### Chapter 1: The betrayal
The rain fell in heavy sheets, drumming against the roof tiles with a force that seemed to echo the chaos in Lin Nuan's heart. She stood barefoot on the cobblestone path just beyond the wooden gate, clutching a bundle of hastily packed belongings. The thick droplets soaked her hair, plastering dark strands to her face, and turned her silk cheongsam into a second skin, clinging to her trembling form.
The door behind her creaked ominously, and then there was silence. A finality hung in the air like a blade poised to strike. Lin Nuan turned, staring at the house—her house, or what had been her house—until a bolt of lightning illuminated the ornate carvings on the lacquered door. Her gaze lingered on the brass knocker, shaped like a dragon, now dull in the rain. A door she had once opened with the weight of possibility now stood shut against her.
The realization settled like a cold stone in her chest. She was no longer welcome here.
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Lin Nuan's breaths came shallow and uneven, and she clutched the bundle closer, as if the meager belongings could shield her from the storm raging within her more than the rain outside. Her fingers trembled against the coarse fabric of her coat, her neatly manicured nails digging into the material. She had chosen a soft pink polish this morning—a foolish thought now, given the state of her hands.
Her eyes stung, but not from the rain. Tears had been threatening to spill since the moment her husband had uttered those words: *"I cannot do this anymore, Nuan."* He had said them with the detachment of someone commenting on the weather, his expression unreadable, his tone devoid of the warmth that had once filled their quiet evenings.
How had it come to this?
Her mind raced, combing through months of strained conversations, the silences that had grown too heavy to bear, the distance between their bodies even when they shared the same bed. She had thought they could fix it. She had *hoped*. But hope now felt like a luxury she could no longer afford.
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The first reaction was disbelief.
She had stood there, frozen, when he handed her the small suitcase—his refusal to look her in the eye a betrayal more profound than the act of packing her belongings. She had asked him, her voice breaking, "Why now? Why like this?"
But he had no answers, only averted eyes and a thinly veiled impatience. That had hurt the most—the absence of anger, of passion, of anything that could suggest she had mattered enough to provoke strong emotions. She had begged without words, her hands trembling as they reached for his, but he had stepped back, out of her reach.
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Now, standing in the rain, she could feel the second reaction creeping in: humiliation.
The servants had watched, their expressions carefully blank but their eyes betraying pity, curiosity, and perhaps a hint of satisfaction. She knew what they would say once the door closed behind her. *She must have done something to deserve this.* The thought burned hotter than the chill of the rain.
Her pride warred with her anguish. Thats whe Lin Nuan realised that her identity as Mrs.Tang was gone and it was back to the poor orphan Lin Nuan whom everybody detested from far.
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Anger came next.
Follwed with confusion and a bit of regreat the only question she could ask herself is, " what went wrong ?" . All she could think was how dare he? After everything she had sacrificed, everything she had endured to uphold their marriage, he had dismissed her with nothing more than a packed suitcase and a few empty words. The indignation burned through her chest, a flicker of warmth against the cold.
Her jaw tightened, and her fingers gripped traced though her stomach only to remember how happy she was few moments earlier when she learnt that she was pregnat. The thought of the child in her belly made tears flow down her chin.
Suddenly, a laugh made its way out of her mouth thinking its all over now, maybe she can never be happy in this life but maybe in her next life ...
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