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

The moonlight streaming through the tall glass windows bathed his handsome face in a cold, ghostly glow.

His jaw clenched tightly as a strange, unfamiliar emotion twisted through his chest like a blade.

In the bathroom, Yueyao's hoarse cries mingled with the wet sounds of her retching, her knees scraping painfully against the cold marble as she clung to the toilet bowl, her entire body shaking uncontrollably.

Tears streamed down her face as she pressed her forehead against the freezing porcelain, her raw throat burning with acid and despair.

'Even if I die… it won't be in your arms…'

Shen Xiao stood at the bathroom door, his tall frame leaning against the polished oak as he watched her retch violently into the toilet.

Her thin shoulders heaved with each painful gag, tears streaming down her pale, clammy cheeks. The dress she wore clung to her damp back, revealing the sharp ridges of her spine beneath translucent fabric.

Something twisted sharply in his chest at the sight. Anger, confusion, and something darker and unfamiliar burned through his veins.

"Are you done?" His voice was low, rough with an emotion he couldn't name.

She didn't answer. She stayed hunched over the toilet bowl, her trembling fingers gripping the edge so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Yueyao…" he called her name, his tone softening ever so slightly.

But she flinched violently at the sound, her back arching as if struck. She wiped her mouth with the back of her shaking hand, her chest heaving with ragged, painful breaths.

"Don't… call me that," she croaked out, her voice raw and shredded like torn silk. "Don't… ever call me that again."

He frowned, his dark brows drawing together, "You are my wife. I will call you whatever I want."

A bitter laugh tore from her cracked lips, echoing coldly in the tiled room. She pushed herself up on trembling legs, her entire body swaying as dizziness washed over her.

"Wife…?" she whispered, her empty eyes lifting to meet his stunned gaze in the mirror, "I was never your wife… I was just your trophy woman… your caged pet… your consolation when she wasn't around. You never treated me as your wife!"

Her words hit him like physical blows. His chest constricted painfully, but his face remained cold and impassive.

She turned away from him, stumbling back into the master bedroom.

The heavy curtains fluttered softly in the air-conditioned draft, casting shifting shadows across the plush carpets.

Without a word, she climbed into the massive king-sized bed, pulling the thick duvet up to her chin despite the summer heat. Her thin body curled tightly on one side, facing away from him.

Shen Xiao stood there for a long moment, his eyes fixed on her trembling form.

The moonlight pouring in through the windows cast a cold glow across her tear-streaked face.

His fists clenched uselessly by his sides. A deep, suffocating frustration rose in his chest, a feeling he couldn't name, a feeling he didn't want to admit he felt.

Finally, he sighed heavily, running a hand through his neatly styled hair before walking to the couch across the room.

He unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, sinking heavily onto the leather cushions. The cold leather creaked softly beneath his weight.

The silent room felt unbearably loud with only the sound of the ticking clock and her ragged breathing filling the space between them.

Chapter 44; Neither of them spoke