Kim_Li_0078

#DARK ROMANCE 
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

She staggered into the laundry room, each step feeling like her bones were splintering from within.

As she approached the laundry room, she heard two maids whispering inside.

"She's practically a servant in this home. Master Shen treats her like trash. Poor woman."

"This place is so cold and doesn't feel like a home! Why is she tolerating him like that?"

"Shh! Do you want to get fired? Keep your mouth shut!"

"It's not like I'm making things up!"

The moment Yueyao entered, both maids fell silent and bowed their heads hurriedly keeping their respectful gesture towards her, "Young Madam."

"I will take over it," she said gently. She smiled, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. It was cold and restrained.

After they left, Yueyao bent over to pick up Shen Xiao's white shirt. The faint smell of rose clung to it like it had been freshly applied.

She never wore perfume that strong and she didn't need to guess whose scent it was because she knew the kind of colognes her husband used.

Her hands trembled as tears blurred her vision, but she blinked them away while she exhaled and inhaled rapidly.

Aside from Shen Xiao, she still had Shen Xuan. Her son was the only reason she could continue enduring this hollow life. It was because of her son that she could withstand anything.

She gathered Xuan'er's clothes and carried them to the sink, but a sudden wave of nausea rose up, catching her off guard. Yueyao dropped the basket and stumbled to the bathroom.

She vomited until there was nothing left, only bile burning her throat up out of her mouth. Her vision went black as she collapsed against the cold tiles, her trembling fingers knocking over a glass tumbler that shattered loudly alerting the maids and Shen Xuan

She opened her eyes weakly hearing her son's voice that would make her overcome everything... Shen Xuan stood in the doorway, dressed in his pale blue pajamas. He was only four, but his little face looked eerily calm for such kind of situations.

"Xuan'er…" she whispered, reaching out to him as, her shaking hand stretched toward him, "Come… come to Mommy…"

But Shen Xuan stepped back, avoiding her touch, keeping his distance. His dark eyes were as emotionless as his father's, they seemed to be carved from the same mold.

Her hand dropped to her side limply as she watched her son step away and give her such a cold glance. The pain in her chest was far sharper than the cramps twisting in her gut.

When Yueyao woke again, her world was a blur of harsh fluorescent lights, antiseptic smells, and the rhythmic beeping of machines.

Her body felt heavy, pinned down by invisible weights, her throat dry and burning.

She blinked rapidly, trying to focus as white-coated figures moved around her bed.

A nurse adjusted the IV line running into the vein on her left wrist, while another checked her blood pressure cuff, its tight grip briefly painful before it deflated with a hiss.

"Mrs Shen, can you hear me?" a doctor asked softly.

She turned her head towards the voice. The man in his late forties was wearing rectangular glasses and a light blue surgical cap over his greying hair.

His eyes behind the lenses were calm and professional, but there was a faint crease of worry between his brows.

"Where… am I?" Yueyao whispered hoarsely, her lips cracked and dry.

Chapter 7; Where am I?