Shen Ruoxi struggled silently, her eyes conveying a silent plea.
Yet Ye Mubei turned a blind eye, his hands continuously roaming her body, as if only by doing so he could find some relief.
"Please... let me go."
The response to her was Ye Mubei's heavy breathing.
Zhao Yiru on the other end was trembling with fury; she couldn't believe this wild man had the audacity to do such a thing!
"Shen Ruoxi, you've utterly disgraced me..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Zhao Yiru clasped her chest and collapsed.
Shen Ruoxi, still somewhat conscious, immediately panicked upon hearing the noise on the other end.
Desperately, she struggled and fought against Ye Mubei.
"Let me go, Ye Mubei!"
She couldn't let her mother have an accident, how could he do this in front of her mother!
"Heh, Shen Ruoxi, you'll never escape."
Shen Ruoxi cried helplessly; she could bear Ye Mubei's torment on herself, but how could he do this!
That was her mother.
She was already ill, and now with such a shock, she definitely wouldn't be able to withstand it.
After Ye Mubei vented, Shen Ruoxi, with trembling legs, didn't care about her disheveled state but wanted to go find her mother right away.
That phone call had already been disconnected, and Shen Ruoxi worried about her mother's health, not wanting to waste another minute.
Ye Mubei grabbed her wrist, his voice filled with affection and a hint of seduction.
"Don't leave, stay with me tonight."
Shen Ruoxi pushed him away fiercely, her eyes full of disappointment.
Even when he announced his marriage, she had never shown such an expression.
Ye Mubei, inexplicably panicked, tried to grab Shen Ruoxi's hand but she dodged away.
The ferocity of their recent encounter had left her unstable, and she fell to the ground.
Without a mirror, Shen Ruoxi knew how disheveled she was.
"Shen Ruoxi, your mother will be fine, what's the rush?"
"Yeah, because it's not your mother, of course you think it's no big deal!"
Shen Ruoxi had seen through him by now; Ye Mubei simply treated her as an object for his pleasure.
Wherever it might be, she was nothing but a plaything for him, available at his beck and call.
She had been too foolish; after six years, any bonds between them should have worn thin.
And still, she harbored some baseless hopes. Now she truly hated him.
Soon, her uncle called to ask for her location.
Struggling to hold back tears, Shen Ruoxi comforted her uncle, "I'll be right back, please take care of my mother for me."
"You don't need to come back here, just go straight to the hospital."
Shen Ruoxi finally couldn't hold back her tears and cried.
"I'll be there right now."
She didn't dare to imagine how disappointed her mother would be, having had a heart attack because of Ye Mubei.
Ye Mubei also received the news that Zhao Yiru was hospitalized. His expression changed, but in the end, he said nothing.
He held Shen Ruoxi back.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the hospital."
"You're not allowed to go."
He wasn't discussing it with her; it was more like he was declaring the outcome.
Disbelieving, Shen Ruoxi realized her mother had been admitted to the hospital because of that phone call.
It was bad enough that Ye Mubei didn't feel the slightest guilt, but now he was even forbidding her from going to the hospital.
"Shen Ruoxi, this is what you brought upon yourself. I won't let you go. Just stay here and keep me company, and you're not allowed to go anywhere."
In the past few days, Shen Ruoxi had been scheming to escape from his side. How could he possibly not see it?
"Ye Mubei, can you be reasonable? My mother has been hospitalized, and you don't think this is too much?"
"Too much? It's nothing compared to what the Shen Family has done."
He hated the Shen Family, and it would be for the best if Zhao Yiru died.
Shen Ruoxi suddenly felt defeated. Her six years meant nothing to Ye Mubei.
He still harbored such hatred for the Shen Family, still hoping that every member of her family would die a horrible death.
She suddenly found it somewhat amusing, thinking that she must have been really foolish to believe that Ye Mubei could see her true heart.
"Ye Mubei, please let me go."
"Impossible."
Ye Mubei's expression turned cold, as he pulled her into his embrace.
Although it was meant to be a tender gesture, Shen Ruoxi couldn't feel any warmth, only endless chilling despair.
"I want to go see my mother, please let me go right now, immediately!"
It was the first time that she stood up to Ye Mubei.
Determination showed between her eyebrows, as if she had made up her mind about something.
Ye Mubei let out a cold snort, gripping her shoulders tightly, as if trying to meld her into his body.
They had just been engaged in the most intimate act, yet he turned around and thrust her into such an abyss.
She could pretend that nothing had happened before, but now Ye Mubei had her completely trapped.
She could give her all to Ye Mubei, as a penance for past mistakes, but he should have never involved her mother.
"Ye Mubei, doesn't this tire you out?"
He must have lost all feelings for her by now. Why else would he possess her so maliciously?
Ye Mubei forcefully pinched her chin and left a kiss on the corner of her mouth.
"You're mine, and you'll never escape me in this lifetime."
His tone was indisputable, clearly treating her as his possession.
"So stop thinking about seizing the chance to run away, Shen Ruoxi. Your mother has heard everything. Do you still have the face to see her?"
That sentence struck Shen Ruoxi to the core.
She wanted to slap him, but in the end, she didn't follow through.
"Ye Mubei, you truly scare me."
Everything he did was insane.
"It's better for you to be scared than to let you run away."
Ye Mubei's lips curled into a smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
He could get married, but Shen Ruoxi could never leave him.
Even if she was to be his mistress, she would do so willingly, wouldn't she? All this was owed to him by the Shen Family, and by Shen Ruoxi herself.
Holding Shen Ruoxi firmly in his embrace, Ye Mubei muttered a goodnight as if he truly intended to sleep.
Completely ignoring Shen Ruoxi's anxiety, he had made his stance clear, that Shen Ruoxi was not allowed to go anywhere.
At first, Shen Ruoxi struggled, but eventually, she didn't even have the strength to resist.
Underneath Ye Mubei, a yearning stirred once again.
"Shen Ruoxi, aren't you tired yet, wanting to go another round with me?"
She now had a psychological shadow over such matters.
"If I cooperate with you one more time, will you let me go?"
Ye Mubei sneered, "As if it's that easy of a deal. You'll never leave me in this lifetime, Shen Ruoxi."
What did it matter if she cooperated or not? She would always only be under him.
"Since you don't want to sleep, let's continue with something else."
With that, a fiery kiss landed on Shen Ruoxi's lips.