The night was thick with thunder, lightning cutting through the clouds like anger made visible. Rain hammered against the windows, relentless and wild — almost like the pounding of Meilin's heart.
She sat alone in the living room, the lights dim, the clock ticking toward midnight. Jiang Rui still hadn't come home.
Every sound outside made her flinch — the wind against the shutters, the roll of thunder, the soft creak of the floorboards. And then, finally, the front door opened.
He walked in, his hair damp, his coat dripping from the rain. The smell of storm clung to him — and exhaustion.
"Rui," she breathed, standing up. "You're soaked. Let me—"
"I'm fine," he said, brushing past her.
The coldness in his voice made her chest tighten. "You haven't been fine for days," she said quietly. "You barely look at me anymore."
He stopped near the stairs, his back still to her. "What do you want me to say, Meilin? That everything's fine? That I can forget what I saw?"
"I told you what happened," she said desperately. "He came to me — I didn't ask for it."
"And yet he keeps coming back." His voice rose, sharper than thunder. "Do you know what it feels like to watch the man who ruined your life stand outside your house and smile?"
Tears filled her eyes. "I do know, Rui. Because I see the same look in your eyes — and it kills me."
He turned then, his face hard but his eyes glimmering with pain. "You can't fix what you broke just by crying over it."
Her voice cracked. "Then what do you want me to do? Tell me! Because I've been trying — every single day — to prove that I'm not the same woman who hurt you!"
The storm roared outside, lightning flashing across the room. For a moment, neither spoke. The distance between them was only a few feet — but it felt like an ocean.
Finally, Jiang Rui whispered, "I don't know if I can love you the same way again."
Her heart stopped. The words fell like stones into the silence.
Meilin's voice was barely a whisper. "Then let me love you enough for both of us… until you can."
He looked at her for a long, tortured moment — then turned away and walked upstairs.
When the door to their room closed, the sound was soft… but final.
Meilin sank to her knees as thunder split the sky, tears streaming down her face. Outside, Li Wen's car headlights flared once in the dark before fading awa
y — like a ghost watching her unravel.