Chapter 2: 01 | Prologue
Of all the harshest realities one would learn as an adult, a wedding must be the worst one. There was no flaring lacy dress, no sacred veil, let alone walking down the aisle to meet the love of her life. It wasn't like she expected anything to begin with, but never had she expected that of all the possible scenarios of a wedding, this had to be hers.
Walking down on the shady parts of the many stairs that led her down. On her right was a couple celebrating the day as newlyweds. They were holding the wedding certificate to declare their new statuses, waving buoyantly to families and friends who were showering them with glittering confetti as they walked down the stairs, hands entwined so tightly as if they would never want to separate.
The sun was celebrating with the couple as its light emphasised the bride's natural make-up on her dainty face. The bride was looking like a flower goddess with her floral hairdressers and bouquet. She, on the other hand, was looking almost like mourners in her black knee-length lace dress. If one would ask if she was mourning, she would say yes, for her dream to live normally was gone.
When the couple showed off their wedding rings, her eyes fell to her boring gold wedding band, looking cold and dull compared to the bride's micro pavéband diamond ring. She twitched when the partner she was sharing the ring with walked past her, leaving the pleasant mixture of leather and sandalwood that was rushing in a gust of cold air …
So pleasant that she hated the fact that it was coming from him.
With both gloved hands shoved into his pockets, he stopped in the middle to look past his shoulder, only resuming his step after she reached his side. At the end of the stairs, the couple who became their witness bid them goodbye, mouthing a silent half-hearted 'congratulations'.
She didn't bother to reply. The newlywed couple was now sharing their first kiss as husband and wife. The kiss was only a touch on the lips that lingered so long that she couldn't help but smile for the couple. It was warm and sincere.
Her body jolted in surprise at the sound of the door being opened. The man already stood beside her, slightly tilting his head to the car as a motion for her to get into it. She obsequiously followed with both cheeks puffed in frustration. Though she refused to look at him throughout their wedding registration in the National Household Registration Office, she couldn't help but glance at him …
A man she called husband.
His sharp eyes, dark thick eyebrows, and strong jawline defined his icy personality. She rubbed her arms at the cold tingling sensation when he glanced at her with his deep dark eyes that easily emitted the coldness that made one keep their distance from him. Compared to his height, she looked like a still-growing high-schooler with around twenty-five-centimetres height difference. It wasn't even hard to find him in the road packed with people.
The road in Taipei was busy at noon. Her eyes stopped at the Taipei 101 building that gallantly stood in the heart of the city, proudly declaring how much the city was progressing since the year 2004. The sight of the sunset shade kissing the tower was the thing she loved to see whenever she had so much in her mind. It calmed her, as if telling her that she would conquer everything in her life as easily as how it towered every building in the city. It was her belief.
At least until that day …
The day when a cold-hearted man named Zhao Huijing came out of nowhere and stole that belief away from her. In just one day, he trounced that perfect life into the state where she could no longer see how she stood in the future.
With the marriage certificate that worked exactly like handcuffs and jail altogether.
'You're free to continue your jobs and social life.' His gloved hands were both on the steering wheel.
'What kind of social life are you talking about? As if I have one!' She folded her arms in front of her chest, then crossed her right leg over her left.
'It means as long as you don't date and sleep around, you're free to socialise — put your leg down. Your thigh bone will be broken if we have an accident.'
'Then drive properly, idiot! You've made me sign this legal fiction and now you're already acting like a control freak?!' She slapped the document with the back of her palm twice.
'I really meant it. Put your leg down, now.' Zhao Huijing lowered his tone at the last part so she put her leg down with a scoff. The bubble of emotion was growing in her inner part that she took a deep breath to control herself, deciding that thinking about the sensation of skinning him alive would at least entertain her until she reached the place she was supposed to call 'home' from that day on.
The irony of the situation was laughable if it was someone else and not her.
Tsai Meiying had signed the contract she mustn't and bid farewell to her freedom to the man she didn't know.
If she was a Princess Mermaid and she was given the choice to kill the prince to get her freedom back, then she wouldn't spare a second thought to seize the opportunity …
But there was nothing she could do now …
Except to accept her fate and reminisce about the day when it all began …
∘◦ 💧 ⋆━━━━༻🌸༺━━━━⋆ 💧 ◦∘
Author's Note:
Thank you for taking your time to read my newest book, The Ripples!
I never thought about releasing a mystery book but I think I'll just give this story a chance to see how am I doing in this genre. Of course, it wouldn't be my story without romance. LOL~
The story is taking place in Taipei, Taiwan so yeah, the characters will all be Taiwanese so I apologise in advance if you have to adjust yourself to the names. Since we're talking about names, I will reveal the main characters' names:
Zhao Hui Jing: Hui means wave while Jing means peace and tranquillity.
Tsai Mei Ying: Mei is taken from Meihua, the plum blossom flower while Ying means petal.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
RikkaLiao
RikkaLiao Please note that I only upload this story on Wattpad, Goodnovel, Booknet, and Webnovel. If you happen to find the story outside these platforms, please kindly inform me.
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