FAMILY?
The scandal spread far beyond the school. What had started as a student gossip story quickly became something much bigger.
Within days, online news outlets began picking it up. Articles appeared with sensational headlines discussing the "controversial scandal involving the son of Koo Corporation."
Photos of Ruan attending public events with Lumi began circulating again, accompanied by speculation about the engagement between the Koo and Yue families.
What had once been praised as a powerful corporate alliance was now being discussed as a fragile deal built on secrets.
The engagement had never been just about two young people. It was about business.
The merger between Koo Corporation and Yue Holdings had been expected to create one of the largest financial partnerships in the region.
Investors had been watching closely. Competitors had been worried. Now the entire plan was hanging by a thread.
Television commentators debated the situation. Business journalists wrote long analyses about the possible financial consequences if the engagement collapsed.
And in the centre of all that noise were Ruan and Lumi.
Inside the Koo family mansion, the atmosphere felt suffocating. Mr. Koo sat at the head of the dining table, staring at a tablet filled with news headlines. His expression was darker than ever. Across the room, Ruan stood quietly. Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Finally, Mr. Koo slammed the tablet onto the table.
"Do you understand what you've done?"
His voice echoed through the room. "You've turned our family into a public scandal."
Ruan didn't move.
"It was never about the family," he said calmly.
Mr. Koo let out a bitter laugh. "Of course it was about the family."
He stood up slowly, his anger barely controlled. "That engagement was supposed to secure our company's future."
"Then it should have been about business," Ruan replied quietly. "Not my life."
Mr. Koo's eyes narrowed. "You are my son. Your life is my business."
Ruan felt a familiar anger rising in his chest. For years he had listened to those words. For years he had obeyed. But something inside him had finally changed.
"The engagement is over," he said.
The words landed like a bomb in the room. Mr. Koo stared at him.
"You don't get to make that decision." Mr. Koo said.
Ruan looked up and sneered. "I already did."
The silence that followed was heavy and dangerous.
Mr. Koo's face twisted with fury. "You selfish, ungrateful boy," he said. "You think love matters more than everything we built?"
Ruan let out a small laugh. "Built?" His eyes were colder now. "You didn't build a family, you built a company."
The words hit harder than any insult. Mr .Koo suddenly raised his hand. It was a movement Ruan knew too well.
But before the strike could land, someone stepped between them.
"Stop!"
Ruan's mother stood there, her hands trembling slightly as she blocked Mr. Koo's arm. For a moment the room went completely silent. Mr .Koo looked shocked.
"You're defending him?" he asked.
Her voice was quiet, but firm. "I'm protecting my son."
For the first time, she stood up for what was hers, not afraid of what Mr .Koo could do to her no more. Ruan felt something tighten painfully in his chest. His mother had always been gentle, always quiet. Seeing her stand there like that felt unreal.
Mr. Koo scoffed. "You two should remember your place."
The insult hung in the air like poison. Ruan's eyes darkened.
"You mean the place you gave us?" he said slowly.
Mr. Koo didn't answer.
Ruan's voice grew steadier. "I'd rather leave than be your puppet."
His father laughed bitterly. "You think you can survive without this family?"
Ruan shook his head. "This was never a family."
His voice was calm now. Just tired.
"You treated us like property."
The room felt painfully quiet. Ruan looked at his mother. Her eyes were filled with emotion, but she didn't stop him.
Then he said the words that had been buried in his heart for years. "I and my mother were never family to you anyway."
Mr. Koo frowned. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Ruan's lips curved into a sad smile. "You always reminded us." His voice was steady. "That we were never legitimate."
The truth settled heavily in the room. Ruan reached for his mother's hand. "Come with me."
She hesitated only for a moment. Then she took his hand. Together they walked toward the door.
Mr. Koo's voice followed them. "If you leave this house, don't expect to come back!"
Ruan stopped briefly. But he didn't turn around. "That's fine," he said quietly.
Then he continued walking.
Outside the mansion, the night air felt strangely free. For the first time in his life, Ruan felt like the weight on his shoulders had finally lifted. His mother stood beside him silently. For years she had lived quietly under the same roof as a man who never truly saw her.
Now that chapter of their lives was over. Ruan looked back at the mansion one last time. The building still stood tall and impressive, exactly the same as before. But it no longer felt like home. Never has been.
He turned away. And together, mother and son walked into the night. Leaving behind the place that had controlled their lives for far too long.
***
The news the collapsed engagement hit Lumi like a landslide.
At first, she didn't cry. She just stared blankly at the television, scrolling headlines, watching her and her father's reputation crumble for the second time. Articles criticized her actions. Former classmates whispered. Even distant acquaintances in her hometown had somehow heard the story.
Her father, furious and humiliated, confronted her in the middle of the living room.
"You've ruined everything!" he shouted, his face red with anger. "Do you understand what you've done? The engagement, the merger, the family reputation, it's all gone because of you!"
Lumi's hands shook, but she didn't back down. "It's not just me' she hissed. "All of this, this obsession, this power plays, you started it! You raised me to believe that happiness is forbidden, that love is a weakness!"
Her father's face twisted with disbelief and rage. "How dare you blame me for your failures?"
"I wouldn't be like this if you had let me live!" Lumi snapped. Her chest heaved the pain and anger mixing together into something dark and heavy.
The argument escalated, their voices echoing through the empty mansion. For a brief, terrifying moment, Lumi felt trapped in the storm of her own life. The anger, the betrayal, the shame, it was too much.
At the end...
Did she feel better?
No.
Her vision blurred. She found herself on the top floor, her hands shaking as they held a small knife she had hidden away. The anger, the shame, the helplessness, they all surged at once, whispering that the only way to stop the pain was to let it end.
In a sudden, reckless motion, she pressed the blade against her wrist. The sting was sharp, immediate. She staggered back, the pain burning, and a thin line of red appeared a stark reminder of how close she had come to losing herself completely.
She sank to the floor, trembling, staring at the wound. Her chest heaved, and for the first time in years, the fear of losing control over herself made her cry, not from regret, but from the crushing weight of everything she had carried alone.
But fate intervened.
Timing, chance, or perhaps something she didn't understand, she stumbled, caught herself, and the idea of taking her own life slipped away, replaced by a hollow emptiness.
That emptiness didn't vanish immediately. It lingered like a shadow, but it also left a small, quiet space where she could breathe.
By the time she was discovered, the cut was small, yet it marked the beginning of a turning point. The physical pain was fleeting, but the emotional scar ran deep. It was enough to make her realize she could not go on alone.
From there, she was guided into therapy and counselling. The sessions were raw, gruelling, and often uncomfortable, but slowly, painfully, she began to confront the darkness she had carried for so long. She learned to face her anger, her grief, and her obsession, and to start letting herself heal.