*Chapter 11: Echoes of a Stranger *
The weekend air was thick with the scent of roasted coffee and teasing voices. Zhao Liang's friends had returned, dragging with them a wave of chaos that unsettled and soothed Li Xue all at once.
They argued about everything — politics, sports, even whose shoes looked more expensive. Li Xue sat curled on the edge of the sofa, listening quietly. Against her will, laughter slipped past her lips when one of them mimicked the other's swaggering walk.
"See? Even your wife thinks I'm better company than you," one friend teased Zhao Liang with a grin, clearly testing the limits.
But Zhao Liang wasn't smiling. His eyes flickered to Li Xue, sharp and unblinking. She froze, her laughter dying mid-breath.
"You think this is funny?" His words weren't loud, but they cut through the air with the weight of thunder.
The room fell silent. His friends exchanged glances, uneasy but unwilling to retreat. "Zhao, relax. We're just—"
His glass hit the table with a sharp crack, the sound reverberating in the silence. "Don't joke about things that don't matter."
Li Xue lowered her gaze, cheeks burning with shame. The laughter she'd felt moments ago now seemed like a betrayal, a crime against the invisible walls he had built between them.
The friends tried to recover, launching into another round of mock arguments, but the tension lingered. Every time Zhao Liang's gaze brushed past her, she felt the weight of his disapproval pressing down, suffocating her.
That night, Li Xue retreated to her room early, her chest aching with the memory of his eyes. She pressed her face into the pillow, whispering into the silence.
Who are you now, Zhao Liang? A stranger wearing the face of the man I once loved? Or the man who will never let me breathe again?
Her tears seeped into the fabric, but there was no answer. Only the steady, crushing silence of the stranger who shared her home