Warning: This chapter has a light 18+ scene.
AT THE SAME TIME
MEI SHEN'S FIRST PERSON POV:
I laid here in the quiet dark, the fading heat of him still lingering on my skin. My thoughts swirled like a storm fragments of memory, flashes from the novel I'd read so many times. This… this was the night. The wedding night chapter. The one where I was supposed to be bound to him, not as a wife, but as his concubine. A side note in the grand story, nothing more. I followed the script correctly after all. He never wanted to marry me in the first place.
A bitter laugh escaped me. So this was the 'second chance' I'd begged for? Reborn as a pawn in someone else's tale. And then, like a whisper curling through my mind Zeyrith's voice flickered, teasing, amused.
"Didn't expect such resistance, did you, Mei Shen? But here you are, right on cue."He said.
I clenched my fists beneath the covers, anger and disbelief swirling. How cruel, to be handed a script you never asked for, and worse, to be toyed with by a god who watched for his own amusement.
"Don't worry." The voice continued, soft as silk and sharp as a blade."The real story is just beginning."
My eyes snapped open, heart pounding. The weight of fate pressed down heavily. I wasn't just Rosalie anymore, not just a forgotten name. I was Mei Shen, caught in a web far larger than myself.
It had been a week since the ceremony, but the weight of those whispered words still clung to me like a shadow. Tonight, curiosity and something sharper pulled me toward the private wing where the Emperor and Empress Dowager often met. I slipped through the dim corridors, heart pounding with equal parts fear and determination. The soft murmur of voices drifted through a slightly ajar door ahead. I pressed myself against the cold wall, straining to hear.
"The girl is fragile." The Empress Dowager hissed, her voice thick with contempt. "She's a liability, not a partner. I don't understand why you keep her close."
The Emperor's reply was smooth, almost amused.
"She's not here to be a partner. She's a possession. Something to distract me, until she's no longer useful."He said.
A bitter laugh escaped me, despite myself. A possession. A toy. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. They saw only weakness. But I was far from broken. If they thought I'd be cast aside so easily, they were wrong. I swallowed the bitterness, but a fire ignited deep inside. They had written me off, but I wouldn't let their cruel scripts cage me. I began to plot my escape, memorizing the guard rotations, the secret passages I had heard servants whisper about, every possible way out of this gilded prison.
But then, one evening, just a week later the world spun beneath me. A sharp wave of nausea crashed through my chest, twisting my insides. I staggered, clutching the cool stone wall for support. My breaths came shallow, uneven. What was this sudden weakness? This wasn't part of the plan. Not now. My hands trembled as I fought to steady myself, a dark thought creeping in. Then, a voice. Calm. Deep. Inside my mind.
"Mei Shen." It whispered, smooth like silk but carrying a weight that shook me to my core.
I froze. Only one voice could be this clear… Zeyrith's.
"You're carrying life." He said, as if stating a simple fact. "A child of the tyrant emperor."
My breath hitched. Pregnant? Impossible. I wasn't ready. I hadn't even settled into this cruel new life. Suddenly, before my eyes, a translucent window flickered to life, strange symbols and glowing letters swirling.
"SYSTEM ALERT: pregnancy detected. child of emperor Lianwei Voss. Special status: heir of the empire. Options: accept, reject, delay."A voice said.
"Who are you?"I asked.
"Greetings, Mei Shen. I am your Helper, here to guide you. First task: find the secret passage beneath the Imperial Gardens to begin your escape."The system said.
A secret passage. This felt like some twisted game quest just like the novels I had devoured before. Back then, I was just a reader. Now? I was trapped inside one. I swallowed hard, heart pounding, and slipped through the moonlit corridors toward the gardens. The scent of jasmine mingled with damp earth, eerily peaceful for the prison I was in. Fingertips traced the cold stone walls, searching for any sign of a hidden door. Just like in those stories, I thought, look for the vine covered wall, the loose brick.
But before I could reach it, a shadow peeled away from the darkness.
"Running off again, Mei Shen?" Emperor Lianwei Voss's voice was low, amused and impossibly close.
His hand landed on my waist with a possessive grip that made my skin prickle.
"You think you can escape me? There's no secret passage that can save you."He asked.
I wanted to scream. Wanted to pull away. But instead, my mind screamed a single thought: This isn't just a story. This is real. And I'm the main character now. Before I could even think of running, his hand shot out and grabbed mine, fingers locking around mine like iron. His touch was firm, commanding.
"No more hiding." He said with that dark, amused glint in his eyes.
He tugged me forward, and I stumbled after him, heart pounding. The secret cabin loomed ahead, its shadowed entrance swallowing us as he pushed the door open. Inside, the air was thick, charged. He pulled me close, lips crashing onto mine with a hunger that stole my breath. Heat spiraled through me, dissolving my doubts with every fierce kiss and touch. The world narrowed to the sound of our breaths and the press of skin on skin. When the moment broke, he stepped back, a slow, satisfied smile curling his lips.
"Remember this, Mei Shen." He said, eyes dark with possession. "You're mine."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode out, the door clicking shut behind him. I was left trembling in the quiet, heart still racing from everything that had just happened. How could he make me lose control every time he touches me?