five years gone

Utterly Humiliated

Shen Lifei abruptly sat up in her bed, her heart hammering against her ribcage. 

She ran a shaky hand through her hair and squeezed her eyes shut. Her lips wobbled as tears pooled behind her eyelids. No matter how much she tried to brush the haunting past away, the pain would always catch up.

Soon, droplets of salty tears fell from her eyes. She struggled to properly breathe, hiccuping for gasps of air. In the cold, dark, and lonely room, she broke down. She wished it was just a nightmare and not a memory from the past.

Her heart ached with the painful memories from five years ago. Surrounded by the country's top socialites, she was utterly humiliated and embarrassed. Her heart was torn into pieces, stomped on, and thrown into the ocean like trash.even though it happened late at night the news spread like fire around the socialites, everybody knew how she was utterly humiliated thrown out of the house by her soon to be husband

Lifei still remembered the pain of watching the love of her life choose a woman he's known for less than a year over her. She had stood by his side for twenty-one years, wasting her youth futilely chasing after a man who never spared her a glance.

When he was too fatigued to bother with work, she took a position as Vice President of his company and worked her body to the ground. She expanded the company to its fullest potential. She did everything she could to support him, and he repaid her by cheating and ripping their marriage certificate.

Collapsing onto her bed, Zhao Lifei stared at the bleak and endless darkness.

She swore she would forget the past and move on. To some extent, she did. But nightmares, like the one she just experienced, forced her to become aware of the painful past that would forever haunt her.

Chu Meng.... even her name sounded innocent and beautiful. Just like the characters of her name,Her mother used to be a janitor in the Wang Corporation and after successfully pulling some strings, Chu Meng was able to land a job as Zheng Tianyi's private secretary,By becoming his private secretary, she was with him 24/7.

Because the darkness allowed Shen Lifei to reminisce without any distractions, she didn't hear the knocking from her door. The light knock became harsher and louder. It echoed throughout the hollow, empty room. One knock turned into two, then three, then four, until it became excruciatingly rapid. Without warning, the door slammed open.

A beautiful woman strutted into the room, her hips naturally swaying side to side. Long, slender legs, seductive eyes, perfect body, it wasn't hard to see she was a world-renowned supermodel.

Yang Ruqin stopped in front of Shen Lifei's bed with a scowl. She crossed her arms and glared down at her like a mother waking up her daughter for school. "It's two in the afternoon, and you're still in bed?!" She tugged and pulled at Shen Lifei's blankets.

"Qinqin, let me sleep a bit longer..." Shen Lifei mumbled, snuggling into her blankets.

Yang Ruqin was the only friend that stood by

Shen Lifei's side when Wang Tianyi practically blacklisted her.

When Lifei's "friends" discovered she had no more power, benefits or the title as the Wang Madam, everyone abandoned her. After many of the socialites realized Chu Meng's importance to Wanng Tianyi, they immediately flooded to her side.

Zhao Lifei wasn't surprised when her friends left her for Chu Meng. Five years ago, she was supposed to be the vengeful antagonist in Chu Meng's life. She was supposed to be the woman that tried to frame Chu Meng for cheating and the horrible person that tried to force the loving couple apart.

Zhao Lifei will not deny the fact that she used to be a horrible woman whose very name was supposed to be a sin. She couldn't change the past, but she knew she could change her future, which was why she worked so hard to become a better person.

"Are you daydreaming again? Did you hear what I just said?" Yang Ruqin fumed when Lifei didn't respond back to her.

"You said it was two in the afternoon, but my room doesn't feel like it. It might be morning— hey!" Shen Lifei yelped when Yang Ruqin flung the blanket off of her.

"No, it's cold..." Lifei moaned, curling up into a ball.

"Ugh, why are your curtains so thick and dark? Even your room's theme is dark, There's no natural lighting in this room!" Yang Ruqin walked to the long curtains that covered the tall windows.

"No, wait! I'm not ready for the light—" Too late. Yang Ruqin had already pulled the curtains open.

Immediately, the bright rays of the afternoon sun soaked into the room, but it wasn't able to wash all of the melancholic darkness away but of the dark theme in the room and everything been dark, ever since tianyi, Lifei surrounded herself with black

Groaning at the intrusion of light, Lifei buried her head into her pillow. She refused to get up, but she knew Yang Ruqin would force her out of the bed regardless. "Can't you leave me here to wallow in my sorrow?" Her voice came out muffled.

"A high-class lady such as yourself should not be sleeping until sunset. Now get up!" Yang Ruqin chided, adjusting the curtain strings.

"high class Lady I know,I know I'll be up after all I'm the boss of my companies who will dare to tell me I'm late I have the money to do anything I like so it doesn't matter"Lifei said

Yang Ruqin sat on top of the bed and sighed, running a gentle hand through Lifei's hair. "Did you have the same dream again?" She softly asked, stroking her friend's hair.

After a few seconds of silence, Lifei said a meek "Yes."

Yang Ruqin's expression grew soft. "Just so you know, I didn't like Wang Tianyi in the first place; he was utter trash,5 years Gone,feifei what do you want aunty to do when she finds out you still cry and dream every day, though I know she knows but she's just pretending to make you feel happy don't you think you owe her your happiness she's given you everything she want, you stood up for you when your family abandon you, took care of you, gave you a new face, gave you connection start your different businesses the billionaire because of her, even when you try to return the favour was refused saying she just wants you to be her daughter I think you owe her your happiness.

Zhao Lifei had a small smile on her face. "You only disliked him at first because he stole your pudding on the first day of Kindergarten and as for auntie I'm the only daughter of the Kim family Kim Lifei, and and you know I don't like him is just more like an invisible person to me doesn't exist in my life again and never will you know Shen Lifei's body was found in front of his gate died, and you it was a mystery and so don't you ever see me as Shen Lifei because I'm not, I'm now Lisa or Kim Lifei

"I have a billion more reasons for hating him. He was such a jerk." Yang Ruqin retorted. "And for the record, I still hold him accountable for that!" She pouted, crossing her arms like a stubborn child.

Lifei let out a peal of light laughter, the pain in her heart momentarily gone.

"Thank you, Qinqin... I don't know what I would do without you." Lifei softly whispered. Her voice was quiet and broken, like a lonely child abandoned by the world.

Yang Ruqin's face became gentle. She reached down and pulled her best friend into a very tight hug. Together, they've experienced so much hardship in this world, there was nothing that could push them apart.

"My dear, I should be saying that, not you." Yang Ruqin mumbled into Lifei's shoulders.

When Yang Ruqin was faced with any crisis, Lifei was always there for her. From taking the blame of punching a boy in Kindergarten to the days of high school where Lifei consistently covered for Yang Ruqin's mischievous deeds. They had seen each other at their worsts, their bests, and everything in between.

"We're reminiscing too much into the past when we should focus on the present and future. Now come on, get up." Yang Ruqin patted Lifei's head and watched her finally sit up on her bed.

"Hurry up and get dressed, so that we can go eat brunch." Yang Ruqin hurried Lifei off the bed. With each step Yang Ruqin took, her silky red dress flowed behind her.

"It's two in the afternoon, brunch has already ended." Lifei, the pessimist, grumbled to her friend who laughed.

"Alright, party-pooper, we can get lunch then." Yang Ruqin mused, pushing Lifei into the bathroom.

When Lifei began her morning routine, Yang Ruqin sat in the corner with a hidden, and mischievous smile, then she said.

"Lifei let's go shopping you don't really have any fancy outfit to wear all your outfits are suits or corporate clothes and their all-black you cant attend a someone's wedding dressed like that"

"you know I don't attend weddings, weddings aren't really my thing so I guess that's why I don't have any outfits for weddings" Lifei replied as she stepped out of the bathroom and got into our walk-in closet then she said again

"oh I really can't go shopping with you today how about make it tomorrow I have an urgent business meeting by 5 p.m. with a new investor coming to talk about the new business and planning to open so I won't really be chanced, I have piles of documents that needs my signature for quite some time now I haven't really been to office I work from home" saying this she walked out of her walk-in closet all dressed in black

qinqin sighed and said you know "I really wonder how your employees are able to work with you dressed like this, girl you look seductive, then are the eyes drifted to Lifei's hand

" feifei you putting on gloves won't change the fact that those tattoos are on your hands, you need to learn start embracing your scars beautifully" qinqin said with a downcasted expression

Lifei laughed and said "you know actually I put them on so that investors and people don't get scared when we do and hand shakes because that tattoo is really scary but those are my beautiful self"

then she hugged Yang Ruqin hands and dragged her out of the room

for many years she still can't get physical with people,expect ruqin and Mrs Kim and her child