The office restroom was silent, except for the sound of cold water dripping from the faucet. Aanya held her wrist under the running water, where blue finger marks from Ruan's grip had already formed. Her hand was trembling.
Huan Jing (handing her a towel):
"Aanya, are you okay? Your life has completely turned into a Korean drama! On one side, that possessive, handsome husband Zain Yan… and on the other side, this charming ex-boyfriend Ruan. This love triangle won't spare you."
Aanya (letting out a cold sigh):
"Huan, dramas look good on screen. In real life, they only destroy lives. I don't understand why Ruan came back… and Zain… you saw his anger."
The cabin door slammed shut so hard that the secretary outside trembled.
Zain loosened his tie and swept the files from his desk onto the floor.
Zain (muttering to himself):
"Old relationship? Ruan Jian… how dare you touch her? Aanya belongs only to me. I need to remind her that her past is dead… and her present is only 'Zain Yan.'"
Zain Yan sat in his chair, his fists clenched tightly. His right-hand man, Qian, tried to calm him down.
Qian:
"Sir, calm down. Ruan Jian's sudden arrival cannot be a coincidence."
Suddenly, a five-year-old memory flashed before Zain's eyes.
That blurred, rainy night.
The rotten smell of an abandoned warehouse.
Fengning's screams.
Zain could never forget it.
When he had rushed there to save his younger sister, he saw that fifteen-year-old Fengning was safe—but in the process of saving her, seventeen-year-old Aanya had been surrounded by those beasts.
Dust covered Aanya's clothes. Bruises marked her face. But there was no defeat in her eyes.
The moment Zain arrived and eliminated those thugs, all of Aanya's strength collapsed. She ran straight into his chest.
"I thought I was going to die… but Fengning is safe, right?"
Her hiccuped sob.
Her fingers clutching his coat tightly.
At that moment, twenty-two-year-old Zain Yan realized his heart was no longer his own.
That night, he swore:
"Aanya, you are mine. Even if the whole world burns, I will not let even a scratch touch you."
He immediately picked up the intercom and ordered coldly:
"Send Aanya to my cabin immediately. Alone."
Just then, the office peon came running.
"Miss Lu, the boss has called you upstairs. Immediately."
Aanya's face turned pale.
She knew that on the 50th floor, she would not be facing work—but Zain's obsession, the thing she feared the most.
The office corridors were silent, but whispers pierced through the walls.
As Aanya walked toward the elevator, she could clearly hear her colleagues gossiping.
Employee 1:
"Did you see the way President Zain held Aanya? That didn't look like just a boss-employee relationship."
Employee 2:
"Are you crazy? Everyone knows President Zain is married. But no one has ever seen Mrs. Yan. Could Aanya be…?"
Employee 3:
"No way. Aanya is just a simple middle-class girl. How could someone as wealthy as President Zain choose someone so ordinary? And that new investor Ruan… he openly claimed her!"
The gossip market was on fire.
But Aanya's ears were closed.
Her entire focus was on the 50th floor—where a death-like silence awaited her.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, a cold gust of air greeted her. The entire floor was empty. Beyond the glass walls, the entire city looked small—but she felt like she was suffocating.
When she opened the heavy door to Zain's cabin, she saw him standing near the window. His face was as cold and rigid as the icy winds outside.
Zain (without turning, voice like ice):
"Come in, Miss Lu."
Her steps halted. Today, the words "Miss Lu" felt like an insult.
As she entered hesitantly, Zain said without turning:
"Do you think I know nothing, Aanya? I know every single moment between you and that Ruan Jian."
Aanya froze. Her legs trembled.
"Zain… if you know everything, then you must also know I have nothing to do with him anymore. He was my past… and you—"
Zain suddenly turned and grabbed her face in both hands. His anger was slowly turning into pain.
"He was your 'past.' But today he returned—as a manager. In my company! Do you think that's a coincidence?"
There were no tears in Aanya's eyes—only a strange silence.
"I truly didn't know he was coming here as a manager. I didn't invite him, Zain."
She paused, gathered courage, and spoke the truth:
"Ruan left me when I needed him the most. He ended the relationship without telling me. I was broken back then…"
Her voice faltered slightly.
"But today… I'm not scared because he came back. I'm scared that you might leave me the way he did."
She said it—but she did not reveal how deeply she loved Zain.
"I have no connection with him. Why he came or how he came, I don't know."
The moment she said she had no idea about Ruan's arrival, Zain's anger suddenly shifted into helplessness.
He had pinned her against the wall—but the next moment, he loosened his grip and pulled her into his arms.
Zain (hugging her like a madman):
"I don't care what your past was, Aanya. I only care that right now, you are mine. You are my wife. And I cannot risk losing you."
His grip was so tight her glasses slid slightly up her nose.
He rested his face on her shoulder and gently stroked her hair. There was an unusual fear in his voice.
Aanya (softly):
"Zain… I know I'm your wife. I tried my best to free myself, but you both held me like I was prey trapped between two wolves."
For a moment, the same old fear flashed in Zain's eyes.
He remembered his eleventh birthday—the dark day when celebration turned into mourning. Aanya's cruel uncle, Lu Kang, had shot his mother. His little sister Jia… and his father, whose corpse he found years later after being adopted by Zenyu Yan.
Zain had vowed to destroy Lu Kang and the Dragon King.
But his greatest fear was that Aanya—who shared Lu Kang's blood—might leave him.
He had married her not only for love, but also to protect her from Lu Kang's shadow.
But he had never told her that truth.
Zain (pulling away, voice cold again):
"Enough. You will write your resignation right now. You will not stay in this office another moment."
Aanya:
"But Zain, that would be running away! What will people say?"
Zain (growling):
"Resign, Aanya! I will not let you stay even one second in front of that Ruan. He was claiming you as his—and you stayed silent!"
Aanya (firmly):
"I will not resign, Zain! I came here because of my ability, not because of your recommendation. I will not run."
Zain punched the wall near her face violently. Her lashes fluttered—but she did not step back.
Zain (with a terrifying smile):
"Really? So much courage? Have you forgotten? If you don't obey me, I'll give you the same punishment as two months ago. Remember that night? When you ignored me and I locked you in the room?"
Aanya's soul trembled. That night had been one of the hardest nights of her life.
But she clenched her fists and met his eyes.
"I accept that punishment, Zain. Do whatever you want—but I will not resign."
Zain (shocked and angry):
"You… you are refusing your husband?"
Aanya (coldly):
"At this moment, I'm not refusing my husband. I'm refusing my boss. Inside the office, you are only Mr. Yan—and I am your employee. You can fire me based on work performance, but not because of personal enmity."
Zain's face turned red with anger.
He gestured toward his desk, piled high with files.
"Fine! If you want a boss-employee relationship, then that's what you'll get. Here's a 50-page report, 10 presentations, and the audit data of the last three years. All of this must be completed by midnight tonight. You will not leave your seat—not even for water. And remember… no one in this office must find out that you are my wife. If they do, your punishment will double."
Huan Jing's Panic
Aanya returned downstairs to her desk, carrying the heavy files. Her face was exhausted; her eyes were filled with tears.
Huan Jing rushed to her immediately.
"Aanya! What happened? Why are you crying? And what is this mountain of files? Did President Zain give you all this work?"
Aanya (opening a file with trembling hands):
"Yes, Huan… he said everything must be done by tonight."
Huan Jing (shocked):
"What? That's impossible! This is at least a week's worth of work. He's deliberately punishing you because Ruan held your hand. Aanya, why don't you just go home? You're his wife—he won't really punish you."
Aanya:
"No, Huan. Today this is not about being a wife. It's about the self-respect of an employee. If I lose today, he will always make me dance on his fingers."
From his cabin in the distance, Ruan Jian watched everything.
A deep, scheming smile spread across his face.
He knew very well—Zain's anger itself would push Aanya away from him.