*Chapter 33: Boundaries in Ink*
The next morning, Zhao Liang's assistant delivered a neatly folded packet to Li Xue. Her chest tightened the moment she unfolded the crisp pages.
It was an addendum to the contract.
Clause 15: The wife must not engage in personal communication with any male outside the family or business circle without prior approval.
She blinked at the line, her throat constricting. "This wasn't in the original agreement."
Zhao Liang, seated across the table, didn't flinch. "It is now. Consider it a precaution."
"Precaution against what? I don't even have anyone—" Her words broke off, bitterness rising. No one but Mei Yan.
"You're easily influenced," Zhao Liang said coldly. "I won't risk distractions."
Li Xue folded the papers, her knuckles white. It wasn't about trust. It was about control. He was rewriting the cage around her, tightening it clause by clause.
Later that evening, Mei Yan visited, bringing a burst of warmth into the cold apartment. "You look pale, Xue. Are you eating well?"
Li Xue forced a smile, hiding the papers behind her. "I'm fine."
Across the room, Zhao Liang's friends were discussing stock movements and teasing Han Qiang for a failed investment. Their voices were bright, carefree, yet Li Xue's world shrank smaller with every word written on those pages.
The addendum wasn't just rules. It was a warning: You belong only here. Nowhere else