The night air was cold, thick with the scent of rain and memory. Meilin stood at the edge of the forest where the old estate once burned. The charred earth still carried traces of the life she'd lost — laughter, warmth, and a love she had only learned to value too late.
Rui's letter still trembled in her hand.
> "It wasn't an accident."
Those words had refused to leave her mind since she read them.
She stepped forward, her boots crunching over the broken remains of what once was. Beneath the cracked stones and ash, something metallic caught her eye — a small locket, half-buried in the dirt. She picked it up, brushing the soot away. Inside was a faded photograph — her father, smiling, standing beside a younger version of Rui's father.
Her chest tightened. They knew each other?
She turned the locket over. Etched faintly on the back were three words: "For the project."
"What project?" she whispered to herself.
The wind shifted, carrying the faint sound of footsteps. Meilin turned sharply. A figure stepped out of the shadows — tall, familiar, and haunted.
"Rui…"
He stopped a few feet away, his expression unreadable. "You shouldn't be here."
"Then tell me why this place still burns inside my head," she said, voice trembling. "Tell me what really happened that night."
Rui's jaw tightened. He looked away, rain glinting in his hair. "Your father was working on something dangerous. A formula — something that could change the pharmaceutical industry forever. My father wanted it. He sent men to… retrieve it."
Meilin's eyes widened. "Retrieve it? You mean steal it?"
Rui's silence was answer enough.
A shiver ran down her spine. "So the fire—"
"It got out of control," Rui interrupted softly. "I tried to stop them. But when I got there, the house was already—" He swallowed hard, his voice breaking. "I thought you were gone. I thought everyone was."
Meilin took a step back, her breath shaking. "You knew. All this time."
"I wanted to tell you," he said quietly. "But after you came back… after you changed… I couldn't bear to destroy the peace you finally found."
Tears welled in her eyes, but anger burned beneath them. "You should have told me. I deserved the truth."
"I know," Rui said, his voice low. "But now that you know… they'll come for you too."
Thunder cracked overhead. Meilin clutched the locket tightly. "Then let them come. I won't run anymore."
Rui stepped closer, his gaze fierce and desperate. "Meilin—"
She met his eyes, her voice calm and steady. "This time, I'll protect what's mine. My child. My home. And maybe… even you."
Something flickered in his expression — guilt, hope, love, all tangled together.
As the rain poured harder, they stood in silence, two souls bound by fire and fate.
Finally, Rui whispered, "Then we'll face them together."
Meilin nodded slowly, the fire in her heart reignited. "Together."
The storm raged on, but for the first time in years, she wasn't afraid of the dark. Because now, she kn
ew — the truth wasn't the end. It was just the beginning.