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

"We are starting you on a normal saline bolus for hydration, as well as pre-operative antibiotics," she said softly, "Please don't eat or drink anything. The surgical team will prepare the theatre within thirty minutes."

Yueyao nodded faintly, her chest heaving with silent sobs as she stared at the ceiling. Cold metal rails framed her vision, and the scent of antiseptic burned her nose.

Another nurse entered to confirm her allergies, surgical history, and current medications while checking her ID bracelet against the electronic records.

After all questions were reviewed, she was covered with a warm cotton blanket and gently wheeled out of the curtained cubicle towards the pre-operative holding area.

As the corridor lights slid above her, one by one, Yueyao felt her tears slip silently into her hair. She pressed a trembling hand to her belly, mourning the life that was slipping away before it could even begin.

She didn't think of Shen Xiao. She didn't think of his reaction, or his cold eyes, or his dismissive words but all she thought of was the emptiness blooming inside her chest, growing colder and wider with every passing second, swallowing everything she had left.

When Yueyao woke again, her throat burned with raw dryness and the sterile chill of oxygen. Her eyes fluttered open to blinding white light and a distant rhythmic beep echoing through her foggy mind.

"Mrs Shen… can you hear me?" came a nurse's soft voice from beside her bed.

She blinked weakly, her vision clearing slowly. An oxygen cannula pricked uncomfortably at her nostrils, her mouth felt parched and her lips cracked. She tried to speak, but only a hoarse rasp came out.

"Don't talk yet," the nurse said gently, adjusting her IV drip and checking the monitors displaying her vitals, "Your surgery went well. The ruptured fallopian tube was removed laparoscopically, and your bleeding has been controlled. You are in the surgical ICU for post-operative monitoring."

Yueyao turned her head slightly, feeling the stiffness in her neck from intubation.

Every movement sent aches radiating through her shoulders and abdomen. Her vision shifted to the drip stand beside her, then to the large wall clock ticking steadily above the curtained glass windowpanes.

She didn't know what time it was. Or what day, the only thing she knew was that her baby was gone even before she/he could come to earth.

"Try to rest," the nurse said softly, "Your haemoglobin dropped quite low from blood loss. We have given you two units of transfusion. Once your vitals stabilise and you pass urine, we will transfer you to the general ward."

The nurse moved away quietly to check on another patient. Silence settled around Yueyao, interrupted only by machine beeps and distant footfalls of staff in rubber-soled shoes.

Her chest felt hollow. Empty in a way she couldn't describe.

Tears welled up and slid into her hairline as she lay staring at the blank ceiling.

She pressed a trembling hand to her stomach, feeling the gauze dressings taped over her surgical wounds beneath the thin hospital gown.

No child. No life. Only emptiness.

She didn't know how long she lay there, drifting between painful wakefulness and shallow, haunted sleep, before the quiet click of the ward door opening roused her.

"Madam…" Aunt Mei's soft voice trembled with worry as she stepped closer to the bed, her eyes red-rimmed from crying.

She placed a thermos of warm broth on the bedside table, her hands wringing nervously.

Yueyao forced a faint smile. Her lips were pale and cracked, and even her breathing felt heavy.

Chapter 9; Madam.....