Married to his secret crush

Chapter 499: Healing from the past

I don't want to sign him and since I have already decided, I won't change my mind no matter whose son he is or how famous her mother was. I have nothing to do with Kristen Marcil so just reject his manager,'' Li Shuang hung up. She had nothing personal against this actor but she did not trust Edward anymore which led her to doubt all the decisions he made for the company.

''Did you say Kristen Marcil?"

Li Shuang turned around to look at the man who had straightened up in his seat.

…

''My mom started her career as an internet sensation and she met my Dad in the US where he went with my Grandpa for a business meeting. Dad fell in love with her at first sight and after he pursued her, she agreed to date him. Later, she fell in love with him but my grandfather was against their marriage.

He did not think she could be a decent daughter-in-law for the Mu family but my dad went against him. Grandfather had heart issues and one night he passed away in a cardiac arrest. Dad could not get over grandpa's death and somewhere, he blamed himself for it. Mom accompanied him throughout the period and 2 years later they got married after she was pregnant with me…''

''My mom always wanted to be an actress but she came from an average family in America. Dad believed that she had the talent for it. He introduced her to his friend, the CEO of a top-tier international entertainment agency. By the time I was 7, Kristen Marcil was a name that everyone knew of. And when I was a teenager, she was already an academy-award-winning actress.

Just like her, I wanted to act too since I was a kid. I looked up to her and wanted to be like her but she was always against it.''

Li Shuang did not know anything about his identity but she had no idea that his family background was special.

From what he spoke about the 'Mu' family, Li Shuang concluded that he was talking about the Mu Family in Amaranthine who has been on the Forbes list for over decades.

The reason she concluded that was because first of all, it would explain how he got to know Jun Zixuan, and secondly, his grandfather did not accept his mother because of her status and it meant that their family had an extraordinary status.

And if her memory served her right, then her grandfather had mentioned the Mu Family to her quite a few times when she was young. Just like the Han Family and Jun Family were close and Han Jingyi was betrothed to Jun Zixuan.

Similarly, the Yus and Mus were close as well and her grandfather and Mu Shen's grandfather were good friends. The same went for their fathers.

Li Shuang's lips twitched. God forbid she needed almonds because her memory was failing her but… why did the term 'betrothal' flashed in her mind?

Before she could speak to him about it, he continued.

''That year, I was 17 years old. I returned to the main mansion after 6 months during summer vacation. I wanted to surprise my mom so instead of informing her, I asked Zixuan to let his driver drop me at our place. Dad was out on some business trip and I could not find my mom or any servants in the house. In the end, I walked to my room only to hear some noises from inside. I was hesitant.

I thought some thief has broke inside the mansion so I grabbed the nearby flower vase but when I heard my mom's voice, I was stunned. The door was left half ajar and as I peeked, I found my mom having sex with my father's friend… on my bed…''

Li Shuang, who was quiet till this point, interrupted him, ''You don't need to talk about it,'' she was shocked.

As he said, Kristen Marcil was a famous name that probably everyone has heard of. She was the most popular academy-award-winning actress who passed away two years ago.

But one could have never known that she was hiding such secrets behind her. To the world, she only had one son and that was the son of the CEO of the American entertainment agency whom she married after years of debuting from his company.

But it turns out that their son was the product of infidelity.

Then what about Mu Shen? Li Shuang's lips thinned. Wasn't he her blood as well? Why did she have to hide one son while giving her name to the other? How was it justified?

Mu Shen grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap, ''Didn't you want to know? Now that I am telling you, why are you asking me to stop?''

''It's okay,'' Although she wanted to know but she did not want him to be sad.

Mu Shen chuckled, ''Are you worried about me?"

As straightforward as she was, Li Shuang nodded honestly.

Mu Shen bit her cheeks, ''I am fine.''

''So… did you tell your dad about it?" Li Shuang asked him after a brief moment of hesitation.

''No, I was scared that my family would break apart so I kept it a secret. Even my mom did not know that I had witnessed it. I went outside and rang the doorbell and both of them came all dressed, pretending to discuss work. It went on for a few months and my parents never fought so I was relieved. I thought everything was fine and I made the right decision.

That was until my mom confessed to my dad about everything, she told him that she was just attracted to him because back then she was poor and did not see much of the world. She was attracted to his money, his looks, and his family background but she never loved him.

She confessed that she had been cheating on him for over a decade and she could not carry on anymore because she had secretly given birth to that man's child years ago and now that he was growing up, she wanted to be there for him.''

Li Shuang's eyes pricked as she glanced at his calm face. He seemed like a lost kid as he spoke about how broken and messed up his family was. About how sad his childhood was.

She wanted to be there for her other son but then what about Mu Shen?!

''My dad divorced her and she found her happily ever after with that man. With my dad and me, she never revealed her relationship status to the public but after marrying him and having his child, she announced it to the whole world. Dad went into depression and as for me, I blamed myself. My dad spent more and more time at work and I permanently moved to the dorms.

My mom tried to stay in touch with me, she showed concern at times and I believed she would eventually come back. When I could not convince her with words, I started rebelling. I did everything she did not want me to do and she would pay me visits. I believed it was working… Remember the truth and dare game where I mentioned that I lost my virginity at 18?"

Li Shuang nodded quietly.

''I love you,'' his words calmed down the slight jealousy that was pawing her heart. It was not like she expected him to have no past or anything. She was never this childish.

Even when she was with Zhu Boqin, she did not care which woman he was with before her. She disliked disloyalty but that did not mean she was jealous.

When it came to Mu Shen, it came naturally. And now that she was listening about his past, she wondered why she was not there in his life earlier.

He kissed her neck, placing his chin on her shoulder blade, ''That girl was the daughter of one of my mom's friends. She was two years older than me and it was a one-night stand. Later, she wanted me to date her but I rejected her. First, I was not interested in dating nor did I like her and secondly, I knew that news would reach my mom soon. It did. And she came to me the next day.

I was slapped and when I told her that I would join the entertainment industry, she warned me to not do it... but I did exactly that.''

''You love your work, right?'' She has seen his movies and it was pretty apparent how much he loved his work given the efforts he put into it.

''I do,'' he sighed, ''But at that moment, all I wanted was her attention. Scandals and everything she hated, I got myself involved in it. But over time, I realized that she was never going to come back to us and I hated her with everything I had every time I saw my father in that condition. I begged her to come back but she never paid attention to me. And then my father met his current wife.

She has been more of a mother to me but I never paid attention to her initially. Later on, my father got better and they are happy together now. I am happy for them.''

''Did you accept her now?"

''Yes,'' Mu Shen smiled at the thought of her, ''All this time while I was trying to gain my biological mother's attention, I did not realize that I was ruining my life in the process, disappointing my dad, mom, friends, fans… people who really care for me,'' There were times when Shi Luo and Jun Zixuan tried to talk to him, his father and step-mother also did but he never really opened up about it to anyone.

He did not tell anyone that he witnessed them having sex. Li Shuang was the first person who knew this and maybe she was going to be the last one.

''Hmm, I don't really think so,'' Li Shuang turned around and hugged him, nuzzling her nose in his neck, ''People who love you won't be disappointed with you. They might be worried or concerned or sad but not disappointed. Your family and friends know how much you care for them. Your fans know how much hard work and effort you have put to be where you are today.

Your past makes you the person you are today.''

Mu Shen smiled, ''Are you consoling me now?"

Li Shuang frowned before kissing the corner of his lips, ''I would have done this if I was planning to console you.''

His smile grew wider, ''Then…?"

''What then? I really mean it,'' she straightened up on his lap, ''Imagine if you ended up depressed back then…'' Like which teenager would not be depressed or have anxiety issues after witnessing his mother cheating on his father, ''If instead of being rebellious and stubborn, you ended up retreating inside a shell then it would have been difficult for you to reach where you are today.

Your willfulness acted like a catalyst and you made it here without giving up. I'm not saying it is okay but you eventually snapped out of it, you realized what you did wrong so it makes everything fine.''

He healed from that terrible past. That's all that matters.

He glanced at her.

''If I was in your place, I might have done the same, not wanting a broken family. But after that, maybe I would not have been courageous enough to step up. Maybe I would have gone somewhere to hide myself from the world to drown in my sorrows. So, don't blame yourself for what adults did,'' she smiled at him, ''I don't want you to be burdened by the past.''

''To tell you the truth…'' he leaned closer to her and pressed his forehead against hers, ''I let go of the past the day I chased after you. Initially, I was worried to I'd end up like her. I didn't want to hurt you knowingly or unknowingly but then when you were leaving, I realized how much I love you. And how wrong it is for me to live in her shadow, believing that I will be like her.''

She smiled, ''And I am glad that you chased after me.''

''We…'' Mu Shen blinked.

"Hmm?"

''Can we continue this discussion in the bedroom?"

"_"

The next morning.

''Exactly, what were you thinking?'' Li Shuang rolled on the bed, pulling the blankets to cover her body as she glanced at the 100cm long box of condoms near the lamp.

''It's a hassle going there again and again,'' Mu Shen wrapped an arm around her waist before pulling her into his arms.

She felt his hardness stroking the back of her thighs.

Li Shuang turned around and bit his chest, ''I am sore.''

''I know. I will help you soak in warm water,'' Looking at her pleading face, he raised an eyebrow, ''What? Did you think we were going for another round? Look at your dirty mind…''

''You…'' her lips thinned, ''I assumed that because you were hard.''

''That's a natural reaction around you,'' she could be at a 10m distance and he would still be hard.

Both of them ended up laughing.

''Ah Shuang…''

''Hmm?" she looked at his face.

''I am willing to join your company,'' he whispered.

Her face lit up, ''I will be your manager,'' Before he could say something, she continued, ''I know you already have one and you can keep him. I won't have enough time to deal with everything but I still want you as my artist. I will look over in the majority of matters.''

''So, having you as my manager… don't you think that's quite high profile?" he teased.

''Are you scared?" she raised n eyebrow.

''Of course not, love,'' he kissed her lips.

To Li Shuang, nothing has ever felt so right in her whole life.

She had spent years looking after Zhu Boqin, ensuring that their relationship is perfect but she barely felt any excitement, any thrill, any love or romance, or even calmness.

Her whole relationship with him was chaotic and tense and in the end, he left her with a deep sense of betrayal seeping into her heart.

With Mu Shen, it has barely been around a year since they know each other but had minimal interactions, a month since they started living next to each other, and two days since they got into a relationship, but she felt like she knew him for who knows how long. She had never felt so treasured, safe and so loved.

Somehow she could understand now why people said that time has got nothing to do with love. You can be in a relationship for years and feel nothing but you know someone for a brief period and you live through a whole rollercoaster of feelings. Such a twisted concept it is!

To Mu Shen, Li Shuang was off-limits. He never thought there would be a day they would end up together. Not like this. But now that they were here, there was no way he would ever let her go.

''Do you know that our parents and grandparents were close?" Li Shuang asked out of nowhere.

''They were?" Mu Shen asked, stunned.

''Yes.''

Mu Shen frowned. He had no idea about that because he was barely there at home. And his grandparents passed away before he was born, then after that, he was more close to his biological mother than his father.

''When I was young, I remember grandpa once mentioned that he and his friend once discussed about getting their children married but my Aunt…. Yu Mei's mom had someone she loved and your father also married another person so, in the end, they decided to get us… cough.. get their grandchildren married if one had a boy and other a girl.''

Mu Shen blinked, unable to digest the information.

She laughed, looking at his expression, ''I'm certain because I don't think there is any other famous Mu Family in Amaranthine, and of course, I remember your father once visited my grandpa in the Yu Mansion. I was around 11 years old at that time.

You inherited this hair color from him, didn't you?" she raked her fingers through his auburn hair, inwardly feeling glad that she had a near-perfect memory.

Mu Shen exhaled a breath, ''So, it is really true. Betrothal huh?" he shook his head in disbelief.

''You don't look too happy?"

''Who said that?" he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his body, ''I was just wondering if we should go and get registered already. Don't you think these are signs for us to get married and stay together forever?"

''On the contrary, I think I should put you on some trial period,'' she placed her cheek on his chest, ''I still haven't gotten over your rejection.''

Mu Shen kissed her hair, guilt apparent on his face,'' I was being a jerk.''

''And an idiot too.''

''Yes. ''

She looked at him before kissing her chin.

Right at this moment, both their phones beeped.

Li Shuang rolled off his body and grabbed her phone from the bedside table while Mu Shen checked his.

Her eyes widened, ''How did I not know anything about this?!" she whispered.

Mu Shen glanced at her and the expression on her face made him curious, ''What's that?"

''Check your phone,'' Li Shuang whispered without taking her gaze off her phone.

Mu Shen checked it and his lips parted slightly. It was a marriage invitation. Han Jian Yu and Mia were getting married tomorrow and that too in the royal castle of Amaranthine. The castle used to be the place where the Amaranthine royalty, as in the ancestors of the Jun Family lived.

The place was situated at quite some distance from Jun Manor and even the members of the Jun Family were not allowed in that place.

But it looks like Han Jian Yu chose that exclusive place for his wedding plans.

While Mu Shen did not understand the reason, Li Shuang did. Jun Boyan and Mu Shen had no idea about Mia's identity but she knew it. And from what she could decipher, Han Jian Yu has organized this fairytale wedding for Mia to make her feel like the princess that she always was.

The corner of her lips tugged up, ''I am happy for them.''

''We can make them happy for us too,'' Mu Shen inched closer to her, ''By getting married.''

''We will think about that,'' she placed her head on his lap, ''You need to meet my Grandpa first then coax me for marriage.''

Mu Shen got nervous at the thought of meeting her grandpa, ''I can coax you first, what do you say?" He bit the tip of her nose.

''That works too,'' she puckered her lips.

He kissed her twice, ''I love you,'' so much that I wonder what I would have done without you?

She smiled, ''I love you too.''

...

A/N: 1 more chapter to go *sniffs*

Anyways, my dear readers, I have this new book 'The Siren's Vengeance'. Do check it out and see if you like the synopsis. Let's stay in touch after this book ends ;) Love you all and thank you for your constant support! <3