Chapter 134: Mutual Wounds
He was doing it all for the Ye family. It was merely a tactical move to buy time.
"No!" Ye Tianlin interrupted firmly, his tone absolute.
Liang Xiaoluo's pupils widened slightly in disbelief. "Then what is it?"
"I'm really going to marry her," Ye Tianlin replied flatly.
The words struck Liang Xiaoluo like a thunderbolt. She bolted upright, staring at his back as her eyes brimmed with tears. Her assumptions had been wrong. This wasn't a temporary measure; he had truly made up his mind.
Ye Tianlin turned to look at her, his expression unreadable. He sat up as well, his hands twitching as if wanting to wipe away the tears glistening in her eyes, but they hung limply at his sides, weighted by guilt.
"Why?" Liang Xiaoluo asked, her voice breaking.
In the next moment, she swung her head around, her gaze locking onto his. Her voice trembled with anger and pain. "Why did you bring me back? What am I to you? What's the point of me staying by your side?"
Ye Tianlin reached out, cupping her face in his hands. "I'm marrying her, but you're still my woman."
Liang Xiaoluo froze. The tears brimming in her eyes stopped abruptly as shock replaced despair. "What did you just say? Still your woman?"
"Yes, you'll always be my woman," Ye Tianlin declared with conviction.
Her lips curled upward in a bitter smile. A hollow laugh escaped her lips as the absurdity of the situation washed over her. "Do you even realize what that means? You'll be married, and I'll be the mistress, the other woman—the shameless person everyone in the world will scorn."
Ye Tianlin remained silent.
Of course, he knew what it meant. Even so, he couldn't bear the thought of letting her go. He wanted her to stay, no matter the cost.
Her bitter laughter grew louder, piercing the heavy silence between them. The future he envisioned for her was nothing short of humiliating.
"Liang Xiaoluo!" Ye Tianlin tried to speak, but she cut him off.
"Sorry, I can't be your woman." Her voice was resolute, though it trembled slightly. "I can't degrade myself to that extent. I can love you without reservation, but not like this—not as someone hidden in the shadows."
She shoved his hands away and stood up, ready to leave.
Ye Tianlin grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "You're not leaving! I've told you before, without my permission, you're not allowed to leave me."
Liang Xiaoluo erupted in frustration, her voice rising. "Ye Tianlin, why are you so selfish? Why do you have to be so domineering? I don't blame you for marrying someone else, for choosing your family over me, but why do you have to hold onto me like this? Why must you make my life a never-ending cycle of pain?"
For a moment, Ye Tianlin was silent, his face a mask of conflicting emotions. Finally, he said, "I don't care how things turn out. All I want is for you to stay."
Her resistance faltered. Tears blurred her vision, rendering him an indistinct figure. Her voice quivered as she said, "Ye Tianlin, do you even realize what you're doing to me?"
"I love you," he whispered, his tone tinged with desperation.
He cupped her face once more, gently wiping her tears before pressing his lips against hers.
"Does this make you happy?" she murmured, her voice devoid of warmth or emotion. She felt like a lifeless doll, incapable of resistance.
Ye Tianlin stilled, her words hanging heavy in the air. But his hesitation lasted only a moment. "I don't care about happiness. I only care about having you."
Once more, he kissed her, his actions fueled by a twisted combination of love and desperation.
But Liang Xiaoluo felt nothing. Her heart had gone cold the moment he admitted the truth.
Morning came, and Ye Tianlin was gone. Liang Xiaoluo lay awake, staring blankly at the ceiling, her mind numb.
A knock on the door broke the silence. "Xiaoluo, are you awake? Xiaoluo…"
It was Yan Ruoxi's voice, but Liang Xiaoluo didn't respond. Her body felt weighed down by an invisible force, preventing her from moving.
Yan Ruoxi finally pushed the door open, worry etched across her face. Seeing Liang Xiaoluo still lying motionless on the bed, she hurried over. "Xiaoluo, are you okay? Are you sick?"
She pressed a hand to Liang Xiaoluo's forehead, muttering, "You're not running a fever." Her voice became more urgent. "Xiaoluo, please say something."
Yan Ruoxi's concern pierced through Liang Xiaoluo's fragile defenses, and tears began streaming down her face. She couldn't stop them, even if she tried.
Alarmed, Yan Ruoxi knelt by the bed. "What's wrong? Please, tell me what's going on."
Liang Xiaoluo's chest heaved with suppressed sobs. She couldn't bring herself to say it. How could she tell Yan Ruoxi that Ye Tianlin planned to marry Gu Lingzi while keeping her as his secret lover—a woman relegated to the shadows?
"I need some water," Liang Xiaoluo whispered hoarsely.
Yan Ruoxi hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I'll get you some."
As soon as Yan Ruoxi left the room, Liang Xiaoluo sat up. Her gaze swept across the room until it landed on a fruit knife lying on the bedside table. Rising slowly, she walked over and picked it up.
Staring at her reflection in the blade, tears streamed down her face in an unending torrent.
She thought of how her entanglement with Ye Tianlin had started—an accidental night that had tied their fates together. But now, their relationship had become a source of endless pain and mutual destruction.
If she couldn't leave him and he wouldn't let her go, was there any escape from this torment?
There was only one way out.
Gripping the knife tightly, she closed her eyes and pressed it against her palm. With a swift motion, the blade bit into her skin. Pain shot through her hand as crimson blood welled up, staining her vision red.
Downstairs, Yan Ruoxi's instincts nagged at her. Something about Liang Xiaoluo's expression earlier didn't sit right. Abandoning the glass of water, she rushed back upstairs.
The scene that greeted her when she flung the door open made her blood run cold. "Xiaoluo!"
She dashed forward, catching Liang Xiaoluo just as the latter wavered on her feet. Wrestling the knife from her hand, she pressed her onto the bed and frantically hit the call button.
"Why? Why would you do this to yourself?" Yan Ruoxi cried, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and sorrow. "Don't you care about yourself at all? Whatever's wrong, why can't you tell me?"
Yan Ruoxi's frustration masked her own pain. She had longed to live fully, yet fate hadn't granted her much time. Seeing someone throw away their life so carelessly broke her heart.
Tears rolled down Liang Xiaoluo's cheeks as she whispered, "I want to leave. Please, just let me leave…"
Yan Ruoxi clenched her jaw, refusing to break down. "What happened between you and Tianlin? What's wrong?"
Liang Xiaoluo didn't answer directly. Instead, she repeated her plea like a broken record. "I just want to leave. I just want to leave…"
Finally, the dam broke. Between sobs, she told Yan Ruoxi everything.
Yan Ruoxi listened in silence, her heart growing heavier with each word.
She retrieved the first-aid kit brought up by a servant and carefully cleaned Liang Xiaoluo's wound. "Don't do anything reckless again," she said softly but firmly.
"I don't know how to live like this," Liang Xiaoluo murmured.
"You'll get through this. Trust me," Yan Ruoxi assured her, though her own voice wavered with doubt.