Empress Of The Lost Kingdom

"Do you believe that Li Juan before the accident used to love you?"

At that moment, Tang Wei Sheng sucked in a cold breath. It was the question which he avoided the moment he realised that Li Juan lost her memories and feared until now. His hand unknowingly reached out for the wine glass and gulped down the scarlet liquid before answering her.

"You...yourself said that you loved me for almost ten years," He vaguely tried to hide his flustered face.

However, Li Juan's ice-cold eyes failed to show any expression as she stared at him. As if it is not the answer she is expecting,

"Why are you suddenly asking about it? Didn't I tell you that whatever happened in the past, it doesn't matter anymore,"

He gently rubbed her palm which was placed on the table, "You don't have to force yourself to remember anything, sweetheart,"

Li Juan gazed at him with a faint smile and stated,

"Tang Wei Sheng in my memory is a saviour of a girl who was constantly bullied by everyone. A senior whom I used to have a huge crush and respect,"

The words which left her mouth eased Tang Wei Sheng's trembling heart and he smiled in relief,

"But sometimes reality will not be as colourful as our thoughts. Don't you think?

Li Juan's coal-black eyes narrowed as she interrogated him in an unflinching tone. 

"The day you kissed me in front of everyone, the day you stood up for me, the day you declared me as your girl, do you have any idea how it changed my life?"

Tang Wei Sheng remained silent to her questions. As an adult, he will never have a proper explanation for his teenage self's brazen actions.

In the very beginning, when he first met Li Juan in the lonely corridor, she reminded his own vulnerable self, evoking an urge to protect her. He still doesn't know what was the emotion which he felt for her.

Was it sympathy or empathy?

"What could have a girl like Li Juan done to seduce the young master of the Tang family?" She asked monotonously and faced Tang Wei Sheng who sat there, his tongue-tied,

"Your sudden departure and my hospitalization after the accident...do you know what kind of stories revolved in the school?" 

Tang Wei Sheng could not help but look at her puzzledly,

"They tagged me as a whore who used her body to win over you. They said that I got abused by you and almost died on the abortion table,"

NOOO!!!! Tang Wei Sheng bellowed in horror as he jolted from his seat.

This cannot be true. 

He knew that everyone in school used to dislike and bully Li Juan because she was different. But how can someone create loathing stories and slander a fellow student?

He had his own reasons to leave the country. He believed that Li Juan was living peacefully in Jing City. But how did he never came to knew the consequences of his actions were far worse than one could guess, 

Tang Wei Sheng ruined the life of a person whom he tried hard to protect.

"Li Juan..... sweetheart, I never knew...I swear, I was unaware of any of these..." Tang Wei Sheng was at a loss of words as he faced Li Juan, in guilty.

"I am not blaming you," Li Juan sounded surprisingly calm as she continued to stare deep into Tang Wei Sheng's guilty stricken face,

"Even the old Li Juan will not blame you for what happened in the school, it wasn't your fault."

"Do you hate me?" His eyes stayed downcasted, having no courage to face her, Li Juan has to go through all those miseries, only because he...kissed her? 

"As someone who has been loathed by everyone for things which I've never done, hatred is the last thing I will have for you,"

The candle lights on the table brightly illuminated Li Juan's expressionless face which made Tang Wei Sheng even more blameworthy.

"I know an apology won't make any difference, but all I ever wanted is to see you happy...If someone stood up for you...I thought they will stop bullying you,"

"The gentle and kind senior Tang who wished to become someone's sunshine," She chimes,

"Did you fear that I would return to the hell hole once I knew the truth...Is that why you hid the fact that we broke up?"

Her frosty words pierced his heart like a hot iron dagger,

She knows the truth. 

She knows that he lied to her. 

Was she trying to test him to come clean before confronting the truth?

"I admit that I hid the fact that we broke up. But Li Juan, our relationship wasn't smooth," Tang Wei Sheng explained with a yielding tone, there is no way he can hold on to her without coming clean about their relationship,

"It took us ten years to confess our love and when we finally become a couple, we were forced to break up. During that short period, we argued, we fought and broke our hearts. You initiated the break up by quoting that we belong to different worlds," He looked at her high expectations,

"Now you have a family, you are the heiress of Bai corporation, the queen, there is nothing to separate us from each other. I always believed that no matter what happens, my place in your heart will always remains the same. 

I was wrong, but will you give me a chance to clear the mistakes? Tang Wei Sheng sounded sincere as he touched her palm,

He cannot afford to lose Li Juan.

"I promise, I will be good to you."

Li Juan remained calm and it looked like none of Tang Wei Sheng words made an effect on her frosty demeanour.

"Wei Sheng Ge, you are forced to love me," Li Juan accused while pointing at his chest,

"The one who is in there...he is the one who wants me. He is one who is forcing you to love me. It is Tang Wei Lang who loves me, not Tang Wei Sheng,"

"How did you know? He vocalises as his eyes squinting, " When?,"

"Eight years ago, he tried to claim his authority over me,"

-----------------------------------

Eight years ago, first hospital Jing city,

Li Juan looked through the small glass shield in the VIP room of the first hospital, with a guilty face, in order to take a glance of Tang Wei Sheng who was admitted due to his injuries,

Other than Tang Wei Sheng who remained asleep in the bed, there was no one in the room,

Why there is no one to attend him? Li Juan slowly opened the door and entered without making much sound,

She headed towards the bed with moist eyes unable to oversee the fact that she was the sole reason why he ended up in the hospital.

Tang Wei Sheng's striking face had purple bruises. His forehead was covered with a bandage. The knuckles in his arms had turned into reddish-brown colour, indicating the brutality of his punches,

Li Juan sat next to the bed and gently touched his hand, silently cried,

In order to save her from the hooligans, Tang Wei Sheng fought with them and got injured.

"Why did you do that? Why did you-" She couldn't control her tears as they rolled down from eyes and fell onto his hand,

"It would have been really nice if you brought some flowers, sweetheart," A sleepy yet enticing voice resounded in the four walls of the room,

Li Juan raised her teary eyes and found that Tang Wei Sheng was wide awake, his sparkling black orbs watching her while a faint smile lingering on his chapped lips, 

She immediately let go of his arm and straightened her posture,

"Senior Tang, I don't know to apologize for," 

"Don't apologize then," He haughtily cut her off,

"Huh?" Li Juan was left dumbfounded for a moment, "You got injured because of me and I would like to apologize,"

"You should be thanking me," Tang Wei Sheng said with a smug face and Li Juan immediately bowed to thank him,

"Thank you-"

"There is no sincerity in your voice, come here and help me," He reached out for her hand and ordered,

Li Juan walked helped Tang Wei Sheng to sit straight in the bed. He groggily moved to a side and glanced at her with a commanding look,

"Sit here," 

Li Juan reluctantly sat with beside him with a drooping face, unable to look into his face.

Tang Wei Sheng leaned closer, his eyes sparkling in joy,

"Do you like me?"

"Hmm," She agrees with a nod,

"Look at me then,"

As soon as Li Juan raised her head, Tang Wei Sheng stole a kiss from her soft lips, making her big black eyes go widen in shock,

"The flower which I love the most is Lily," He said with a breathtakingly stunning smile to which Li Juan remained dazed,

"Don't look at me with those eyes," Tang Wei Sheng shuts his eyes and gently touched her fleshy cheeks,

"It makes me want to kiss you...more,"

He tilted his head and slowly captured her parted lips once again,

To his surprise, Li Juan didn't refuse, but willingly accepted his burning lips and kissed him back,

As their kisses turned deeper, Tang Wei Sheng grasped the back of her head to tangle their lips and Li Juan holds him back with her hand on his chest,

It was supposed to be the beginning of their relationship,

But the moment his fingers travelled down her neck, an alarming tone rang on Li Juan mind, plunging her into horror.

She protested to the desperate tugs on the buttons on her shirt, as his sharp teeth dug on to the velvety cushions of her lower lip,

This is wrong!!! She pushed at his chest and their lips parted with a lewd pop sound,

As she stared at him with reddened eyes in disbelief, Li Juan felt her lips numb and swollen with pain,

It wasn't Tang Wei Sheng,

The familiar gentle and amicable look in his bright eyes was replaced with burning lust and anger,

"You...you are not him," Li Juan's slender frame quivered in fear, as she tried to move back,

"Huh, you can tell us apart? ahhh, as expected from my moon," He pushed Li Juan's frail body closer to him,

"Wei Sheng ge...please," She struggled to let loose from him, "leave me,"

"Why are you struggling? you were obedient to him a moment ago," Tang Wei Sheng sounded annoyed as he struggled to hold her in place making the tubes of IV drip turning into crimson red,

"Wei Sheng ge...you are bleeding," Li Juan tried to drag his attention from her.

"It's me who is before you and why are you calling for that spineless coward?"

Li Juan's remained speechless before him,

He scanned her small face filled with fear and pain,

"You love him, don't you?" He looked at her menacingly, his voice holds the weight of murderous warning,

"Hear me carefully, I, Tang Wei Lang own this body, not that vermin,"

He grabbed the hold of her chin,

"And you...my moon, you belong to me...I don't allow anyone, not even Tang Wei Sheng to touch what belongs to me. So be good and stop struggling,"

He leaned in to capture her lips once again, but on a sudden impulse, Li Juan pushed him and ran away from the room, clutching her clothes, wiping her tears with her palm.

----------------------------------

"Your alter ego who is obsessed with me, you feared that he will hurt me." Li Juan's demeanour lacked any endearing emotions as if she is talking to a dead person,

"That's why you left the country, perhaps to get treated?"

Tang Wei Sheng winced aghast at her stern face,

The truth which Tang Wei Sheng struggled to hide from Li Juan has already spilt by his monstrous self to her and threatened her with that,

"He is a monster. Like a parasite, he is infested on me." Tang Wei Sheng smiled bitterly at his life which has twisted and turned by the blood curse.

"He wanted you and I wanted to protect you from him. Whenever you are nearby, he always had an upper hand on me. The day you were attacked, he went crazy and almost killed them. I wasn't scared about myself but you," Tang Wei Sheng stopped for a moment, his eyes brimming with tears,

"I believed that once I get treated, he will not come back and trouble you, that's why I left the country. While I was undergoing my treatment abroad, he never appeared, not even for once. But the moment I return to C country, he took over me and started looking for you. When we met again, he overpowered me once again," 

Tang Wei Sheng appeared deflated as he continued to share the painful secret which was eating him alive,

"It was he who asked you, to marry him. When the scandal with Ning Jing ended up in engagement, he tried every possible way to cancel it. When you tried to break up, he went crazy and wanted to make you stay by his side. If the relationship was consummated or if there is a child involved, he thought it would make you stay,"

Tang Wei Sheng looked at Li Juan's face which is calm like an ice frosty lake, cold and deep, completely alienated,

She was well aware of the beast resided him and yet she didn't hesitate to love him.

Even after leaving her alone and made her suffer all the miseries, she gave him an opportunity to start afresh, she promised to spend her life with a monster,

What did he have done?

He hurt Li Juan, tried to molest her, lied to her, he hurt her very badly,

She loved him and how did he repay her?

"Tang Wei Sheng, have you ever loved me?" For the first time in the evening, Li Juan's aloof facade broke, her soulful voice trembled in agony as she asked the man who always had a place in her heart,

A teardrop trickled down Tang Wei Sheng's almond eyes. His broad shoulders drooped as he tried to avoid her,

"All I wanted to....," his once magnetic voice, turns hoarse as tears streaming down his face, "I shouldn't have met you...I should have left you alone that day...,"

Li Juan looked at the man who is withering before her eyes, 

He is the man she loved, whether he was an angel or monster, she used to love him. 

Li Juan sprang towards him and holds his tense shoulders. He grabs her waist with all the life he has himself,

"I've never cried. I've never broken down before anyone ever since I've turned ten, they wanted me to become a monster, they loved him, the deadliest beast who devours in me. They treated me better only because of him, When everyone looked at me with fear, it was you, only you, who saw the real me," He cries, his head falling into her chest, "He took everything from me, including you,"

"Wei Sheng Ge," Li Juan mumbles, as she patted his thick hair,

"I never loved him, for me, it was always you, the boy who took me home on a rainy night. Whatever they call you, for me it was you. Leaving you on that hospital bed, was the biggest mistakes I've ever done. I shouldn't have left you alone, I shouldn't have let him scare me. I would've stayed but he inflicted fear upon me, he touched me the way I don't want to be touched, the way he tried to force himself on me, I still get flashbacks of that pain whenever you touch me,"

Her tears fell on his forehead as looked above retreating from her quivering chest,

"I know you love me, but the Li Juan you loved, she is no more," Staring at his teary eyes, Li Juan's warm hands, cupping his face, wiping his tears away,

"Me, who is standing in front of you is a hollow vessel without any memories. Both of us hurt each other, if we stay together there will not be a peace of moment in our life," She retreated her hands from his face, taking a step back from him, "Let's part our ways,"

Tang Wei Sheng fervently held to her fingers, "Don't go," 

"I don't want you to become the monster you hate," Li Juan peeled her fingers from his hold and placed her trembling lips on his wet forehead,"

"Let me go,"