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Chapter 4 - marriage

The grandeur of the Wu family villa extended into the meticulously adorned bridal chamber, where the air hung heavy with the fragrance of burning candles and the flickering glow painted a tapestry of shadows on the walls. Wu Jiayi, adorned in the splendor of her bridal attire, stood at the threshold of the room, a tableau of conflicting emotions etched across her face.

As the door closed behind her, Wu Tong's commanding presence loomed, urging her further into the realm of the unknown. The flickering candlelight revealed Wu Lanyi, the mysterious man she had chosen to marry, sitting alone on the bed, his head bowed in quiet contemplation. The room seemed to hold its breath, anticipation lingering in the air.

**Wu Jiayi:** (Softly) Grandpa, I agreed to marry him, but I won't share a bed with him.

**Wu Tong:** (Sternly) Jiayi, this is your wedding night. Drink this milk and go. Don't make him wait.

"Are we doing right" said Wu kang

With a gentle yet firm push, Wu Tong propelled his granddaughter into the room, closing the door behind her. Wu Jiayi hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the closed door as if seeking refuge. The room, adorned with delicate decorations and bathed in the soft glow of candles, felt like a surreal haven.

Wu Lanyi, sitting on the bed, seemed absorbed in his own thoughts. His head remained bowed, and the soft mutterings under his breath added an air of mystery to the room. As Wu Jiayi approached, she felt a strange energy permeating the air, an inexplicable tension that heightened her senses.

**Wu Jiayi:** (Commanding) Get off my bed. Look at me. You will sleep on the floor tonight.

Wu Lanyi raised his head slowly, revealing a face obscured by the flickering candlelight. The room, now charged with an unusual atmosphere, bore witness to a silent struggle for control. Wu Jiayi's command seemed to cause a subtle disturbance, a ripple in the fabric of the carefully crafted facade.

A strange smell wafted through the air, and a fleeting thought crossed Wu Jiayi's mind – something was amiss with the candles. However, the overpowering sensation of warmth and a gentle haze clouded her thoughts, blurring the edges of her perception.

As Wu Lanyi moved to comply with Wu Jiayi's command, a sudden heat enveloped her, and the room seemed to sway. A peculiar sensation, a mingling of confusion and desire, clouded her judgment. The candles, mere witnesses to the unfolding drama, flickered with an ethereal glow, casting dancing shadows on the walls.

**Wu Jiayi:** (Whispering) There's something wrong with the candles.

Her words, uttered in the haze of the moment, floated in the air like a fleeting echo. The room, a sanctuary of secrets and shadows, became a battleground where the boundaries of reality blurred, and the dance of desire and confusion played out in silence.

In the ensuing hours, the intricacies of that night remained veiled, shrouded in the fog of mystery and the intoxicating aura that lingered in the room. Wu Jiayi, once resolute in her determination to maintain distance, found herself surrendering to a force she couldn't comprehend.

As dawn broke, the remnants of the night's haze dissipated, leaving Wu Jiayi standing at the threshold of a reality forever altered. The marriage, conceived in secrecy and obligation, now bore the imprint of an enigmatic union, a union that extended beyond the physical realm into the shadows of the mind.

The villa, wrapped in the tranquility of the early morning, guarded the secrets of that fateful night. Wu Jiayi emerged, her demeanor a delicate blend of confusion and realization. The candles, having witnessed the clandestine dance of souls, continued to burn, their flames flickering with the weight of the untold story that unfolded in the shadows of the bridal chamber.

As dawn painted the sky in hues of pastel pinks and blues, Wu Jiayi awoke to a reality that felt like a dream gone awry. The events of the previous night lingered in the corners of her consciousness like elusive shadows, waiting to be acknowledged. As she pieced together the fragments of memory, a wave of disbelief and anguish crashed over her, compelling her to flee from the realm of introspection.

With a hurried pace, Wu Jiayi navigated the dimly lit corridors of the Wu family villa, each step echoing the disarray within her mind. The familiar surroundings, once a sanctuary, now bore witness to the turbulence that raged beneath the composed facade she wore for the world.

Reaching the solace of the bathroom, Wu Jiayi closed the door behind her, shutting out the world and confining her turmoil within the confines of the tiled space. The shower, a cascading deluge of water, became a refuge – a cleansing torrent that mirrored her desperate attempt to wash away the stains of the night.

The first rays of sunlight filtered through the frosted window, casting fractured patterns on the tiles as Wu Jiayi succumbed to the weight of her emotions. Her tears merged with the flowing water, a silent testament to the vulnerability she seldom allowed herself to reveal.

As she scrubbed her body with a fervor bordering on desperation, a primal urge to erase the traces of his touch consumed her. The water, cascading over her form, became a cleansing agent for both body and soul, an attempt to expunge the indelible marks of an unwanted intimacy.

In the privacy of her solitude, Wu Jiayi confronted the harsh reality that her first intimate encounter had been stolen from her by the enigmatic man she had married in a bid to protect her family's legacy. The dichotomy of the situation, the collision of duty and violation, overwhelmed her.

The places where his hands had left an imprint became the focal points of her anguish. With each stroke of her own hands, she sought to reclaim ownership of her body, to restore the sanctity that had been intruded upon. The water, now tinged with the residue of her tears, carried away the remnants of a night she wished she could forget.

In the wake of the violation, a surge of anger and helplessness welled within her. The desire to retaliate, to seek retribution against the man who had become an unwelcome intruder in the sacred temple of her being, churned in the depths of her despair.

The reality of her situation, however, rendered her powerless. The intricate web of family obligations, societal expectations, and the enigmatic circumstances surrounding her marriage left her ensnared in a labyrinth with no discernible exit.

With the water gradually turning cold, Wu Jiayi emerged from the shower, her body cleansed but her spirit burdened with a weight that transcended the physical. The mirror reflected a visage marked by the echoes of a night she wished she could erase – a night that had irreversibly altered the course of her existence.

Draped in a towel, Wu Jiayi left the bathroom, her steps echoing the journey from defiance to desolation. The familiar walls of the villa bore silent witness to the unraveling of a woman who, in the pursuit of shielding her family, found herself caught in a labyrinth of emotional turmoil.

As Wu Jiayi faced the harsh light of day, a paradox of emotions etched upon her countenance, she grappled with the realization that her life had become a tapestry woven with threads of secrecy, violation, and a marriage shrouded in enigma. The game of fate, unpredictable and unrelenting, had left her standing at the crossroads of a destiny fraught with shadows and unspoken truths.

In the solitude of her room, Wu Jiayi collapsed onto the bed, the weight of the night's transgressions pressing upon her chest like an unyielding burden. The tears that had been restrained in the shower now flowed freely, each drop a testament to the shattered illusions of a woman who had unwit

tingly become a pawn in a game she never chose to play.