The smell of blood filled the air.
Metallic. Warm. Suffocating.
Lin Xiyue lay sprawled across the cold floor, her body trembling as her vision blurred. Every breath felt like a battle—short, sharp, as if invisible blades were tearing through her lungs from the inside.
Footsteps echoed through the room.
Slow. Elegant.
Cruel.
"Sister… you're still alive?"
That voice.
Sweet as honey.
Pure poison.
With the last of her strength, Lin Xiyue forced her eyes open. Her blurred vision locked onto the figure standing before her—flawless, dressed in fine clothes, her delicate face illuminated by a smile Xiyue knew all too well.
Lin Meiqing.
Her "sister."
The person she had trusted the most… and the one who destroyed her completely.
"W… why…"
Blood spilled from Xiyue's lips before she could finish.
Meiqing sighed, tilting her head with faint boredom.
"You still don't understand?" she said softly. "It's because you existed."
The world seemed to freeze.
"You should've died years ago…" Meiqing continued, stepping closer, her heels clicking against the floor. "But no. You kept living—like an inconvenient shadow."
Her delicate fingers lifted Xiyue's chin, forcing her to meet her gaze.
"Did you know?" she whispered, her eyes gleaming with malice. "That family… the rich one… was always yours."
Xiyue's heart stopped.
"I simply… took what belonged to you."
Each word stabbed deeper than the last.
Memories crashed into her mind—
A cold husband.
A mother-in-law's scorn.
Her infertility… the sacrifice she made for Meiqing.
A lifetime lived as a mistake.
All of it… a lie.
"Oh, and…" Meiqing smiled, amused. "Your dear husband? He always loved me."
Silence fell.
Something inside Lin Xiyue shattered completely.
No pain remained.
Only… emptiness.
"Thank you for everything, sister," Meiqing said, letting go of her face in disdain. "You were truly… useful."
The last thing Xiyue heard was the sound of footsteps fading away.
And then—
Darkness.
…But it didn't last.
A strange warmth wrapped around her body.
Heavy.
Confusing.
Her consciousness struggled to rise, as if being dragged out of a deep abyss. Her mind was still trapped in the moment of death… but something was wrong.
The air.
The smell.
Not blood.
Incense.
Cheap alcohol.
And… sweat.
Lin Xiyue's eyes snapped open.
The ceiling was different.
Simple. Old.
Her heart began to pound violently.
"What…?"
Her body… didn't hurt.
Slowly, she raised her hands, staring at them as if they belonged to someone else.
Young.
Unscarred.
Untouched by years of suffering.
Suddenly—
Memories hit her.
No… not memories.
Reality.
That night.
The drink.
The strange taste.
The room.
The man.
Her pupils shrank violently.
"No…" her voice trembled. "It can't be…"
She turned sharply—
And saw it.
The room.
The bed.
Clothes scattered everywhere.
The heavy smell in the air.
And on the other side—
A man, lying unconscious.
Her ex-husband.
The beginning of her hell.
Xiyue's blood ran cold.
She… came back.
Back to that night.
The night she was drugged.
The night everything was destroyed.
Her body trembled.
But not from fear.
Not anymore.
Her fingers slowly curled into fists.
Her once gentle, naive eyes now burned with something entirely different—
Clarity.
Coldness.
Rage.
"This time…" she murmured, her voice low and firm.
"…no."
She got out of bed without hesitation.
Her body was still weak, the drug not fully gone, but her mind had never been clearer.
She couldn't stay.
If she did—
Everything would repeat.
Forced marriage.
Humiliation.
A ruined life.
No.
Not this time.
Her eyes scanned the room.
The door.
Closed.
But not locked.
Of course.
To them, she was already "trapped."
A cold smile formed on her lips.
What a mistake.
Moving quietly, she grabbed the first piece of clothing she could find and put it on, ignoring the slight tremor in her hands.
Every second mattered.
Before leaving—
She stopped.
And looked at the man on the bed.
The one who had despised her.
The one who believed every lie.
The one who abandoned her without hesitation.
For a brief moment… silence weighed in the air.
Then—
SLAP!
The sound echoed sharply across the room.
His head snapped to the side from the impact.
Xiyue lowered her hand slowly, her gaze icy.
"This is just the beginning," she whispered.
Without looking back, she opened the door—
And left.
The hallway was dark.
Silent.
Dangerous.
But for someone who had already died once…
None of that mattered.
Her heart pounded as she moved forward, staying close to the walls. Her mind raced—every step, every choice now would shape her new fate.
She had to leave.
Had to escape.
Had to… change everything.
But then—
Her steps faltered.
The drug was still in her system.
Her vision blurred.
"Damn it…"
Her body was heating up.
Her breathing… uneven.
She knew this feeling.
Knew it far too well.
In her past life… she had no choice.
But now—
Her teeth clenched.
Never again.
Forcing herself forward, she staggered down the corridor.
Then—
A door.
Slightly open.
Light spilling from inside.
Without thinking—or perhaps unable to think clearly—she pushed it open and stepped in.
The room was different.
Simpler.
Orderly.
But the air—
Cold.
Rigid.
Disciplined.
And then she saw him.
A man.
Tall.
Standing by the window.
His broad silhouette cut against the dim light of the night.
A perfectly pressed military uniform.
An oppressive presence.
Their eyes met—
And in that instant…
The world stilled.
His gaze was cold.
Deep.
Dangerous.
As if he could see right through her.
Xiyue held her breath.
Something inside her trembled.
Instinct.
Danger.
But also—
Something else.
Something she couldn't explain.
His eyes swept over her quickly—disheveled clothes, uneven breathing, flushed skin.
His expression darkened.
"Who are you?"
His voice was low.
Controlled.
Authoritative.
The kind that didn't tolerate lies.
Xiyue opened her mouth—
But no words came out.
The heat surged through her body.
Her mind slipping again.
Her steps faltered.
And before she could say anything—
Her body gave in.
Falling… straight into his arms.
He caught her instinctively.
His body stiffened instantly.
Hot.
Too hot.
Wrong.
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Damn it…" he muttered under his breath.
He had seen this before.
And he didn't like it.
His gaze fell back to the woman in his arms.
Delicate.
Yet stubborn.
Even unconscious… there was tension in her.
As if she was fighting something.
Fighting the entire world.
For some reason—
It irritated him.
And at the same time…
It caught his attention.
His grip tightened slightly.
His eyes darkening.
"You walked into the wrong room…"
A pause.
His jaw clenched.
"…or perhaps the right one."
Outside, the night wind howled softly.
As if announcing—
That both their fates…
Had already been sealed.