*Chapter 10: The Invisible Chain*
Days passed with Zhao Liang drifting in and out of the penthouse, his absences unpredictable. Each time he left, Li Xue felt her body relax, her heart allowed to breathe. Each time he returned, the air grew colder.
One evening, she found him waiting in the living room, drink in hand. "Where were you?" he asked, his tone deceptively calm.
"I went to the bookstore… Mei Yan came with me."
Something flickered in his eyes — not care, but irritation. "You don't need freedom. Remember what keeps you here."
She swallowed hard. "The contract."
His smirk was cruel. "Exactly. Don't mistake this for love, Li Xue."
Yet when she turned to leave, his fingers brushed her wrist. Just for a second, a shadow of something unspoken stirred in his gaze — a flicker quickly buried beneath indifference. It left her trembling, confused by the ghost of a man she once knew.