He thought of the child they had lost, the blood, the burning, the silence.
And somehow, he understood.
This wasn't about love anymore. Or redemption.
It was about duty. Damage control. Survival.
So he agreed.
He married Yueyao.
Not because he loved her.
But because she needed saving.
And he.....
He needed to be needed....
— — — — — —
PRESENT
The room was thick with silence now, but it wasn't peaceful, it was stifling.
So heavy.
Like the aftermath of a scream no one heard.
Shen Xiao sat there on the polished floorboards, unmoving. One arm wrapped around Bai Zhi's trembling shoulders, the other one wrapped up tightly around her bleeding wrist, firm but gentle, the way someone might hold a bird with a shattered wing, in fear of breaking its tiny body.
Her tears had slowed, but her breathing still hitched like the sobs were trying to crawl back out from her throat.
