Chapter 56: Defeated, Heart and Soul  

Because… I still love him, don't I? 

The truth was undeniable. From the moment they'd reunited in the elevator two years later, old feelings had resurfaced—buried beneath betrayal and bitterness. 

*Time to let go.* He wasn't the Feng Chenyi she'd loved, and she… was she still the Luo Yao Yao he'd once known? Laughing bitterly, she crouched by the roadside and dialed a number. "It's Luo Yao Yao. Is your offer… still valid?" 

"Which offer?" Yu Aotian's voice dripped with mock innocence. 

She swallowed pride. "Being your… lover." The words tasted like ash. 

"Of course. Come to Villa 183, Hualong Street. I'll be waiting." 

The taxi ride felt like a descent into damnation. 

*"I'd sooner be anyone's mistress. Never yours."* 

Her teenage self would've recoiled. Now, she clung to the hope of preserving one last shred of dignity in Feng Chenyi's memory—even as she sold what remained of it. 

--- 

The villa loomed, its iron gate creaking ominously. Inside, an empty foyer echoed her footsteps. On the glass coffee table lay a contract titled *Lover's Agreement*. 

Clause after clause stripped her autonomy. *A self-inflicted auction.* 

"Enjoying the terms, darling?" Yu Aotian materialized, leaning against the doorway. 

She straightened. "I'll sign. But three conditions." 

He raised a brow. "Speak." 

"First: No public acknowledgment of our relationship." 

"Agreed." 

"Second: Strict professionalism at work." 

"Hmm." 

"Third: Two days off weekly." 

His smirk sharpened. "Greedy little lamb." 

"One day! Just… one." Desperation cracked her voice. 

A nod. "Sign." 

Her hand hovered over the contract. Yu Aotian snatched it back. "Changed your mind?" 

"No!" She grabbed the pen, scrawling her name. "Done." 

His triumphant grin burned. She'd walked into his trap—voluntarily. 

"The villa's yours. Servants?" He tossed keys clattering onto marble. 

"None." Secrecy was her sole armor. 

"Any other demands?" 

"I need—" Her phone rang. *"If today's the answer, then yesterday was a lie—"* 

"Mom?" 

"Your grandfather's bills… they're paid. By someone." 

Yao Yao whirled toward Yu Aotian. "You?" 

"Weren't his medical fees why you agreed?" His smirk deepened. *He'd known.* Orchestrated every step. 

Chills crawled her spine. To him, she was a pawn—predictable, maneuverable. 

--- 

Three hours' reprieve: visit her mother, gather belongings. 

At the hospital, Mrs. Luo gripped her hands. "Who paid?" 

"A… friend." 

"Yao Yao." Her mother's gaze pierced. "What did you trade?" 

"Nothing irreplaceable." The lie curdled. 

In her childhood bedroom, she packed photos—Feng Chenyi's smiling face in a prom snapshot. Crumbling it, she whispered, "Goodbye." 

The villa awaited, its opulence a gilded cage. Yu Aotian lounged on the leather sofa, a glass of whiskey in hand. "Ready?" 

She stood frozen at the threshold. 

"Second thoughts?" 

*Always.* But pride sealed her fate. Stepping inside, she let the door click shut. 

Somewhere across the city, Feng Chenyi stared at an unsigned check. Lisa's voice echoed: *"She refused it."* 

He hurled the paper into fire. Flames consumed the numerals—1,000,000—as ash. 

Defeat, he realized, wasn't in losing her. It was in her choosing *him*—the devil over the ghost of what they'd been.