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

No matter how far Yueyao fell into despair, her bond with Shen Xuan had been unbreakable, warm, nurturing, unyielding even when she herself was empty.

Seeing her recoil from him, her eyes vacant and cold, sent an unfamiliar tightness through his chest.

Had he broken her so deeply… that even her love for Shen Xuan had crumbled?

His jaw clenched imperceptibly as he exhaled a silent, ragged breath.

He ran a hand down his face, fingers dragging across the faint stubble along his sharp jaw. The cold of his palm bit into his skin, anchoring him to the moment.

Finally, he straightened, rolling his tense shoulders back as he turned and walked down the silent corridor, each step echoing with grim finality.

Outside the guest room, he paused, staring at the plain mahogany door. Unlike his master suite's gilded gold handles and carved dragons, this door was unadorned, silent, almost comforting in its simplicity.

The room was dim, lit only by the silvery pre-dawn glow bleeding through the sheer curtains. Sparse and minimalist, just a low mahogany bed with dark grey silk sheets, a small lacquered writing desk, and a single black-and-white painting of bamboo swaying in the rain.

Shen Xiao stepped inside and closed the door softly behind him. For a long moment, he simply stood there, staring at the vacant bed.

Then, with slow, heavy movements, he shrugged off his black suit jacket, draping it neatly over the back of the solitary armchair by the window.

His cufflinks clinked faintly against the lacquered side table as he removed them, rolling up his shirt sleeves to reveal strong, veined forearms.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his thighs, head bowed low between his broad shoulders. The faint scent of sandalwood clung to his shirt, mingling with the cold sterile air of the guest room.

His chest ached with something deep and silent.

Regret… guilt… grief… he didn't know.

All he knew was the hollow echo of her screams vibrating through his skull like a curse.

Finally, he lay back against the cool silk sheets, staring up at the pale ceiling with unfocused obsidian eyes.

Outside, the first pale threads of dawn stretched across the sky, illuminating the quiet mansion in silent, indifferent light.

But Shen Xiao remained awake, unmoving, eyes open and unblinking as the world continued to turn without mercy.

'I will make you mine again… even if I have to break you completely to do it.'

The thought echoed in his mind like a vow, dark and unyielding, as sleep finally claimed his exhausted body in the dim, silent guest room.

When Yueyao woke up, pain exploded at the back of her skull like a dull, rhythmic drumbeat. Her throat felt raw and parched, each breath scraping painfully against her ribs.

The familiar scent of expensive sandalwood and cold marble filled her senses, wrapping around her like iron chains before her blurred vision cleared.

She lay beneath thick ivory silk sheets that felt suffocating against her bruised, feverish skin. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn shut, plunging the room into a dim, funeral-like darkness broken only by faint streaks of dawn light seeping through tiny gaps.

For a moment, her mind remained blank, her eyes staring unseeingly at the carved canopy above. Then, reality crashed over her in a violent wave.

The hoarse whispers tore from her dry, cracked lips as her chest convulsed with ragged, shallow gasps.

Chapter 57; No..,no.... no....