-The Regal Grand Hotel
It was a tower of icy glass and polished marble, a cold monument, that Lin Yue had only ever seen from the outside.
She felt like a ghost in the plush in the elevator's luxurious mirror wall, silent elevator, the gilded surfaces reflecting the image of a woman who looked foreign even to herself—hair askew, eyes wide and haunted.
The luxurious air, thick with perfume and wealth, felt oppressive, choking the remnants of her hope.
Her heart was a frantic, trapped bird, slamming against the cage of her ribs.
The elevator doors opened onto the tenth floor. Lin Yue walked on legs that felt like lead weights, navigating the silent, carpeted hallway until she stood before the door emblazoned with the number 1089.
Betrayal. Disbelief. A terrifying, bottomless grief. All these emotions swirled inside her, yet she could summon none of the rage she needed.
She was paralyzed, her twenty-nine years of quiet, devoted life having rendered her incapable of facing such a brutal truth head-on.
She raised her hand, her knuckles trembling. She had come here to confront, to demand an explanation.
But as she inhaled to gather the courage, a faint, familiar voice drifted from within. "Brother Chen Hao, hurry up! You've been in there forever."
The voice was sweet, cloyingly so, seasoned with a flirtatious pout.
Brother Chen Hao...
The intimate address sent a fresh jolt of lightning through Lin Yue's veins.
In a moment of sheer, instinctive desperation, she pressed her palm against the door. It wasn't locked. With a soft push, the heavy mahogany swung inward just enough to create a sliver of darkness.
Lin Yue froze. Through the gap, she saw a slice of the lavish room: a king-sized bed, crumpled sheets, and a man's suit jacket carelessly draped over a chair.
She heard the rush of water stop in the adjacent bathroom, followed by her husband's voice—soft, doting, entirely devoid of the impatience he reserved for her.
"Alright, alright, my little sweetie. Don't you know I have to look presentable for you?" Chen Hao emerged, a towel wrapped low around his waist. He crossed the room, his eyes filled with a tenderness that twisted Lin Yue's insides.
"Oh, you're always presentable," the woman replied, her voice melting with exaggerated affection.
As Lin Yue struggled to finally place the owner of that sickeningly familiar voice, she saw a woman facing other side, with slim figure and milky-white skin, sitting up in the bed, perfectly framed against the pristine white pillows.
The woman's gaze, for a fleeting moment, darted not to Chen Hao, but directly towards the slightly ajar door without tilting her face but only her gaze. A subtle, cold smirk touched her lips before she quickly plastered a look of innocent yearning back on her face.
The woman knows that Lin Yue is here. This was her plan from the very beginning. She had carefully orchestrated Chen Hao's absence tonight, knowing their anniversary would maximize Lin Yue's anxiety.
When Chen Hao stepped into the shower, the woman had seized his phone, waited for Lin Yue's inevitable call, and then coo8lly delivered the fatal address before erasing the call history. She hadn't locked the door because she wanted an audience.
Now, that woman quickly nestled into Chen Hao's embrace and act coquettishly and said "Brother Chen Hao you were so naughty to take so long! I missed you."
Chen Hao chuckled, burying his face in the woman's hair and said while caressing her slim waist "I'm here now, Bai Lian. All night. No meetings, no documents, no nothing."
"Mmm, that's right." Bai Lian wander her slim jade-like fingers on Chen Hao's chest. Then, her tone shifted, becoming laced with that practiced, faux-sympathy. "But, Brother Chen Hao, I feel a little bad for Big Sister."
Lin Yue's breath hitched and her eyes are wide opened like copper bells in disbelief. Big Sister... The phrase was a detonation. The pieces of the puzzle slammed together, leaving no room for doubt.
The childish, cloying tone, the familiar rhythm of the voice—it was Bai Lian, her stepsister, delivering the death blow to her marriage.
Bai Lian, this name tasted like ash. This was the nightmare of Lin Yue.
Lin Yue still remember when she was eight years old, her mother died in a car accident. After two months later of Lin Yue's mother's death, her father, Lin Aiguo, bring a young and beautiful woman, Bai Mei Ling, with a five or six years old Bai Lian, who looks like a porcelain doll.
Lin Yue still remember how her father told her that he married Bai Mei Ling and offered a callous excuse to his heartbroken eight-year-old daughter, had said she was "still young and needed a mother." But Bai Mei Ling and her daughter, Bai Lian, had brought only division, not maternal comfort.
Back inside the room, Chen Hao's indulgence vanished at the mention of Lin Yue. He scowled, pushing Bai Lian slightly away. "Why do you insist on ruining the mood by bringing up Lin Yue, Baby? Don't be silly. She's nothing but a good-for-nothing showpiece," he spat, venom lacing his words. "A relic. She has been a burden since the day I put that ring on her finger."
Bai Lian's eyes immediately filled with contrived, glistening tears. "Oh, Brothet Chen Hao, don't curse Big Sister. I feel terrible. It's all my fault for loving you back. I've ruined your life with her."
Chen Hao instantly softened, pulling her back against his chest. "No, no, my beautiful girl, you didn't ruin anything. You saved me. Lin Yue was never my love. She was just a debt."
Chen Hao kissed her forehead, his voice heavy with self-pity. "You know the story baby. My grandfather, on his deathbed during my final year of college, used his last wish to enforce that ridiculous childhood engagement with Lin Yue."
Chen Hao then cup Bai Lian's face and said with a sad tone and curse "Old Lin, Lin Yue's grandfather, and my grandpa were friends from their childhood. Old Lin once saved my grandpa's life, and to repay his debt, my grandpa decided to betrothed me with that cheap woman Lin Yue."
Chen Hao sigh and continue "My parents were always against it; they said Lin Yue was uneducated, barely finished high school. They wanted me to marry someone worthy of my career."
He squeezed Bai Lian tightly. "But you, Bai Lian, you finished university with honors. You are sophisticated, smart, and pure. You were the only one I ever truly loved, even back then, in our teenage years when we had to sneak around. She was just the insurance policy, the placeholder, until I had the standing to finally be with you."
The final, crushing blows of the revelation left Lin Yue hollowed out. She wasn't just betrayed; her entire life, her marriage, was exposed as a loveless farce executed solely for duty.
A chilling calm settled over Lin Yue, the emptiness giving way to a white-hot core of absolute fury. She no longer cared about dignity or grace.
Bang!!
With a loud, jarring BANG that echoed through the expensive suite, Lin Yue shoved the door wide open. It slammed into the wall, shaking the framed artwork.
Chen Hao and Bai Lian instantly turn their heads around, their faces morphing from pampered devotion to startled terror as they found Lin Yue standing in the doorway.
Lin Yue, her eyes bloodshot from anger, trembling, tears streaming down her haggard face, yet her eyes burning with the cold fire of a woman who had just realized she had nothing left to lose.