The moment Lu Shenyang's eyes met Su Ruoyan's, time seemed to stop. She stood at the doorway, the soft morning light casting a glow around her, making her pale skin appear almost translucent. The air between them thickened, heavy with the stale scent of betrayal mingled with perfume.
Li Meixuan gasped softly and quickly pulled the blanket over herself. Her expression flashed with guilt, but her eyes held a mocking arrogance.
"Sister Ruoyan, this... this isn't what it looks like," she said weakly, her voice trembling, yet her eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
Su Ruoyan showed no visible reaction as she tightened her grip on the doorframe, her knuckles turning white. She locked her eyes with the man to whom she had devoted everything. The one who had once promised to cherish her. Yet, he looked at her as if she were the villain who had taken him away from his beloved.
Lu Shenyang rose from the bed, pulling on his shirt. His movements were calm, almost lazy, and there was no hint of shame in his eyes, only annoyance, as if her presence were an inconvenience for them.
"What are you doing here?" he repeated in a cold tone.
Ah, here it goes again, this same tone that she had been hearing for the last three years. Ruoyan's lips parted, but no sound came out. She had imagined a thousand possible arguments and countless explanations, but now, standing here and facing the truth, her voice refused to cooperate.
"Answer me!" he snapped, his voice laced with anger as irritation flashed across his features. "How did you know I was here? Did you send someone to track me? You know well that this isn't a place where you should be!" His eyes burned with intensity, demanding a response.
Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, but she looked into his eyes defiantly. "Why am I not allowed here? You didn't come home, and I've called you so many times."
"And you thought you could just track my location?" His sneer interrupted her, sharp as a blade. "That's pathetic, Ruoyan."
Her breath hitched, but she stood her ground. "Pathetic? Is that really how you would describe a wife waiting for her husband to return? Pathetic?" she said, her voice steady. "And what about you?" Her gaze turned sharply to Li Meixuan, who looked away, feigning innocence.
Lu Shenyang followed her gaze and then gave a faint smirk. "You've completely misunderstood the situation, Ruoyan."
She could only laugh bitterly when she heard Lu Shenyang's feeble excuses. "Misunderstood?" she repeated, a wry smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Are you implying that every single business negotiation you have with your investors ends with you fu**ing together? Or should I believe that what I witnessed today was just a result of my inability to understand the dynamics between you two?"
His jaw tightened, and for a fleeting moment, a shadow crossed his face, perhaps a hint of guilt, but it disappeared just as quickly. He stepped closer to her, his expression firming up.
"You always make everything about yourself, Su Ruoyan," he said coldly. "Do you think that just because you've sacrificed a little, I owe you something? Do you really believe that pretending to be a pitiful cripple will make me love you more?"
Her heart shattered, each fragment reflecting the weight of unspoken words. "Is that how you see all of this? That I am only pretending to make you love me?" The accusation hung in the air like a heavy fog. "So you have known that my limp was only an act. But have you ever said anything to me? Have you ever asked why I did all this, Lu Shenyang?"
He scoffed, "Don't act innocent, Su Ruoyan. It's been years since you've been able to walk normally, yet instead of being honest with me, you chose to stay silent and deceive me, making me feel responsible for your situation. Don't you feel disgusted by what you've done, Su Ruoyan?"
Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. She bit her lip to maintain her composure, but her trembling hands betrayed her. "I hid it because I didn't want to hurt your pride," she whispered. "I believed in us, and I believed in you."
"You've trusted the wrong person," he stated firmly, each word sharp and deliberate.
Li Meixuan shifted on the bed and rested his hands on his waist, smirking faintly over his shoulder. The silence between them felt more toxic than any words could have been. Ruoyan stared at him, her chest heaving with emotion. "Why her? There are so many other women out there. She's your own cousin, for God's sake, Lu Shenyang."
He shrugged with an air of indifference. "Because she embodies everything that I need for my partner: radiant beauty, unwavering confidence, and fierce independence. As for you, Su Ruoyan, you've become nothing but a weight on my shoulders, a burden I've carried for far too long."
Each word sliced into her like glass, sharp and unforgiving. Today, she had endured too many humiliations and profound exhaustion that seeped into her bones, and an aching loneliness that wrapped around her heart like a heavy fog. The man who once meant the world to her now looked at her as though she were nothing, as if she were dirt beneath his shoe.
"I gave you everything," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion. "My love, my time, my..."
"Enough!" he snapped, slamming his hand against the wall beside her. The sound echoed through the room, causing Li Meixuan to flinch. "I don't need your love, Su Ruoyan. Don't you realise that I'm only treating you as a convenience, to make myself look good in front of others? When all the masks fall away, you're just a burden for me to care for."
Her world tilted at that sentence. Convenience? Holding him back? Was that all she had meant to him? A prop in his story?
She took a slow step back, her vision blurring. "So, this is who I am to you?" she murmured, her voice hollow.
His eyes were cold and unwavering. "You're nothing, Ruoyan."
Silence settled in. The weight of those words pressed heavily on her chest until she could barely breathe. Li Meixuan offered a faint smile as she reached for Shenyang's hand. "Shenyang, don't waste your breath," she said softly. "Let her go. She deserves someone who can appreciate her manipulative games."
He didn't pull away from Li Meixuan's touch. Instead, he looked at me one last time, as if I were an obligation he was finally discarding.
"Let's end this," he said. "I'll have the divorce papers sent to you this afternoon. Just sign them quietly and leave."
My lips trembled. "Divorce?"
He turned his back to me, buttoning his cuffs. "I believe you understand that this is the best thing for both of us now."
My hand clenched at my side, nails digging into my palm until I drew blood. "What about all the promises you made?" I whispered bitterly. "The vows you swore on our wedding day?"
He paused for just a moment before giving a short, humourless laugh. "What else don't you understand, Ruoyan? Promises change; so do people."
Then he walked away, past me, out the door, without looking back. The sound of his footsteps faded, leaving only the faint rustle of Li Meixuan moving lazily in the sheets.
I stood frozen in the doorway, my body numb. My tears finally fell, hot and soundless. I had thought I had prepared myself for betrayal, but nothing could prepare me for this kind of destruction, the kind that left nothing of the heart to salvage.
My gaze drifted once more to the room behind me. The messy sheets, the scattered clothes, the remnants of my marriage reduced to shame. With trembling hands, I closed the door gently, as if sealing away the last piece of my illusion.
I walked one step at a time, my expression flat. Each breath was painful, but I refused to crumble, not here, not where he could see. As I reached the elevator, I picked myself up and stared back at my reflection in the mirrored doors.
For the first time, I was truly seeing myself, not the broken woman pleading for a piece of her lover's heart. I saw someone on the brink of awakening, someone who had nothing left to lose.
The elevator dinged softly as I stepped inside, my chin lifting slightly. "Fine," I thought. If I mean nothing to you, then I'll show you what nothing can become.
As the doors closed, my tears dried on my cheeks. I had entered this building as a wife, and now I would leave it as something entirely different.