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

Their confusion melted into greedy understanding. The man who had fallen back rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a crooked smile spreading across his face. "You mean…"

The scarred man nodded. "I know someone who runs an underground brothel near the border. They pay top price for fresh goods, especially ones that look like her. She will earn them hundreds of times what we just got paid. And she will wish we had killed her here."

They all laughed, their voices echoing off the mold-stained walls like a chorus of demons.

Before Yueyao could scramble away, something hard and heavy slammed into the side of her neck. A blinding pain exploded through her skull, and darkness swallowed her whole.

When Yueyao woke again, pounding club music slammed into her ears. The bass vibrated through her bones, rattling her entire body as her eyes shot open in terror.

She was lying on a cracked leather couch in a dimly lit private room that reeked of cheap perfume, cigarette smoke, alcohol, and stale sweat.

Neon lights flickered overhead, casting garish pinks and blues across the peeling walls.

Someone was tugging at her clothes, ripping them away with cold efficiency.

"Get off! Get off me!" Yueyao screamed, clutching at her gown with trembling fingers, pushing the person away with the last will of her strength.

She curled into the corner of the couch, trying to hide her bruised body from the sickening touch.

The person she pushed away was a woman in her fifties with heavy makeup caked into every wrinkle lining her leathery face. Her thin lips curled in disdain as she narrowed her painted eyes dangerously.

"What's with the act, huh? You think you're too good for this place?" she sneered, her voice low and gravelly. She grabbed Yueyao's arm in a vice-like grip and yanked her to her feet, making her cry out in pain. "Hurry up and get changed. You have customers waiting."

The word echoed in Yueyao's mind like a death knell. The pounding bass vibrated through her skull, drowning out everything except that single, horrifying truth.

"What customers?" she whispered, her voice trembling violently. "What are you talking about?"

"Do what you are told bitch!" the woman snapped, slapping Yueyao so hard her head snapped sideways.

Her ears rang as she staggered back, nearly falling to the sticky, beer-stained floor.

Before the Lin family's downfall, she had been Lin Zhenhai's cherished only daughter. As the beloved child of a high-ranking government official, she had grown up pampered, sheltered from all ugliness, protected by her father's name and influence.

Yet now, after marrying Shen Xiao, she found herself standing half-naked in a seedy club room, about to be sold to strangers for their pleasure.

Her hair was tangled and blood-matted, her skin bruised and filthy, her dignity stripped raw.

"No. No. This can't be happening," she whispered, tears flooding her swollen eyes.

Her lips trembled as she forced herself to stand straighter, clinging to the last splinter of hope buried deep in her battered chest. "I'm Shen Xiao's wife… If you dare touch me, he won't let you off… You better let me go… please… please…"

Even now, she clung desperately to his name, praying it would protect her. Praying that despite everything, Shen Xiao would come. That his name would save her from this nightmare.

The older woman, Meng Shurong, paused, staring at Yueyao for a silent moment, then, she threw back her head and let out a peal of laughter so shrill that it almost drowned out the thumping music.

Chapter 23; What customers?