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

"Daddy… will you stay… just for a while…?" he whispered hoarsely.

Shen Xiao paused. Slowly, he pulled the small armchair closer to the bed and sank into it heavily, his broad shoulders tense beneath his crisp white shirt.

The pale moonlight spilled across the pastel walls, casting faint shadows of stuffed animals and toy cars onto the cream carpet. The only sound was the quiet ticking of the dinosaur-shaped clock above the study desk.

Shen Xiao sat stiffly in the small armchair beside Shen Xuan's race-car bed, his elbows resting on his spread knees, fingers steepled under his chin. His obsidian eyes were dark, reflecting nothing but the moonlit window.

For a long time, he sat in silence, watching his son's small chest rise and fall with each shaky breath as sleep slowly loosened his tense grip on the stuffed bear.

Finally, he spoke, his deep voice low and toneless, breaking the suffocating quiet.

Shen Xuan stirred, his bleary eyes fluttering open to look up at his father, confusion and sleepiness clouding his tear-reddened gaze.

Shen Xiao's brows furrowed slightly as he studied the boy's fragile face, the faint resemblance to Yueyao glaring under the dim lamplight.

"Tell me exactly what happened a few days ago," he ordered softly. "Did you say anything to your mother that upset her? Or did you do something to upset her?"

Shen Xuan blinked, his lashes clumping with leftover tears as his small hands clutched the bear tighter to his chest.

"I… I don't know…" he whispered, his voice trembling. "I just… I just asked her if she could help me with my homework… and… and she…"

His small shoulders began to shake as fresh tears welled in his eyes. He bit his lip hard to keep from crying out loud.

"She didn't even look at me… she just… she pulled her hand away like… like I was dirty…"

His words dissolved into hiccupping sobs as he buried his face into the stuffed bear's worn fur.

Shen Xiao's jaw tightened imperceptibly. He leaned forward, his dark eyes narrowing as he spoke quietly, dangerously calm.

"Think carefully. Did you say something wrong? Did you tell her anything Bai Zhi told you to say?"

Shen Xuan's eyes widened with pure confusion as he shook his head rapidly, tears spilling down his flushed cheeks.

"No… no, Daddy… I didn't say anything… Mommy Zhi just… she just said Mommy was tired… that she needed to rest… I didn't say anything… I swear…"

His sobs came harder now, his small body curling inward as guilt and fear twisted in his chest.

"Daddy… did… did Mommy leave because of me…? Is she mad at me…?"

For a long moment, silence pressed heavily between them. Shen Xiao's gaze flicked away, staring at the moonlit window with an expression carved from stone, shadows pooling under his sharp cheekbones.

"No," he said finally, his voice low and flat. "Sleep."

He reached out stiffly, smoothing a trembling hand over his son's messy hair before standing up. The chair scraped softly against the carpet as he pushed it back.

As he turned to leave, Shen Xuan's small, broken voice whispered after him.

"Daddy… can you… Can you make Mommy love me again…?"

Shen Xiao paused at the doorway, his broad shoulders tense beneath his shirt. The pale lamplight casts harsh shadows across the hard lines of his face.

"Sleep," he repeated quietly, before walking out into the silent corridor, closing the door softly behind him.

Chapter 55; can you make Mommy love me again?