Eight years ago, if Xia Ai was told that she would be doing what she was about to do today, she would have laughed and thought the person was crazy for even imagining such a scenario.
However that was eight years ago.
Eight years ago when she had no strength to refuse the accidental marriage to the man she once loved but who never once loved her back.
Three years in a marriage that was the devil's gift to her.
Loveless. Distant. Cold. Neglectful.
It was everything no woman should have to put up with and yet of course every woman alive still wanted the demon she once had the "oh so great honor of calling husband."
The man who spent the first year of their marriage abroad just to avoid her and remind her that she was absolutely nothing in his eyes. Xia Ai still remembered his cold and mirthless gaze as it stared down condescendingly at her, suitcase at hand ready for his flight to the country farthest away from her and this was on their wedding night.
"You may have the Xia family title but a scheming woman like you is no better than a prostitute I would keep in my back closet for fun. I'll be away for a long time, feel free to enjoy my money seeing as that is why you married me right."
Those words had killed Xia Ai even before their wedding had set-off from the earlier days ceremonies.
And over the three years she was with that man, nothing she did to win him over worked. It was the constant neglect like she didn't exist and worse yet, this was no secret to the entire world and because of it, she was probably bullied more than any human being alive.
Of course she lost that battle and eventually all the plotting nearly ended her life but in all that despair she somehow managed to escape.
Escape him. Escape his family. Escape the women that would gladly end her life if it meant they had a chance at the infamous Xia Rui.
She escaped it all.
And somehow when death seemed like her only choice, she pushed through with hope and two new lives to take care of.
Now, five years later after disappearing, she was back and her mission was simple.
Raise all hell against everyone that had come against her. Familial ties didn't matter anymore. She may have lost the first battles but she was definitely going to win the war.
"Miss Jao, we've arrived at the Daojing Grand Banquet Hall." The chauffeur announced respectfully. Xia Ai nodded softly as a cunning smirk tainted her lips. Concerning being addressed as Miss Jao, that was the name she changed to after leaving Xia Rui.
Though legally she was still Xia Ai since she had never actually gotten a divorce from Xia Rui but today she would solve that issue.
Xia Ai picked up her hand purse, a silver purse that was studded with white diamonds that paired gorgeously with the Qipao she had on. It was a sleeveless black-colored base mulberry silk Qipao with exquisite silver dragon embroidery.
The dress smoothed over her graceful figure and the color made her healthy milky skin to glow without any makeup. Her long silky black hair was let loose against her shoulders and back. Her baby blue eyes danced with vitality and a touch of something unpredictably dangerous.
She was a beautiful masterpiece, one that no one was going to forget after today.
Xia Ai stepped out of the luxury car, confidence and power brimming off her body.
Xia Ai glanced at Daojing city's biggest banquet hall.
A grand place fitting of the Xia family's status. A place fit for a man like Xia Rui to get married.
A beautiful sunny day. The air filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms but the wedding officiator must have read his stars wrong because despite the sunshine and flowers, today was anything but a good day to hold the wedding of the man called Xia Rui.
.....
The Daojing Grand Banquet Hall was the one location where all the big families in the whole country wanted to host their events. The hall had a rich history and had hosted events of high caliber and today, it was holding the biggest and by all means the most important event of its timeline.
The hall was set and designed luxuriously without excluding traditional aspects.
From the smallest to the biggest detail, everything was set to match the traditional, regal and rich tastes of the Xia family.
A family whose name alone could instill a sense of awe and fear in anyone that wasn't living under a rock in a distant planet.
And what was causing such a fuss. Well that is simple, the infamous prodigy, the first young master, the sole dominant king of the business world, the reigning chairman of Xia Group, the most eligible bachelor for years in a row, we could go on for days just listing all the titles people had given him but to get to the main point, the man called Xia Rui was finally getting married.
Yes, many women across the world were devastated that it wasn't them but hey, what could they do other than watch the live broadcast.
The wedding was already showing the grandness of the Xia family. Heavens knew the wedding budget had long since crossed the billion dollar threshold.
The guests attending alone were personalities whose influence and power spanned far and deep across various fields and sectors. Simply put, people that could not be offended.
Only the wedding of the Xia family and specifically someone like Xia Rui could genre so much attention and glamour.
The guests were each seated at the seats assigned to them.
The power and class disparities were clear and everyone wanted to stand out like it was their own wedding but of course they remembered to behave as they watched the wedding officiator getting to the most important part of the wedding.
The vows.
Standing face to face at the fore front of all the guests were the bride and groom with the officiator too.
The bride, a young and by all means beautiful woman, dark brown hair and soft forest green eyes. The Xia family patriarch being a very traditional man insisted on the keeping main key traditional aspects of the wedding despite its integration with modern western cultures hence the bride was dressed in a fine, hand crafted red Qipao with golden embroidery of peach blossoms knit onto it.
She was all smiles and clearly she was happy.
Who wouldn't be. Among the many women. Among the many plots, it was still her that came out victorious and now, soon she would be addressed as Mrs Xia.
Xia Rui, the man of her dreams was about to become hers and even if things were still a bit cold between them, she felt she could deal with all that.
The important thing was that she had won and her childhood sweet heart was about to become her husband.
These sweet ideas and thoughts belonged to Zhang Juna, the young miss of the Zhang family. A close family friend of the Xia's and a business associate. The Zhangs were among the top ten families in the country and in terms of status, family, capability, connection to the Xia's, Zhang Juna was indeed a match that had been all too predictably about to happen.
Zhang Juna had practically grown up playing with Xia Rui's social group so they knew each other. Their parents knew each other. Their grand parents knew each other and boom-an arranged marriage.
Now it was time to seal the deal now that the biggest hurdle in their way had been dealt with.
While everyone was seemingly happy or caught up in silent gossip, the man standing before Zhang Juna was like a heaven crafted ice statue frozen to sub zero temperatures, beautiful to look at but definitely not supposed to be touched.
It's like only his body was present but his soul was detached from the desires of feeble mortals. Elegant and clean in a black tuxedo that accentuated his tall and well built physique. His platinum blonde hair was brushed back neatly but it made his sharp and masculine facial features even more striking.
His expression didn't so much as shift from its calm neutrality as he stared down at the woman standing before him. His deep grey colored eyes reflected nothing of what he felt about his wedding but those that knew him well enough knew that this wedding was nothing more than a transaction to him.
If he could completely have it his way, then he would probably stay single for life.
This man was Xia Rui.
The officiator who was too nervous to make a single mistake finally spoke with great care and the faintest of smiles. He would go down in history as the man that hosted the wedding of Xia Rui after this.
He cleared his voice.
"If anyone present knows any legal obstacle to this marriage, say it now or forever hold your peace."
The crowd glanced at each other quietly. Of course no one present was stupid enough to actually go against a wedding of such caliber. Who here had the guts to face Xia Rui's cold blooded anger so despite many women wishing they could keep the man for themselves, they didn't have any legal reason.
Zhang Juna was one lucky wo-
"I object to this marriage." Soft and gentle but with an undefyable tone. In the huge hall that was initially awash with silence, these words cut through the silence sharply and the meaning in the words were like an abrupt hit on the breaks of a car.
The shock from the inertia would leave anyone breathless and that was exactly it.
No one believed what they heard so instinctively, their eyes all turned around towards the source of the voice but they all felt their hearts flutter when they caught sight of the beautiful woman standing at the main entrance to the banquet hall.
Beautiful seemed like an understatement and the presence she carried instantly left the whole room in awe. Such vibrant and undefyable confidence portrayed with such elegant grace, even some major members of powerful royal families present couldn't hold a candle to her elegant charm.
Everyone looked at the lady. Who the hell was this and what gave her such bold confidence to go against this marriage.
Were they all in for some big family level drama. Maybe she was an ex. Everyone started speculating in an instant and murmurs rose.
Most people present had the vague feeling they knew this woman but they were sure they had never met such a woman before.
The lady who was none other than Xia Ai glanced at the crowd with carefully calculated emotions. Of course she could tell by the confused and contemplating expressions on most of the guests that none of them recognized her.
She couldn't blame them. She also knew she had changed a lot.
Xia Ai first let everyone absorb her presence and then she let her eyes roam on a few specific faces. The shock on their faces was invaluable. Of course there were some specific people that would never forget her face because more than anyone, they had played the biggest parts in her downfall.
Xia Ai smiled but her smile only made the eyes of the people she was looking at to widen.
They must finally be realizing this is not a dream and she was not a ghost.
Oh no, she was so much worse. She was soon going to be the manifestation of their worst nightmares.
Finally, Xia Ai turned her attention to the man of the hour. She didn't bother looking at his bride. She had enough time to deal with the small fry.
Today, her focus was the big fish of the Xia family.
Their eyes met and the air seemed to instantly freeze. The guests felt an unexpected chill.
Xia Ai looked into his cold grey eyes with lethal calmness. Five years.
Judging from how tightly his jaw was clenched and how his eyes had not for one second left her since she arrived, he must have recognized her.
Good.
Xia Ai started to approach the front of the hall and as she walked, everyone just watched her in awe. Was this lady really going to stop the wedding.
As Xia Ai walked, she spoke in a challenging tone that everyone heard.
"The infamous Xia Rui, I never expected such incompetence from you. If you want to marry another woman, at least have the decency to divorce me before you do so. If not for old time sake as soon to be exes, at least do it for the naive woman standing in front of you."
"She really thinks highly of you, you know."
The room went from murmurs to pin drop silence. No one could believe what they heard.
Such blatant disrespect. Was this woman crazy. Did she have a death wish.