1: One sided love

I had loved him for more than ten years. I wanted to accompany him wherever he went. I wanted to be close to him, even if all I could get was a disapproving grunt from him.

After all, he was Qing Han. Who wouldn’t want a man like him for herself?

He was the most handsome boy in the city. He was powerful even at a young age.

So when his mom, Aunt Wu, approached me and asked me to marry him, I thought my dreams were finally coming true.

My mom died, or rather, was killed when I was only fifteen years old. I watched it happen.

But because my grandfather was too focused on preserving the family name and the legacy he had built over the years, I was forbidden from testifying against the culprit in court.

And this was all because it was his precious daughter, my mom’s stepsister, who had committed the act.

“Little Xiu, that was just an accident. Your aunt didn’t mean to do it. Why don’t you let this go, and Grandpa will see to it that she is well buried?”

When he spoke, he sounded like he really cared. But I knew deep down in my heart that he was glad she was dead.

And since I didn’t have anyone else to turn to, and with the fear of ending up on the street, I had to swallow my pain, my heartache, and back out from testifying.

So I grew up in isolation and resentment, apart from the few times I was allowed to visit Aunt Wu.

Aunt Wu was Qing Han’s mom. She and my mom were friends, so she often felt sorry for me.

However, she wasn’t the reason I always begged to visit the Qing residence. Qing Han was.

From the first time I saw him, my heart had never settled. I always told myself that if it wasn’t him, then I didn’t want anyone else.

Despite the fact that he had never said a word to me all those years, I never gave up. I was satisfied even if it just meant catching a glimpse of him.

He was rare. So being in the same house as him was enough to make me happy.

To be honest, he was the only thing that kept me going after my mom’s death. I shouldn’t even talk about my dad, who was a deadbeat in every sense of the word.

I was twenty-one when Aunt Wu approached me. Even though I was grown up, my crush on Qing Han hadn’t faded one bit.

“I know you love him. I’ve seen the way you look at him. Marry him and give him a child. No one will bully you again if this happens,” Aunt Wu said, looking at me.

She was a very good woman who treated me with love and adoration. She wasn’t like everyone else who looked down on me.

When I heard her words, my heart couldn’t stop racing. But still, I looked at her and bit my lower lip. “But Auntie… Han doesn’t like me. He…”

“Han doesn’t like anyone, sweetheart,” Aunt Wu said with a sigh. “He goes days without talking to me, and I’m his mom. It’s just his nature. With time, he’ll open up.”

“But…”

“I’ll pay for your medical school if you marry him. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? I want it to be you who marries my son. I trust you. Can you do this for Auntie?”

I knew she was almost certain I wanted to say yes. However, it was like she was trying to help me save face.

So I slowly nodded my head. “I will marry him, Auntie.”

I was so excited that evening that I couldn’t even eat. What I didn’t know was that Han had told his family he would marry just anyone and give them an heir to get them off his back.

He didn’t care if the woman he married was me or just someone picked up from the street.

While I was so excited on our wedding day, he didn’t even glance at me. He only appeared for a few minutes to exchange vows before he left.

That night, I waited for him until four o’clock in the morning. He showed up drunk, dragged me off his bed, and into the guest bedroom.

“You have no right to go to my room, do you understand?” he said, disgust all over his face. “All you have to do is give me a son and stay the hell out of my sight.”

He pinned me on the bed and, even without any foreplay, took me from behind.

He didn’t even blink when I cried in pain as he took away my virginity.

From that day onward, the guest room became my room. And for a few weeks, I barely saw him.

I only heard from his assistant that he had either gone on a business trip or was working late at the office.

Still, I tried to please him. I would wait for him to come home, sometimes the whole night.

I would prepare meals and send someone to deliver them to him at work, even though I clearly knew he had never tasted them once.

The only reason I didn’t go there myself was because he had made it clear that I couldn’t distract him at work.

And since I was naive and in love, I tried to obey him, hoping that he would one day open up and love me back, just like his mom had promised.

Then, that day came when I realized I was pregnant.

At first, I had mixed feelings. Then, immediately, those feelings were replaced with joy and excitement.

All Han ever wanted was an heir. That was the only reason he had married me. It wasn’t like he hadn’t reminded me of that often.

So I thought that finally, because I had given him a child, his attitude toward me would change.

How wrong I was!