The room was vast, but its silence pressed in like a cage.
Two maids stood nearby, not servants now but wardens, their eyes fixed anywhere but her.
Straps cut into her wrists and ankles, holding her down, their bite a constant reminder that she could not be trusted with her own hands.
She twisted her neck toward the doorway, the motion small yet defiant, as if daring whoever entered to look at her and not flinch.
For a heartbeat, Shen Xiao forgot the men restraining him. His breath caught in his throat, his eyes locking on the woman bound to the bed.
"Yueyao…" His voice was raw, almost breaking, but it hardened again as he took in the restraints, the pallor of her skin, the faint tremor in her fingers.
The two maids at her bedside stiffened at the sudden intrusion.
One stepped forward instinctively, as if to shield her mistress, but froze when she saw the rifles aimed her way.
