Chapter 8 - ​Chapter 8: The Crimson Veil

​The misunderstanding deepened when a package arrived at the villa—a collection of edited photos showing Ning and Wei Chen in what looked like an intimate embrace. Xuan ripped the envelope open, his hands shaking. As he looked at the images, the world around him turned red. He didn't see the digital manipulation; he only saw the woman he worshipped seemingly smiling at his rival. He stormed into the bedroom where Ning was trying to compose herself. He threw the photos at her, the sharp edges of the paper cutting her cheek. "Is this why you cry for them?" he screamed, his voice breaking with a sob of his own. "Is this the 'debt' you're paying?" Ning looked at the photos and gasped, her face turning ghostly white. "Xuan, this isn't real! I never... I would never!" But Xuan was past the point of reason. His love had curdled into a possessive agony. He gripped her shoulders, his fingers bruising her skin. "I gave you my soul, and you gave him your smiles!" He collapsed to his knees, burying his face in her lap, weeping with an intensity that terrified her. He was a king brought low by a lie, and his tears were more painful than his rage.