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

Shen Xiao leaned back against the couch, his dark eyes fixed on the ceiling as moonlight illuminated the hard lines of his face.

And for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.

Across the room, Yueyao lay curled up tightly under the duvet, her tear-filled eyes staring blankly at the velvet headboard.

She didn't know what tomorrow would bring.

But for tonight… at least she could sleep without his touch, even though she knew she couldn't fall asleep...

The room remained silent through the long, suffocating night.

Shen Xiao sat on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees, his fingers interlaced in front of his face as he stared at the dark marble floor.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her hollow, empty gaze staring back at him, her broken laughter echoing inside his skull like a curse.

Across the room, Yueyao lay curled up on the far edge of the massive bed. The duvet was pulled up tightly around her thin shoulders, but her body trembled slightly with each ragged, shallow breath.

Her chest felt tight, suffocating with an invisible weight pressing down on her ribs. Every time she shuts her eyes, flashes of his cold indifference, Meng Shurong's slaps, Bai Zhi's triumphant smile, and Shen Xuan's cries stabbed painfully at her sanity.

She turned from side to side, the silk sheets rustling softly under her as the digital clock on the nightstand ticked away the passing hours.

The darkness felt endless, wrapping around her like a rotting shroud.

Shen Xiao's gaze flicked to her restless silhouette every few minutes. He watched as she shifted again, her thin fingers clawing at the sheets as if trying to anchor herself back to reality.

His chest tightened painfully, but he couldn't look away.

Finally, around 4 AM, her exhausted body gave out. Her shallow, trembling breaths evened out into quiet, broken snores. Her pale lips parted slightly, tears still dried in streaks across her cheeks.

Shen Xiao let out a slow, ragged breath he didn't realise he was holding. He leaned back against the cold leather couch, closing his burning eyes, but sleep never came.

The room remained silent except for her soft breathing and the distant, mournful hoot of an owl outside the curtained window.

When the first pale rays of dawn began to filter through the thick drapes, Shen Xiao stood up quietly. His joints ached from the stiff couch, but he ignored them as he walked over to the bed.

He stood there, silently watching her sleeping form curled up into a tight ball under the thick duvet.

Her thin shoulders rose and fell weakly with each breath, and her dark lashes cast bruised shadows against her pale, hollow cheeks.

Something twisted painfully in his chest. A cold, bitter feeling he refused to name.

Without a word, he turned away and walked out of the master bedroom, closing the heavy door behind him with a soft click.

The quiet morning swallowed his tall, retreating silhouette, leaving only the silent, sleeping woman curled alone in the massive bed, the very picture of shattered loneliness.

Barely an hour later, Yueyao's eyes fluttered open to the pale dawn light filtering through the curtains.

Chapter 45; He couldn't sleep....