1 -||chapter one - every story has a beginning, this is ours||-

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful and prosperous kingdom that was known for its great wealth and power. The kingdom was ruled by a shrewd king with an iron fist. The king married a beautiful princess from the neighboring kingdom and soon the new queen gave birth to a prince. The young prince was envied by many for having so much wealth, so many luxuries, and such a good life. But they were unaware that the young prince's life was not as they had imagined.

The terrible experiences that the young prince faced broke his heart and stole his sweet smile. It caused the prince to build walls around his broken heart to protect it from harm. While the people around him wished for a life like his, all the young prince wanted was to be freed from the horror his life was. He prayed for a miracle all his life and in return the almighty sent her in his life."

****************

Zhang Yi Chen shut his eyes and turned his head slightly before the newspaper could hit him in the face. Though this wasn't the first time something like this has happened, it always made him flinch. Even after so many years, Zhang Dong continued to have the same effect on him. In front of his father, Yi Chen was still the little boy who was scared to commit even the slightest mistake because he feared what would come after.

The world knew him as the shrewd, smart, and savvy businessman, the king of the Chinese economy, the heir to the Zhang family fortune. People envied him, they were jealous of him and his life. Only if they knew about the miserable life the Gods have subjected him to. No one knew the secrets that he hides behind the mask, in the deep and dark corners of his heart. And no one should ever come to know about them as well.

Those secrets were the skeletons of the past, meant to be confined to those coffins, and always kept in the dark. What good would they do if they were to come to light ever? In fact, they would destroy all the things that he's holding onto. And so far he's managed perfectly until that incident happened the previous night.

It was because of the incident that right now he was being berated for. It was because of her that he's gotten involved in this mess. Her. Lu Zhi.

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The Previous Night

"It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Kim." smiled Yi Chen as he shook hands with the CEO of the company from Country K with whom he was going to start a joint venture. It was a dinner meeting at The Paradise, and the last meeting for the day.

Yi Chen told his assistant and the other representatives of his company to leave while he himself went to meet his best friend, his one and only friend, Lin Ming Ze, the one who currently owned and managed this particular hotel under the Lin group. It was when he was on his way over to the bar, where he knew Ming Ze would be, that Yi Chen met her.

It was her who came barreling into him out of nowhere. Because of the sudden moment, Yi Chen's arms wrapped around the person who collided against him, on an instinct. He held her close, preventing her from falling by clutching onto her body. His arms went around her waist, pulling her close while her hands clutched onto the lapels of his jacket.

The first thing that registered in Yi Chen's mind was the bad smell of alcohol. his nose scrunched in disgust as he looked at the woman in his arms who was had obviously drank more than she could hold. Her face flushed and her body a dead weight. He was about to call someone to take the woman away but then he heard her slur.

"Save me." she blinked her eyes a few times, trying to clear her sight, "Someone..mixed..my drink." though her words weren't clear, Yi Chen had an idea of what must have happened.

His suspicions were confirmed when a middle-aged man came forward and tried to take the woman in his arms away. That man looked sleazy, and Yi Chen was getting bad vibes from him so instead of pushing the drunk woman away, he held her tight and secure against him.

That man put his hands on her shoulder and tried to get the woman out of Yi Chen's hold, "Let my girlfriend go. She is drunk and I need to take her back home."

Yi Chen narrowed his eyes at the man while the woman spoke up, "No. This man, I don't know." she slurred and buried her face in the crook of Yi Chen's neck.

"Baby, you're drunk.." the man tried to touch her but Yi Chen didn't let him. He grasped that man's hand in his and squeezed it hard, "Leave." his tone was cold and threatening.

"But she's my...ah, ouch!"

"Leave." Yi Chen repeated at squeezed that man's hand using more pressure, "Or else, I'll call the cops." that warning did its job and that unpleasant man walked away.

"Help...blerghhh" she retched and Yi Chen feared that she might barf so he called Ming Ze for help. He feared leaving the woman alone because that shady guy was still around. So Yi Chen decided to stay and help.

"Yi Chen, dude, where are you? Is your meeting still going on?" Ming Ze greeted him with these questions the moment he answered his call.

"I need your help. Can you get me a room? There's this woman -" Yi Chen was interrupted before he could say a word more than that.

He heard Ming Ze shout and laugh in excitement, "Have you finally decided to lose your 'V' card? I must prepare the honeymoon suite for you and your girl then!"

Yi Chen rolled his eyes and was about to say something but then the woman in his arms spoke up again, "Take me.."

He heard Ming Ze hoot before he happily exclaimed, "It looks like you've got an impatient woman in your arms, my friend. Just come to room number 2109, 21st floor, the helper will be there with the key. This is such a happy day!" and the call ended before Yi Chen could explain it to his stupid friend that this was so not the situation that he was imagining.

Yi Chen decided that it would be useless to call Ming Ze again, he should take this woman to the room first. He bent down slightly and picked her up in a bridal carry and made his way towards the elevator. Once inside the elevator, Yi Chen placed the woman on the elevator floor, pressed the (21) button, and began checking her purse for a cell phone or anything else that could help him contact her family and friends but he found no such thing.

The moment they reached the 21st floor, Yi Chen picked her up in his arms again and took her to room number 2109 as Ming Ze had told him to. He found the hotel helper standing outside the room, a woman who stared at him and the woman in his arms before giving him a professional and polite smile that made Yi Chen feel that he was being judged.

The helper handed him the keycard, "I hope you'll enjoy your stay, sir."

Before she could leave, Yi Chen told her to call a doctor. Though the helper looked visibly confused, she just nodded in positive and walked away.

Opening the door, Yi Chen carried the woman inside but just when he was about to lay her on the bed, she barfed all over his suit. "Ahh!" he screeched in surprise and disgust. He was now covered in her puke while she relaxed in his hold.

Instead of laying her down on the bed, Yi Chen carried her to the ensuite bathroom and placed her in the bathtub. Hastily he got rid of his soiled clothes and wiped himself clean using a wet towel. Fortunately, his trousers were clean.

After cleaning himself, Yi Chen took another wet towel and wiped the remnants of the vomit off her face, and then carried her back to the bed. He unpinned her hair, removed her shoes, and covered her with a comforter. It was then that his eyes fell over the items that occupied the other side of the bed.

There's was a wine bottle, a gift box, and an envelope. Yi Chen opened the envelope first and groaned the instant he read the words written in the note -

Congratulations, my brother! Today is the day you become a complete man!

Make good use of the gifts that I have sent you, and don't worry about the bill!

It's on me.

- Ming Ze

Yi Chen dreaded opening the gift box but curiosity got better of him and he ended up unwrapping the gift that Ming Ze had sent him. "Oh, God!" Yi Chen cried, cursing himself for being so curious. The said gift was actually a box of condoms that his stupid friend had been so generous to provide.

Yi Chen threw the box in the dustbin and tore the note into pieces before taking a seat on the couch. He exhaled deeply and leaned his head back on the couch, closed his eyes, and tried to relax unaware of what the future had in store for him.