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

"But… but Mommy…" Shen Xuan whimpered, tears pooling in his lashes as he looked longingly at the closed bedroom door.

Bai Zhi's smile sharpened subtly as she bent down to scoop him into her arms. She held him close, pressing his tear-streaked cheek to her chest as she turned gracefully away.

"It's alright," she whispered, her voice soft as silk but her eyes cold and glittering over his small head, locked onto Shen Xiao's stoic face. "Mommy Zhi will always be here for you. You don't need anyone else."

As she walked down the dim corridor with Shen Xuan clinging to her, Shen Xiao stood silently, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the polished marble floor.

Behind him, the heavy mahogany door remained closed, sealing Yueyao away in her silent prison as the scent of sandalwood and roses seeped faintly through the crack beneath it, mingling with the cold, suffocating stillness of the mansion.

"When you wake up… everything will be different."

He turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing down the silent halls like a grim, inevitable promise.

The corridor fell silent once more, the distant ticking of the grandfather clock marking each passing second with cold indifference.

Bai Zhi's bedroom door was slightly ajar as he passed.

Inside, warm lamplight spilled across soft ivory carpets and rose-print curtains. She sat propped gracefully against her satin pillows, her robe slipping slightly off her smooth shoulders. Shen Xuan lay curled up beside her, clutching his stuffed bear tightly as his small chest hiccupped with leftover sobs.

At the sight of Shen Xiao's tall silhouette filling the doorway, Bai Zhi's painted lips curved into a delicate smile.

"Ah Xiao," she murmured softly, "Xuan'er couldn't sleep. He was so scared after all the noise… I was just comforting him."

Shen Xiao's cold gaze flicked to her briefly before settling on Shen Xuan's trembling form.

Shen Xuan flinched, his wide, tear-swollen eyes darting up to meet his father's stern face. Bai Zhi's smile faded slightly as she glanced between them trying to ease the situation up.

"Ah Xiao… It's late, just let him sleep here tonight....."

"I said get up," Shen Xiao repeated, his deep voice brooking no argument.

Shen Xuan scrambled off the bed hurriedly, clutching his stuffed bear to his chest as he padded barefoot across the plush carpet towards his father. His small shoulders trembled under the thin cotton of his pajamas.

Without sparing Bai Zhi another glance, Shen Xiao turned and walked down the dim corridor with Shen Xuan trailing behind him, his small footsteps quick and uneven to keep up with his father's long strides.

They entered Shen Xuan's bedroom, the pale moonlight spilling through the gauzy curtains, illuminating the quiet nursery-themed room with its soft pastel walls and scattered toys.

Shen Xiao stood by the door, watching his son climb into the race-car bed and curl up against his stuffed bear. His obsidian eyes were dark and unreadable as he spoke quietly.

"You are a man. You don't need to sleep with other people to feel safe."

Shen Xuan blinked up at him with tear-bright eyes, his lower lip trembling.

"But… Daddy… Mommy… Mommy didn't even look at me… Did I do something wrong…?"

For a brief moment, silence weighed heavily in the room. Shen Xiao's throat tightened as he watched his son's small, broken face.

"Your mother is… sick," he said tonelessly. "Go to sleep."

He walked over and tucked the duvet around his son's thin shoulders with stiff, mechanical movements. Shen Xuan clung to his bear, his lashes fluttering as exhaustion pulled at his eyelids.

Chapter 54; You mother is sick...