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Chapter 37 - Verdict and Vengeance

True to his words, Mo Yichen came again in the evening, this time accompanied by his grandfather and Mo Yize.

The hospital room was livelier than before, with the Xia couple, Yu Heng, and an unfamiliar face seated on either side of Xia Ruyan's bed. The young stranger was rugged, tan, and handsome. His facial features were sharply sculpted, too severe for the softness in his eyes. He was peeling an apple, and a faint frown settled between his brows.

Xia Jingxuan had been speaking but paused the moment the Mo family entered. Grandfather Mo offered a courteous greeting and turned to Ruyan, asking gently, "How are you feeling, child?"

She nodded slightly in response. The rest of the room, however, gave the Mo men nothing but cold shoulders.

Unbothered, Mo Yize beamed and skipped over to Ruyan. "Sister-in-law," he said brightly, and then began rummaging through his bag. After a moment, he pulled out a small bouquet of gardenias and nervously handed them to her.

She hesitated for a second, then accepted them. The sweet scent of the blooms filtered through the air, adding a delicate calmness to the heavy room.

"Hehe, I hope you like them," he added, smiling shyly. "They're as graceful as you."

Ruyan looked at the creamy white petals resting in her hands. Somehow, the flowers seemed as though they belonged there. She nodded softly. "Thank you. I like them," she said.

Mo Yichen clenched his jaw. He could have brought her flowers. Perhaps then she might have looked at him with that same softness, instead of the constant indifference she reserved for him. His muscles twitched under his cheek.

He would speak to his brother later. The woman his younger brother was trying to impress was his wife. Mo Yize would need to be reminded of that boundary. Across the room, the stranger was glaring at Yize with eyes sharp enough to kill.

The tension in the room was pierced when Grandfather Mo spoke carefully. "Jingxuan, since Ruyan seems to be doing better, perhaps… we can take her home now?"

"We can decide that on our own, Uncle Mo," Jingxuan replied slowly, locking eyes with him. "There's no need for you to worry."

"Ruyan is the young madam of the Mo family," Grandfather Mo said, as though reminding them of a fact written in law.

The stranger stood abruptly, throwing the knife onto the side table with a sharp clatter.

"Sit down," Jingxuan ordered sternly.

The young man stared at him for a moment, his nostrils flaring, then sat back down without a word.

"Uncle Mo," Jingxuan continued, his voice calm and cold, "Let me be direct. I won't send my daughter back with your grandson. I made a mistake. I placed my trust in your name and your grandson's reputation, and I was wrong."

"We were desperate to protect our daughter. When you approached us with this proposal, we thought it was a suitable match. But now, barely two months into the marriage, look where she is… bedridden, wounded."

His words didn't carry rage. They were quiet, heavy. And yet, Mo Yichen and Grandfather Mo understood that this was how the Xia family expressed anger, not with fire, but with glacier-like stillness, suffocating and slow, hardening over time.

"The kidnappers are still out there," Mo Yichen interjected.

"We can handle it," the stranger replied coolly, placing the neatly peeled apple slices on a plate and passing them to Ruyan.

She took the plate and with a fork, picked up a slice. She placed it into her mouth with practiced ease. The crisp crunch of the fruit echoed unnaturally in the tense room.

Mo Yichen momentarily lost his focus. He was hit with a storm of emotions, fury that she allowed another man to peel an apple for her when she despised others touching her food. And something else, more primal, stirred within him as he watched her bite the fruit. His throat dried up. Unconsciously, he licked his lips.

"The kidnappers will be found," the stranger continued flatly. "Uncle Xia has a habit of trusting his dear ones to the wrong people. Just end this marriage. And leave."

The Xia couple shared a look, their grief weighing down the atmosphere. It was the kind of grief you could taste in the air.

"Don't do this, Zhen Li," Ruyan's voice rang out, calm yet firm, breaking the deadlock.

"Anyway, the Mo family isn't needed here," Zhen Li added curtly, casting a hard glance at Ruyan. She met his gaze without flinching.

"If not," Mo Yichen spoke, stepping forward, "then perhaps you should not have bound us from the beginning, Mr. Xia."

Mo Yichen said, his eyes turned red with fury. A random man is telling him to end the marriage. He was married without his consent, ending it will only be his decision, his alone. His guilt burned at the back of his throat, but he forced himself to stay composed. He needed control, he had to remind them all that he was a man of action, not excuses.

Before anyone could interrupt, he continued, "Let's set emotions aside and speak rationally. The kidnappers are still out there, watching and planning. The prey is exposed while the hunters stay hidden. Right now, the only priority should be Xia Ruyan's safety."

The room fell silent again, eyes on him.

"Mr. Xia," he said, turning to face him directly, "I know I made a terrible mistake. But give me the benefit of the doubt. You never told me your daughter was in imminent danger. You never mentioned the blood enmity your family carried. What happened to your family in the past, Yes, it's your right to keep it hidden. I would've done the same."

"But once you entrusted her to me, you owed me that information. If I had known, I would've taken different measures to ensure her protection."

There was silence. Grandfather Mo looked quietly proud. The others in the room watched with complex expressions, some resigned, others hostile.

"You're right," Mrs. Xia said finally. "President Mo was not informed of those matters. But is it also not true that you left your wife… for another woman?"

He had struck where it hurt. Marie had informed them long ago. It was no secret that Mo Yichen had someone else…Ye's daughter. He had left that very day to assist her family. 

"You left that day for her," her voice composed but cold. "Because of that woman, your mother and brother turned against A Yan. She may never tell us these things, but do you think we don't know how she is wronged in your household?"

She had known. Marie reported to her daily. Yet they had stayed silent because Ruyan wasn't weak.

"What Yichen's mother did was wrong," Grandfather Mo said, his voice weary. "And I've already punished her for it."

Mo Yichen stepped forward again, his expression resolute. "Mr. Xia, Mrs. Xia," he said, voice steady and eyes glinting with raw determination. "I have no woman outside. Yes, I left Xia Ruyan alone that day, but I left for my mother. She had fainted from shock. I had to go."

"But I'm not making excuses. I just want a chance to make things right. I won't ask for your forgiveness or your trust, but let me earn it."

Throughout the entire conversation, Xia Ruyan remained silent. She observed everything keenly, her mind moving faster than the words around her. Everything was unfolding exactly as she had predicted. And if the momentum continued, her parents would eventually give in.

She would return to the Mo residence.

And for now, that was exactly what she needed. Because for her plan to work, she had to be in that house. After all, her injuries were too deep for vengeance; she had to settle the old and new scores.

"And how would I know this won't happen again?" Xia Jingxuan asked coldly.

"Uncle—" Zhen Li interrupted, his voice tight with fury, "You can't send Yanyan with him." His eyes had turned red with anger, blazing with resistance.

"That is not for you to decide," Mo Yichen stepped forward, his own patience wearing thin. This man was grating on his nerves. How dare he call his wife so intimately?

Zhen Li mirrored his step, ready to confront him physically.

"Enough."

Xia Jingxuan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried such weight that both men halted mid-motion and took a step back.

"A Yan," he turned to his daughter, "as I said earlier, what matters now is your safety. Mo Yichen is right, he has the resources to keep you protected. I know you're thinking that I can keep you safe too, but whoever is targeting you, their ultimate aim is me. That's why… if I send you away, it may keep you out of harm's reach as well."

His voice carried a sadness too deep to name. All the three of them ever wanted was a peaceful life. Their little world of shared meals, herb gardens, quiet laughter, cooking side by side. But the demons of the past would not allow them even those modest dreams.

"I know you never wanted this," he continued, voice soft but firm, "but I want you to go with Mo Yichen."

It wasn't a request. It wasn't a choice. It was a verdict, like before.

As she expected.

To the others, it might seem that Xia Ruyan had once again been denied agency in her life, passed around as if her wishes were invisible. But the truth was veiled, hidden in shadows no one dared look into.

They didn't know that nothing happened unless she willed it.

They were all moving in loops, inside a game of her making. They might think she was a passive player, but the truth was far more dangerous: they were all fighting a war inside the arena she had built.

And now… it was time to unlock the next round.

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