Chapter 5: A Bride in Chains

 Some chains aren't forged from iron — they're sewn from secrets.

The morning came with silence too loud to ignore.

AiLi was not summoned for breakfast. The maids avoided her room. Even the garden outside her window seemed quieter, as if holding its breath.

And then — a knock.

Not gentle. Not hesitant. Sharp. Authoritative.

When she opened the door, Li Chen stood on the other side.

"Mr. Deng wants to see you. Now."

Not Zhou.

Mr. Deng.

The study was colder than usual — like the old man had sucked all warmth from it with his presence. Mr. Deng sat behind his carved desk, eyes like frost over black water.

Mrs. Deng stood by the window, arms crossed.

Zhou was there too, silent as stone.

Mr. Deng didn't waste time. "We took you in out of obligation. Not affection. Not respect."

AiLi stood straight, not showing the tremble in her spine.

"You married into this family on false blood," he continued. "Deng blood is sacred. Yours is not."

"I didn't know—" AiLi tried to speak, but he raised a hand.

"I don't care what you knew. You were a mistake. One I intend to correct."

Mrs. Deng finally turned, her gaze unreadable. "You are to leave this house today."

Zhou's head snapped toward his mother. "That wasn't the agreement."

Mr. Deng's tone turned steel. "The agreement was based on lies. You want to keep her? Then leave with her."

The room fell into stunned silence.

Mrs. Deng's voice was soft. "You choose now, Ning Zhou. Your legacy… or your wife."

Outside, AiLi waited. Her fingers curled into fists as she tried to breathe past the storm inside her chest. It wasn't fear anymore.

It was fury.

Zhou stepped out after what felt like eternity.

She turned to him, voice trembling. "Well?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he brushed past her.

Walked.

And AiLi followed.

To the car. To the gates. Away from the golden prison that had caged them both.

The estate behind them disappeared into the rearview mirror — a palace of power, stripped of mercy.

They didn't speak during the drive. Not until the car stopped in front of a new building — tall, modern, unfamiliar.

Zhou stepped out first. "You'll stay here now."

AiLi blinked. "What is this place?"

"My private residence."

She looked up at the cold steel and glass structure. "Why bring me here? Why not just let them take me away?"

He turned to face her, jaw tight. "Because they don't own me. Or you."

Her voice cracked. "But I'm not even who you thought I was."

He looked at her then, for real — the layers peeling behind his sharp gaze. "No. You're more."

She swallowed. "More… what?"

"More dangerous. Because now, you're not just my bride. You're the key to their secrets."

That night, AiLi explored the penthouse — a place of shadows and silence. No family. No maids. Just walls and windows and the man who had unknowingly chained his fate to hers.

Zhou sat in the living room, drink in hand, eyes watching the skyline.

"You should rest," he said without turning.

"I can't."

He glanced at her. "Scared?"

"No," she said honestly. "Angry."

He gave a humorless smile. "Good. Anger keeps you alive."

A pause.

Then she asked, "What happens now?"

Zhou leaned back, his eyes hardening. "Now… we play our own game."