Dote On Devil: Submissive To Desire

It was another stormy night.

A lone figure stood in front of huge French windows, staring at the barrage of lightning followed by rumbling thunder with a frown on his face. For Hans Xia, such weather always made him inexplicably irritable.

He had just woke up from the dream that had haunted him for the past eight years—the same weather, the same night, the same dream. Each moment was dripping with torment that he usually couldn't wait to find solace in drink. Memories reared their ugly head, each of it repainting that bloody scene inside his head.

A sudden crack of thunder boomed, and the room was momentarily illuminated in white light. Hans Xia's cold, handsome face was reflected in the window.

He cut a desolate figure standing in front of the windows, his back ramrod straight and his hands clenched into tight fists. His chest felt heavy, suffocating, and his heart ached. He turned around and walked toward the heavy door to pick up the keys lying on the table near it.

He slammed the door and slid into his limited-edition Lamborghini, finally leaving the mansion behind.

The breeze of the late autumn punctuated the joyful atmosphere in the city, but the same wind ruthlessly buffeted frail body of a woman whose mind was seemingly weighted down by lead and whose every step took monumental effort to make. Moira Lin walked alone, among the cars that passed by and couples hugging each other tightly and spending a delightful evening together. A sweet scent permeated the surroundings.

However, this pleasant atmosphere was lost to her. The conversation between her adoptive parents that she had overheard just now kept replaying in her mind.

"We brought Moira up well, so we should be able to get a good price for her."

"Yes, raising her was not such a waste, after all. I did spend a lot of money on supporting her studies. It's a good opportunity for us to get out of poverty."

"Anyway, that girl should thank us for finding such a rich man for her."

The unpleasant faces of her adoptive parents flashed in Moira Lin's mind. Were they really the people she had trusted the most all her life? How could they manipulate her fate like this? She had always treated them respectfully even if they weren't related by blood.

Desperate to stop thinking about it at length, Moira Lin was filled with a profound sadness and at a loss on how to vent. She lingered outside a bar for a while and ultimately decided to enter. At that moment, she had all but lost her sanity.

The smoky air inside the dimly-lit bar reeked of loneliness and desperation emanating from the single men and women patrons that night. 'I'm in perfect company, then.'

Moira Lin approached the counter and ordered, "I'd like a glass of beer, please."

With a full glass of beer in her hand, she closed her eyes and drank it up in one shot.

"Ahem..." Moira Lin had never drank alcohol before. She sought to find comfort in alcohol, yet she felt even worse. Her reality hit her more keenly; her adoptive parents wanted to sell her to the manager of her adoptive father's company. How could they completely disregard her feelings on the matter? Bitter tears rolled unchecked down her face.

"Hey, who is this little shorty? Do you want me to buy you another drink?" She turned to find several bald men who had gotten close to her. It was rare to see such a pure, untouched young woman in the bar, and so they swooped in like hyenas for the kill.

One hand landed on her shoulder, prompting Moira Lin to hastily walk away. She instinctively knew that those men were not kind.

In a small corner booth, she guzzled down a few more glasses of beer. Unable to stand the atmosphere inside, she walked out of the bar weaving on her feet and her head spinning.

A gust of wind met her as she stepped out, and she couldn't help shivering after leaving the relative warmth of the bar. Rain was pouring in sheets, and she tugged her thin coat about her to ineffectually ward off the rain and the cold. She was stewing in anger when she walked out of the house earlier, so she didn't think to dress more warmly.

Without any hesitation, Moira Lin rushed out under the pelting torrents. She could feel the effects of alcohol in her system, but they did not dull the pain in her heart. Why did her adoptive parents treat her like this? All her life, she had tried her best to please them, but they ended up treating her in the most despicable manner possible. At that moment, she felt disappointment in them. Even this world had failed her.

Inside his car, Hans Xia drove at the highest speed, but his mind was empty. He didn't know what to do, and he found himself getting angry at how helpless he was at the moment. The more he tried to calm himself down, the more memories came rushing back. He often thought that if such nightmares persisted, then he would forever be haunted by that woman named Lois Xu.

Beneath his closed eyes, his memories of her played like a movie. They were at the beach. The sun was shining brightly that day, and couples frolicked in the water and lounged on the beach. The woman suddenly appeared beside him and shaded his eyes, saying, "Let me take care of you!" That exact sentence made him think that he would be happy for the rest of his life with her.

A flash of movement interrupted his thoughts, and he quickly slammed on the brakes. He saw a lot of people starting to gather in front of the car, so he decided to step out to have a look.

Irritated, Hans Xia opened the door impatiently. In this horrible weather, why were these people flocking on the road and blocking his way?

The rain had stopped, but the wind blowing through the city was even more violent than before.

The crowd parted to reveal a young woman lying prone on the ground, drenched to the bone. She was trembling slightly—whether from the cold or pain, nobody knew.

"What's going on? Was it a hit-and-run situation?"

"Looks like the girl is seriously injured. Is she unconscious?"

"Did anyone call the ambulance?"

After he verified with his own eyes that it was an accident, Hans Xia shook his head with disdain. He was not interested in joining that crowd. He whirled around and was about to go back to his car when the young woman reached out a hand in his direction and said something that made the crowd look at him strangely.

"Why is this man just looking at his lover and not doing anything?"

"Men can be so unreliable when it actually counts."

Somebody even shouted angrily, "What are you waiting for? Bring her to the hospital, hurry! Do you want to see your lover die? You look like you intend to walk out on her after the car accident. Did you hit her on purpose?"

The usually calm and composed Hans Xia didn't know what to do at that moment. The people around him misunderstood. He had never even met this girl before, so he was under no obligation to save her.

Unable to bear the discussion of the passers-by any longer, he dialed a number and said, "Come to Seaside Road in five minutes."

The man on the other end of the phone arrived in five minutes.

As the CEO of the J Group in A City, Hans Xia officially took over the company at the age of 18. Within two years after taking control of the company, he had utilized his keen powers of observation to acquire several bankrupt companies in A City and take them under J Group's wing. Under his command, the company managed to accomplish several notable achievements in their respective fields and become a powerful enterprise in A City that nobody could underestimate. The industry quickly grew impressed with the young CEO, even going as far as saying that Hans Xia was even more capable than his father. Now, Hans Xia had made J Group the biggest real estate company in the city, with a working capital of hundreds of millions of dollars every day.

At that particular moment, however, none of his business savvy could help him. The girl lying on the ground clearly said just as he was about to leave, "Honey... take me to the hospital."

'Damn it! How dare you slander me like this! Don't you want to stay in this city anymore?'

As soon as the door of the car slammed closed behind her, Moira Lin became aware of her surroundings and sensed that there was something wrong. She lifted a hand toward Hans Xia, who looked like he was about fly off into a rage. Seething, he stalked toward the newcomer's vehicle to confront the woman, but the sight of her face stopped him in his tracks, stunned. While his gaze remained focused on the woman, he said to the other man, "Bring her to the my place and inform Dr. An immediately."

Moira Lin woke up one day later.

She opened her eyes into slits, as the harsh light was slightly painful to her eyes. She rubbed her eyes harder and tried to sit up on the bed.

A piercing pain knifed inside her head. She weakly pressed fingers against her temples. She tried to speak, but her voice came out in a croak.

Where was she?

Disoriented, she looked around the bedroom she was in. It was spacious and decorated sparsely but elegantly, and the bed she had been sleeping in just moments ago was massive. Evidently, the bedroom belonged to someone affluent. But what did it have to do with her?

'Do I live here? Why does my head hurt?' Her head was wrapped with a thick bandage. After taking stock of her surroundings, she realized something serious. 'Who am I? Why can't I remember my name?'

Everything felt overwhelming and confusing to her. She was starting to panic when the door suddenly opened and a strange man came in.

Dressed in casual clothes, the man stood before her. He was tall and slender, and his exquisite, sharp features and deep-set eyes took her breath away. She sat there looking up at him in a daze.

"Who are you? Why am I here? Can you tell me what happened?" Out of fear, Moira Lin leaned back against the headboard and clutched the silk quilt with her hands.

Unaware of the woman's current situation, Hans Xia walked up to her and said, "You're awake."

"What's going on? Why can't I remember anything? Can you tell me my name?"

All of a sudden, he realized that something was very, very wrong. The young woman he had helped the night before didn't even know her name. Was it intentional, or was her brain actually damaged by the accident?

"Lois, you don't even know your name?" Hans Xia was rarely ever as gentle as he was in that moment. He came even closer and gently touched her hair, but he immediately withdrew his hand when he heard a gasp from her.

"Lois, I'm sorry. Does your head still hurt?"

She pressed a fist to her temple. "Yes, it hurts. Who are you to Lois?" After a moment, she said tentatively, "So...my name is Lois."

He didn't know whether to laugh or to cry at this development. One look into her guileless eyes, and he could definitely tell that she had really lost her memories.

"Lois, how could you forget? I'm your fiance. We just got engaged last month, didn't we?"

'Engaged? Fiance?' A whole train of questions ran in her mind.

"Are we supposed to get married soon?" After asking this question, she felt a little embarrassed at her obvious question. Of course, their engagement must mean that they were getting married soon. Blood rushed to her face, betraying her unease.

He observed the young woman before him and realized her character resembled Lois Xu's—shy, reticent, and naturally defensive. He gave his private doctor a call.