As the words dropped from his mouth, a blaring noise echoed through the walls. Liang Chen held his hands over his ears, his eyes widened, and his breath shortened. Above him, the system warning appeared in blazing red like wounded arrows.
[Warning: Host deviating from Heavenly Mandate. Emotional collapse detected. Flood progression +5%.]
Liang Chen's fist folded; he bit down on his bottom lip, swallowing every pain.
"Why should I be the one to pay?" he spat bitterly. "I did all that was demanded of me, I gave you all I should, I did it all... but from the start the rules were set. Even before I joined the board."
A silent tear rolled down his cheek.
"Second chances should be for blessings, renewal, and maybe enjoyment, but mine is worse than the first. I have been forced to marry a man I don't love, to share a meal and status with a man who aims a dagger for my chest and not flowers."
