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

Her voice broke, raw and hoarse from silent screams. "Help… me… please…"

She stumbled forward, tears blurring her vision until all she saw were golden shadows and his silhouette.

Her knees hit the cold marble with a sharp crack, sending lightning bolts of pain shooting up her thighs.

She tried to crawl towards them, her arms trembling violently as blood dripped from her split knuckles onto the pristine floor.

But no one turned. Her whisper was swallowed by the classical piano notes floating through the air.

Shen Xiao didn't even lift his gaze from his wine glass as he listened to Bai Zhi's soft laughter. Shen Xuan giggled again, clinging to Bai Zhi's arm as he called her "Mommy Zhi" in his childish voice.

Suddenly, a harsh hand gripped Yueyao's tangled hair, yanking her head back so hard her neck burned with pain. Her raw scream tore through the silence like a wounded animal's cry.

Meng Shurong's furious face loomed over her, twisted with disgust and rage.

"You filthy bitch!" she spat, her spit spraying onto Yueyao's cheek. She slapped her so hard that her head snapped sideways, white-hot pain exploding through her skull. "You dare run?! Do you want to die tonight?!"

Yueyao's vision blurred as darkness threatened to swallow her whole.

But through the haze, her eyes found Shen Xiao again. His gaze remained fixed on Bai Zhi's face, completely unmoved. Not even curiosity flickered in his cold obsidian eyes.

"Please…" she whispered, her voice trembling with pain and betrayal. "Just… look at me…"

Meng Shurong yanked her back, dragging her across the marble like a broken rag doll. Tears streamed down Yueyao's cheeks, mixing with the blood dripping from her split lips.

But just as they reached the corridor, a silent shadow moved behind them.

Before Meng Shurong could scream, a gloved hand clamped over her mouth and yanked her backwards.

Her eyes widened in horror, but before she could fight back, a thin silver needle slid smoothly into the side of her neck. Her body convulsed once, then slumped limp to the floor.

Yueyao blinked through her tears as a tall figure knelt before her, his black combat boots creaking softly against the marble.

Obsidian eyes, sharp with cold fury, met hers beneath the shadows of a black hood.

"Stay quiet," he murmured in a low, gravelly voice as strong arms lifted her trembling body off the cold floor, cradling her against a broad, warm chest that smelled faintly of gun oil and cedarwood.

She clung to the rough fabric of his tactical jacket weakly, her tears soaking into the black material as silent sobs wracked her broken body.

For the first time in what felt like eternity, Yueyao felt something flicker in the suffocating darkness drowning her soul.

She felt his arms tighten around her as he carried her swiftly down the darkened corridor.

His steps were silent, each movement fluid and precise, like a predator gliding through the shadows.

The faint moonlight filtering through the high windows cast fleeting silver streaks across his figure.

He was tall, his broad shoulders filling her fading vision, his chest solid and warm against her trembling cheek.

The black tactical jacket he wore smelled faintly of cedarwood, steel, and something darker, a scent that felt cold yet strangely comforting.

She tried to lift her head, to see his face more clearly, but her eyelids fluttered weakly, heavy with exhaustion and pain.

All she could glimpse was the strong line of his jaw, half-hidden beneath a black tactical mask that covered the lower half of his face.

Chapter 28; Hope.....