Kim_Li_0078

Lin Yueyao spent five years of her youth married to Shen Xiao, a man whose heart was as cold as steel. She believed that her gentleness would eventually melt his indifference, but the only thing that melted was her own dignity.

Every night, she endured his cruel touch, his words like blades, and his silent disgust. But no matter how much it hurt, Yueyao clung on – for the sake of their son, Xuanxuan, and for the sliver of hope that someday he might see her.

That hope shattered completely when his first love, Bai Zhi, returned from abroad. The very night Bai Zhi came back, Shen Xiao left Yueyao alone to dine with her. His gaze, once cold and dismissive, turned tender only for Bai Zhi.

Then, just as Yueyao discovered she was pregnant again, Shen Xiao handed her divorce papers. Abandoned while carrying his child, betrayed by her husband, and discarded like a stain on his life, Yueyao’s world collapsed.

Even their son, Xuanxuan – the little boy she’d nearly died giving birth to, the one she raised with unwavering devotion – rejected her, clinging instead to Bai Zhi with innocent adoration.

But fate was crueler still.

Kidnapped straight from her hospital bed by men demanding ransom, Yueyao realised no one was coming to save her. Her husband hadn’t even noticed she was missing. As she lay in that abandoned factory, trembling in pain, all illusions crumbled.

She was done waiting for love from a man who treated her like dirt.

This time, she would save herself. And when she returned, it wouldn’t be as the pitiful Mrs. Shen, but as a woman reborn from ashes – with a heart no longer beating for Shen Xiao.

But will he realise her worth only when it’s too late?

Love After Divorce: Her Second Chance

"W-Where am I?" Her voice shook uncontrollably. The last thing she remembered was leaving the hospital room, determined to take back her life.

"It doesn't matter where you are..." The man gestured lazily to another who tossed her phone at her feet, "Call your husband. Tell him to transfer five million yuan if he wants you back alive."

"I… I don't have that money…" Yueyao whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. Her body trembled from fear and cold.

The scarred man's eyes darkened with annoyance, "You are Mrs. Shen Xiao. The Shen family has more money than God. Stop acting pitiful here and call immediately."

Yueyao bit her lip so hard that it bled. Shen Xiao hadn't even looked for her after she went missing for a day. Would he care enough to pay a ransom for her? Would he care if she died here today?

"Call him. Now!" The man brandished a knife in front of her face, the metal glinting menacingly under the harsh light.

Her hands trembled violently as she dialed Shen Xiao's number from memory.

The phone rang twice before a woman's sweet, soft voice answered.

Her heart immediately plummeted into an icy void. It was Bai Zhi.

Under the scarred man's fierce glare, Yueyao forced her voice out, hoarse and trembling, "Bai Zhi… I need to speak to Shen Xiao. Please… It's urgent."

"Oh? You are looking for Ah Xiao?" Bai Zhi replied lightly, her tone almost amused and sarcastic, "He's still asleep."

The scarred man snatched the phone from Yueyao's shaking hands, his lips curling into a cruel smile.

"Listen here, lady. We have your precious Mrs. Shen with us and if you don't want her to die, prepare five million yuan. We will call back with instructions."

He hung up without waiting for a response and tossed the mobile phone aside before he then he turned to Yueyao, grinning with yellowed teeth.

"Let's see how much your husband, Mr Shen values his little wife."

Yueyao curled up against the damp concrete wall, tears slipping down her bruised cheeks.

Or would this be the day he finally abandoned her for good?

She buried her face in her knees, her tears soaking through the thin hospital gown clinging to her shivering body. The cold seeped deep into her bones, but the despair that burned within her chest was even colder.

She didn't know how long she had sat like that, but the sudden vibration of her phone startled her out of her numbness. One of the abductors snatched it up with a smirk.

He tossed the phone at her roughly. Her trembling fingers fumbled to press 'answer,' hope and dread choking her throat.

But before she could speak, Bai Zhi's soft, lazy voice drifted through the speaker, slicing into Yueyao's fragile heart like a rusted blade.

"Ah Xiao is exhausted from last night and just fell asleep. I don't think I should wake him up… how about you try calling back later?"

Yueyao's grip loosened and the mobile phone slipped from her hand and landed on her lap with a dull thud.

The two abductors exchanged smug looks, enjoying the spectacle of her despair.

"Your husband is sleeping with another woman?" One of them clicked his tongue mockingly.

"It seems like you are not that important to him after all," the other added with a sneer.

Their words dug into her wounds, deeper and deeper, until she felt her soul bleed out.

Of course. Shen Xiao had always loved Bai Zhi. Wasn't it perfectly normal for them to be together now that she was gone?

Chapter 7; Where am I?