"Why are you doing this to me?!" she screamed, her voice raw with grief and rage as she threw a photo frame, the glass smashing into the wall beside his head, "What do you want from me?! What did I ever do to deserve this, Shen Xiao?!"
His dark eyes never left her. The sharp edges of broken glass glittered around his polished shoes as he stood rooted in place, watching her sobbing breakdown with an unreadable expression.
The dim golden light from the overhead chandelier barely reached the corners of the vast living room. Shattered glass glittered like cursed diamonds across the marble floor, mixed with shards of porcelain and splatters of blood.
Yueyao lay crumpled amongst the wreckage, her thin cotton dress stained with crimson and dust. Her dark hair tangled wildly around her tear-streaked face as sobs wracked her frail frame.
Her chest heaved with silent, desperate gasps between her broken whispers.
"Let me go…" her voice cracked around each syllable, trembling with agony as she pressed her bleeding palms against the floor to keep herself upright.
"Please… I don't want anything… I don't want your money… I don't want your child… I don't want you… just let me go… please… please…"
Her words echoed through the silent penthouse, each plea slicing through the cold, stale air like a dying bird's final cry.
Standing above her, Shen Xiao's jaw tightened, a dark storm swirling behind his obsidian eyes. His tall frame cast a long shadow across her trembling body, the dim chandelier light outlining the hard, cold lines of his face and the corded muscles of his neck.
"Enough," he said quietly, his voice low and calm, too calm, carrying the dangerous edge of a blade poised against a throat.
"No!" she screamed suddenly, her hoarse voice shattering the heavy silence.
She lunged forward, clawing at his tailored coat with broken nails, leaving faint red scratches across the crisp fabric and along the side of his neck.
Her thin arms pushed and punched at his solid chest, her weak fists making no impact as tears and blood dripped freely down her wrists where glass had cut her.
"Don't touch me! Don't touch me… I hate you… I hate you… I hate you…!"
Her shrill cries filled the entire penthouse, echoing off the high ceilings like a haunting dirge.
Behind them, Fang Lin stood frozen by the kitchen counter, her face pale with terror as she clutched her phone in trembling hands, unable to even dial for help. She knew they were at the end and not even the police would dare to show up.
Shen Xiao's hand snapped out, grabbing Yueyao's jaw harshly, his fingers digging into the delicate bone as he forced her face up to his.
"Stop it, Yueyao, enough tantrums already.." he ordered, his deep voice rough with barely contained rage, his breath ragged against her tear-drenched skin.
But she kept fighting him blindly, her small fists pounding against his broad chest, each blow weaker than the last as her cries turned into strangled wails.
"Let me go… let me go… let me go…!"
Something dark and cold snapped behind his eyes.
Without warning, his other hand swung up and struck the side of her neck in a sharp, precise motion. His palm hit the exact pressure point with clinical expertise.
Her eyes rolled back instantly, her body slumping forward like a ragdoll, collapsing into his chest with a final broken sob.
The room fell silent.
He caught her limp frame effortlessly, holding her small, unconscious body against his broad chest. Her head lolled to the side, her matted hair covering her bruised cheek as blood smeared faintly across his crisp white shirt.