued to expand outside.

Marcus opened his mouth and seemed to be shouting out something, but his voice got lost in the explosion.

Marcus rushed toward the raging flames like a crazy lion, his heart throbbing painfully against his chest.

"Marcus, will you be with me all your life?"

"Of course, I will always be with Cindy."

"So will you be my groom?"

"Yes, I will put the most beautiful wedding dress on Cindy when you grow up."

"Really? Marcus, you have to keep your words, otherwise... "

"Otherwise what?" the boy asked, his bright eyes full of love and indulgence. He slightly raised his chin and looked at the girl, who was much shorter than him.

The girl impishly gestured him to come closer.

The boy was smiling and squatting with eyes half-closed. The girl said, "If you don't keep your promise, let me tell you... You will lose the most precious thing in your life!"

"Ha-ha! That would never happen. You will be my bride when we grow up!"

After that, Marcus planted a soft kiss on the girl's forehead.

It was said that a kiss on the forehead was the most sacred and devout kiss.

'Sure enough, I betrayed her, so I lost her. This is what I deserved, ' Marcus thought to himself.

Memories of the past came flooding Marcus' brain.

His girl!

Marcus had used all his strength to protect Cindy. But now, he had pushed her into the claws of death.

Now he kept regretting and blaming himself. He could not get the scene out of his mind when Cindy got consumed by fire right in front of his eyes.

If Marcus had known that he couldn't save her when he sent her to the police, he would have never let her go.

Now that she had left the world, he would rather go with her into the fire.

"Master... Don't go there! It's dangerous!"

Seeing that Marcus fall on the ground because of the impact of the blast, all his men came forward and held him tightly.

"Let me go! Let go of me!"

Marcus was inconsolable. His eyes turned red as it was about to ooze blood as he glared at the flame. The flames of fire reached higher up throwing bits and parts of ashes from the blast. Suddenly, Marcus seemed to have gathered some inhuman strength as he threw away all the bodyguards who had tied him down.

As the bodyguards fell to the ground, Marcus broke free and rushed into the fire again.

Cindy's innocent face, and her pristine smile came in front of his eyes. He ran towards her with great joy.

But as Marcus tried to get closer to her, she disappeared into the thin air.

Suddenly, the blissful smile on Cindy's face turned in an aggrieved look. The pain in her eyes, her pouted lips and the redness on the tip of her nose were vivid in his mind, as if she were asking him why he left her alone. Why couldn't he trust her?

Looking at Cindy's face full of tears, Marcus felt as if a thousand daggers had stabbed into his heart.

Marcus kept moving in to the fire. Even the heat and the smoke kept him undeterred. Tears kept rolling down his cheeks.

But Marcus dared not close his eyes, not even for a blink. He kept his eyes wide open for fear that the moment he closed his eyes, he would miss her.

"Where are you, Cindy? Don't be afraid. I'm here. I have come to take you home. Let's go home..."

That night, Marcus' desperate cry echoed in the night sky of the Southern City.

That night, Cindy was taken away by the police because she became a murder suspect. Later, the news that she died in the explosion spread all over the Southern City.

After that night, a demon was born in the Southern City.

Five years later.

It was an enchanting night with beautiful rose petals strewn all around, splendid fireworks and romantic love covering the whole island.

In the empire hotel that was big enough to accommodate a thousand people, the most sensational wedding in the whole of the Southern City was going to be held.

"Mr. Marcus, would you take Emma Luo to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, until death do you two part?"

The priest's voice echoed through the whole wedding hall.

However, the joyous environment was marked with an air of fear. The guest who had gathered in front of the stage, as well as the beautiful bride in the wedding gown, all held their breath. They were afraid that all this could disappear in a moment.

One, two, three... The clock ticked away as the moment came closer.

All of a sudden, the air around them seemed to be frozen.

His formidable personality, domineering look, and nonchalant attitude were intimidating enough to put a hall full of people to fall into silence.

In particular, his eyes were deep and intense. A look into his eyes felt like inviting trouble. Especially women could hardly resist the magnetic pull of his eyes.

No one dared to approach him.

He was the man, Marcus!

Marcus had emerged to be a legend in the malls of the whole Southern City!

Women swooned over him.

Marcus was infamous for his extreme emotions. It was said that he was as affectionate as he could be cold towards a person.

After Marcus lost his fiancee five years ago, no other woman could come close to him.

And for those who offered to touch him, he would make sure that they were moved out of the boundaries of the Southern City forever.

Therefore, many people thought that this young man would stay alone for the rest of his life.

However, absolutely out of the blue, just a week ago, he announced that he would be engaged.

And his girlfriend was the second daughter of the Luo Family, Emma Luo.

The men were shocked, while the women were left heartbroken and envious at the same time.

"Marcus... Sir?"

The priest couldn't help whispering to remind him of the long waiting time as all the guests and the bride were waiting for him to speak.

"I..."

Finally, Marcus' thin lips could be seen moving slightly. He looked around and finally saw the woman who was looking at him with a lot of hope in her eyes.

When Emma raised her head, the enigmatic smile on Marcus' face almost brought tears of joy in her eyes. The smile had a sense of intoxication in it just like the opium and not to forget an authoritative power that could not be violated.

Emma couldn't help swallowing, clenching her fists and secretly exerting herself.

'Tell me! Tell me!

Why doesn't he say anything yet?

Does he still remember that woman?

No, it can't be like that...

That's not true. That woman was dead! She was dead and gone!' Emma's mind was going berserk with conflicting thoughts.

In the past five years, Emma had been hoping that he would smile to her for once even when he had never looked at her sincerely!

Emma had never anticipated that her most cherished would ever come true.

The moment Marcus said he was going to get engaged to her, Emma felt as if all her prayers had been answered.

But faintly, she felt something wrong. The clattering of her mind never ceased. A weird anxiousness still kindled in her mind. As if something deep within was trying to say, 'Emma, this is too good to be true.'

'Is it...

Does he find out anything? Then why would he marry me?'

One moment Emma would shun all her disturbing inner voices and look at Marcus as he stood in front of her as her groom. 'This very moment... This is the only truth. This would mark a new beginning.'

Emma believed that her deep love for Marcus would drive the woman out of his heart forever.

Yet again, the very next moment, as she looked at Marcus' handsome face in the limelight, Emma became nervous.

There were incessant conflicting emotions that filled Emma's mind. She tried to contain her emotions. She couldn't panic at this moment. A few seconds later, this man would be hers!

Sure enough, after a brief pause, he opened his mouth again.

"Yes, I would..."

"You can't marry her!"

All of a sudden, the door of the wedding hall was flung open.

The arrogant female voice cut through, accompanied by a dazzling light, and all the people present in the hall were shocked.

Everyone looked towards the direction of the voice. When they saw her face, their eyes went wide open with disbelief.

There she stood. With an intoxicating look, she dressed in a graceful red evening gown. She exuded an enigmatic vibe that made it difficult for everyone in the hall to look away from her.

Her grace and confidence made her look even more attractive. Her cherry lips curved into the most beautiful arc. Her shining crystal stilettos added poise to her slender frame as she walked step by step towards the man standing in the middle of the stage.

"It's her!"

"Who?"

"It's Cindy Luo! Hadn't she died in the fire five years ago?"

An anonymous voice came from the crowd.

Ah--

Suddenly, the silence inside the banquet hall broke into a cacophony.

However, compared to the hustle and bustle off the stage, the man on the stage was as calm as usual.

No one had noticed that there was even a gentle smile on his face.

And much contrary to the calm expression on his face, the bride standing beside him totally lost control.

If eyes could kill, Emma would have killed Cindy thousands of times.

Emma was far from being pacified.

Five years had passed, and everything was going smoothly. If everything went well, Emma would be the happiest bride in the world today.

And the last thing that Emma wanted to see at this critical moment was this female who had made such unsolicited entry at her wedding!

With every step as Cindy was coming closer to the stage, carrying a meaningful smile on her lips, Emma looked more and more frightened.

"What? Weren't you always a sweet talker? You used to call me 'sister' sweetly every time you saw me. What happened to all your sweet gesture? Why have you become dumb now? My... good sister!"

Cindy said in a profound tone as looking straight into Emma's eyes.

She then burst into laughter. As the clear and sarcastic laughter resonated in the entire banquet hall, burning determination replaced the fear in Emma's chest.

'Huh, she has been abandoned five years ago. Now she comes back from the hell, but so what?

Besides...'

When Emma looked up at Marcus, she found that the nonchalant expression on his face didn't change because of the appearance of Cindy. So she became more confident.

"My sister, I'm so happy to see you. I thought I could never see you again. It seems like you forget something, the undeniable fact that you killed Marcus' fiancee five years ago. Are you going to ruin his another wedding today? Let me tell you. Marcus doesn't love you. He's going to marry me!" Emma cried out from the stage.

Emma knew that the unfortunate incident that happened five years back was something that Marcus hated the most.

Hence, she worded her reply to Cindy in a way that would rake the painful memory of the past in Marcus's mind and leave Cindy no chance to reconcile.

Maybe Marcus would take the initiative to send Cindy to prison as he did five years ago!

The more Emma spoke, the more excited she was.

As expected, when she brought up the unpleasant memories, many guests present couldn't help but feel sympathetic about it.

"The girl has changed a lot. She is indeed much more beautiful than before. But she could not hide her vicious heart. And now she is here to ruin her sister's wedding! What a ridiculous woman!"

"Yes. I feel very frightened when I think of the tragedy that this heartless woman had caused years ago..."

As people spoke more about it, the incident that took place five years back, came to live in their minds like it just happened the day before.

As the people looked at Cindy, they could see a murderer.

Even though she looked so beautiful tonight, the way they looked at her was full of contempt.

Of course, Cindy could hear their remarks loud and clear.

Even without looking at them, Cindy could still feel their piercing gazes floating in the air.

Taking a deep breath, she finally raised her head and looked into Marcus' black eyes.

They hadn't seen each other for five years. The moment Cindy saw him again, she felt dizzy.

She could barely hold back.

As the tik-tok sound of her crystal shoes stopped, her beautiful eyes still stared at Marcus. At the same time, she raised her slender hand. The emerald ring on her ring finger was shining brightly.

"Marcus, you can't marry her. Don't you forget that the ancestral ring of the Huo Family is still on my finger?" Cindy remarked.

After a pause, Cindy continued, "According to the Huo Family's rule, only the daughter-in-law deserves this ring. Marcus, are you going to disobey your ancestor's will?"

After saying that, the smile on her delicate face became brighter.

Undoubtedly, such a remark caused a stir once again.

"Cindy Luo..."

It had been five years since they met last time. The moment she came in front of Marcus, the anger in his heart surged again.

Five long years and some hundreds of days and nights in between.

Would she never show up if he didn't force her in this way?

Did she hate him so much?

Marcus frowned.

Hearing him call her by her full name, Cindy was flabbergasted for a while.

Then she pulled herself back to her senses.

Yes, she stopped being his beloved the moment Marcus kicked her out of his house five years ago.

Cindy remembered every word that Marcus uttered when he had sent her to the police car. That was the time he even spoke to her for the last time. And the words reverberated like the infallible verdict of fate that changed Cindy's life forever.

He said, "Honey, you have to go with them, okay? Everyone should be responsible for their own deeds, and even you are no exception!"

Marcus' words, and his resolute expression had broken her into bits from within.

He didn't believe her. He hated her!

He wished for her to die!

Memories flooded into Cindy's mind.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

When Cindy came to her senses, the emerald ring had been ripped off by him.

"Humph! Family rules? It's all meaningless to me!" Marcus remarked

Cindy fixed her gaze on Marcus and his cold eyes seemed to drag her into the abyss.

Looking at the ring in his hand, Cindy couldn't help but feel sad.

After a moment of being perplexed, her cold face was suddenly overflowing with a smile again.

"Really? Then... How about this?"

Cindy turned around in a jiffy and aimed a gun at Emma's forehead.