Xia stood in the sterile white hallway, the scent of antiseptic doing little to mask the overwhelming odor of death. Her heart hammered against her ribs, each beat a painful reminder of the life that had been, and the life she now carried within her. She was a Han. She was also carrying Lu Zhenting's children. She was bound to two worlds, neither of which seemed to want her. What use was power, what use was a family, when the man she loved looked at her with sadness in his eyes?
With trembling hands, Xia pulled out her phone, her vision blurring with tears. She needed to hear his voice, to confirm that the love she thought she saw in his gaze wasn't just a cruel figment of her imagination. She scrolled through her contacts, her finger hovering over Zhenting's private line. It was a forbidden number, one she had only dared to use in emergencies, but tonight felt like the end of the world. She pressed call, the phone trembling against her ear as it rang.
On the other end of the line, chaos reigned. Zhenting lay sprawled on the floor of the private suite, his body fighting the insidious effects of Belle's sedative. His mind screamed for clarity, for control, but the drug was winning. He could hear Belle's voice, a sickeningly sweet melody of triumph, as she moved around the room. He tried to focus, to understand what she was saying, but his thoughts were clouded, his body heavy and unresponsive.
Belle snatched Zhenting's phone as it rang, a cruel smile twisting her lips. It was Xia, her pathetic little stepsister, no doubt calling to beg for forgiveness, to plead for a chance. Well, she would get her answer. "Hello?" Belle purred into the phone, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
Xia's breath hitched as Belle's voice filled her ear. "Belle? What are you doing with his phone?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. The scent of jasmine seemed to fade, replaced by the cloying sweetness of Belle's perfume, a suffocating reminder of the chasm that separated her from Zhenting.