CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 68; I SAID LEAVE

His eyes burned with silent fury and bone-deep exhaustion as he stared at the muted carpet.

Outside, the bright morning sun streamed down upon the city, bathing it in golden light.

But inside, darkness curled around him like a living, breathing thing, whispering silent curses into his ears.

He reached up, rubbing his temples with long fingers as exhaustion coiled through his chest like heavy iron chains. The memory of her screams from the night before echoed mercilessly in his mind.

"Let me go... let me go... I don’t want anything..."

His jaw clenched tightly, the muscles ticking along his sharp jawline. He was in a situation he couldn’t have foreseen and was already out of control.

— — — — — —

The door clicked shut softly behind her, cutting off the faint sound of his quiet breathing within the room.

For a moment, Bai Zhi stood there, unmoving, her delicate fingers still curled around the doorknob as if she hadn’t realised she had let go.

The morning corridor stretched before her in muted cream and gold tones, sunlight slanting through the tall windows to illuminate specks of dust floating lazily in the still air.

She lowered her hand slowly, her fingers trembling as they fell limply to her side.

Her chest felt tight, so tight she wondered if she could ever draw a proper breath again. She pressed her back against the cool wall beside the guest room door, eyes squeezed shut as silent tears leaked out from beneath her lashes.

A shiver wracked her slender frame despite the warmth of the morning sun pooling around her bare feet on the marble floor. She wrapped her arms around herself, clutching the thin silk of her dress like it was armour, but it did nothing to quell the deep ache blooming in her chest.

Her mind spun with the cold echo of his voice:

"I said leave."

He didn’t say Bai Zhi her name and neither Zhi’er just let he usually call her. Not even Miss Bai. Just a command, that was so cold, final, and unfeeling. This wasn’t how he could talk to her!

She drew in a shaky breath, raising her fingertips to brush away the tears slipping down her cheeks. They came away damp, glistening faintly in the golden light before drying instantly against the morning heat.

Slowly, she straightened, forcing her knees to stop shaking as she pushed herself away from the wall. Her hair fell in soft, dark waves around her pale face, partially hiding her eyes as she turned away from the door.

Down the hallway, the apartment lay silent. The faint hum of the central air conditioning filled the emptiness, blending with the distant city sounds filtering through the windows, car horns, muffled conversations, and the rhythmic thrum of life continuing beyond these sterile walls.

But to her, it all felt impossibly far away.

She walked forward slowly, each step light and graceful despite the burning pain coiling through her chest. At the end of the corridor, she paused before the full-length mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, her swollen eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, and a hollow, bruised look in her gaze that made her chest tighten even further.

Bai Zhi reached up, smoothing her hair behind her ears with trembling fingers. She dabbed the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, trying to erase any sign of weakness. Then she lifted her chin, drawing in a long, shaky breath as she forced her expression into calm blankness.

This is nothing, she told herself, swallowing down the bitter taste rising in her throat. ’I have survived worse, I will survive this too.’