Abandoned!

As the adrenalin rush slowed down, exhaustion kicked in. The eerily quiet in the car soon sent her to sleep. Probably as she was missing her family under these strange circumstances, she saw her Mom. Her father was scolding her, hurling abuses at her, accusing her of having illicit affair. She was crying, pleading for her innocence, but to no avail. Xiu saw her five years old self, shrunk in a corner, crying bitterly along her mother. Her father didn't stop at this verbal abuse. He hit her mother, and kicked her as she fell down. What happened afterwards was a blur. The last thing Xiu remembered was seeing her lifeless mother in a pool of blood.

She opened her eyes with a jerk and almost screamed once again as she saw a dark figure near her face.

"Did you take drugs before you left, or were you drunk?"

"Huh?" Xiu was utterly confused.

"I have been trying to wake you up for the last ten minutes. Did His Highness, your fiancé, provide you a maid that woke you up from your sweet slumber?"

"You don't need to be so sarcastic every time you speak to me," said the annoyed Xiu as she got up and sat down properly. As she touched her face, she found it wet with tears. She cleared it with her hands.

Her husband seemed oblivious to her tears.

"I wouldn't be if you have wits with you all the time. It seems you lost them very early in your life."

Xiu chose to remain silent.

"There is a public toilet there," he pointed towards his left.

"We don't have much time. Hurry up if you want to freshen up."

She got out of the car and looked around her. It seemed like a small gas station deep in the countryside. The temperature was much colder than their L City. She walked to the toilet and was shocked at herself when she saw the mirror. Her crying had caused the mascara to smudge off and there were black lines all along her face. She was wearing an over sized T-shirt, coupled with an over sized lounge pants that she had folded multiple times so she could walk properly. She truly was a comical sight. She freshened up a bit, and tried to comb her hair with her hands.

"Hello Madam? We don't have an eternity to spend here!" he shouted outside the ladies toilet. She hurriedly came out and sat down in the car. He handed her a cup of coffee and some filled bun. The journey soon started once again, as quiet as it was before.

"Where are we going?" Xiu decided to break the silence.

Her husband looked at her through the rear view mirror and said, "I'll let you know when we get there."

"My name is Xiu, Wen Xiu!" she said, in an attempt to know his name.

"I know," he snorted.

"Such a conversation killer," thought Xiu, but decided not to give up yet.

"And yours?"

"Ming"

"Just Ming?"

"It's enough for now"

And the car went quiet again.

Since there was nothing else to do, Xiu drifted to sleep again. She was rudely awakened some time later.

"Get up! You sleepy head!" he was quite annoyed.

He quickly pulled her arm and took her inside a small house. It was a brick house with tiled roof, but it seemed to have been renovated as the small courtyard still had structures built up with mud.

Ming pulled her inside a room and forced her to sit on a chair.

"Listen carefully! I don't have much time. I need to go somewhere urgently. You have to stay here and wait for me. Don't go outside the house at all. Stay inside and stay put. I'll be back for you if I am still alive."

With this short address, he turned and left the house.

Xiu was stupefied. It was a long, long time when she realised what had happened. She had been left, all alone, in a strange new place, by her strange new husband!

Being scared was an understatement for Xiu. She simply had no idea what to do. She had very limited exposure in her life. After her parents' death, her movement was highly restricted and monitored continuously. She was only allowed to go to school because of a promise that her Uncle said he had made to someone. Uncle was her father's elder brother. His wife made sure Xiu did all the kitchen-work; cooking, washing the dishes, every thing. Xiu was not allowed to go out or socialise. Her only friends were actually acquaintances, her class fellows, and she could only talk to them while in school. She was not allowed to have any cell phone, and having friends over was a big "No", too. Her cousins looked down on her. Although the riches they enjoyed were actually Xiu's to begin with. At first, her uncle took over the company as her legal guardian, because she was too young. Later, he had moved his entire family to her large mansion under the pretence of taking her care. All her life, the only person who really cared for her was her Amah. She had hoped her marriage would lead to better circumstances, but unfortunately, she was wrong. Fate was really playing a cruel joke on her.