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Chapter 13 – Shattered Illusions
The journal lay heavy in Lin Yue's lap, its pages filled with words that sliced through her heart like knives. Every line felt like a betrayal. Her father—her proud, honorable father—had written them with his own hand.
Her tears fell onto the ink, smudging the damning evidence. She pressed her fist against her lips to stifle the sob clawing at her throat. If what Mo Chen said was true, then her family's fall hadn't been an accident or a baseless attack. It had been the inevitable collapse of a house built on corruption.
But why had Mo Chen chosen her to marry? Why bind himself to the daughter of the man who had betrayed him?
Anger surged through her, hot and choking. She slammed the journal shut and stood, her chest heaving. She couldn't let him control the narrative. She needed answers—this time, all of them.
---
She found him in the garden, standing alone beneath the pale glow of the moon. His suit jacket was gone, his white shirt sleeves rolled up, exposing strong forearms. He looked less like the cold, untouchable tycoon and more like a man burdened by ghosts.
"Mo Chen." Her voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet night.
He turned, his eyes narrowing when he saw the journal clutched in her hand.
"You read it."
"I did." Her voice trembled, but she held his gaze. "And I want to know—was this your revenge? Did you marry me to punish me for my father's sins?"
Mo Chen's expression was unreadable, but a muscle in his jaw twitched. "If I wanted revenge, Lin Yue, you wouldn't be standing here demanding answers. You'd be broken already."
"Then why?" Her shout cracked in the night air. "Why tie me to you? Why drag me into your world if you despise me so much?"
His eyes darkened, his voice lowering into something dangerous, almost vulnerable. "Because hate wasn't enough."
Her heart stuttered. "What do you mean?"
Mo Chen stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. "I told myself I hated you. That I hated everything your family stood for. But when I saw you—when I saw how you fought to protect your brother, how you bore the weight of your family's downfall—I realized hate wasn't the whole truth."
Lin Yue's breath caught. His gaze burned into hers, raw and intense, as though he were teetering on the edge of a confession.
But before she could speak, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the moment.
One of Mo Chen's men appeared, bowing quickly. "Boss, we have a problem. Someone's leaking information from inside the company. Competitors are moving fast—they're targeting our shipping lines."
Mo Chen's demeanor shifted instantly, steel replacing vulnerability. "Find out who. Now."
The man nodded and disappeared into the shadows.
Lin Yue's confusion deepened. Shipping lines? Competitors? The words stirred something in her memory—the journal had mentioned shipments too, though in a far darker context.
She stepped closer. "Mo Chen, what's happening? Is this about the same shipments my father wrote about?"
For the first time, he looked truly startled. Then his face hardened. "Stay out of this, Lin Yue."
"No." Her chin lifted stubbornly. "If I'm already caught in your war, I deserve to know the battlefield."
His gaze lingered on her, as if weighing whether to push her away or pull her closer. At last, he exhaled, his voice low. "Your father's mistakes didn't just ruin your family. They created enemies—dangerous ones. And those enemies haven't disappeared. They're coming for me now."
Her heart lurched. "And for me too, since I'm your wife."
Silence answered her, but the truth hung heavy in the air.
---
Later that night, Lin Yue stood at her window, staring into the darkness. The journal lay open again on her desk, mocking her with its revelations. Her father's lies had chained her to Mo Chen, but now, it seemed, so had his enemies.
A cold realization washed over her.
Her marriage to Mo Chen wasn't just about revenge or secrets.
It was about survival.