The car ride home was silent.
Tang Yueru sat as far from Lu Shenyan as the backseat would allow, her hands folded tightly in her lap. The cool night air still lingered on her skin, but it was the weight of his words that chilled her more.
> "You can fight all you want, Tang Yueru. But I don't lose."
She hated how calmly he said it. Like her resistance was a game he already planned to win.
---
Back at the mansion, she kicked off her heels and climbed the stairs first, needing distance. But halfway to her room, she paused. He was behind her.
"Do you follow me everywhere now?" she asked without turning.
Lu Shenyan's voice was quiet, unreadable. "This is my house. And you are my wife."
She turned, sharp. "Only on paper. You keep forgetting that."
His gaze flickered with something—annoyance? Amusement?
He stepped closer. "No, Tang Yueru. You keep pretending that's all it is."
She held her ground as he closed the distance between them. "What do you want from me, Lu Shenyan? To act like a good little wife for your image? To smile at parties? To pretend I don't see what kind of man you are?"
His jaw tightened slightly.
"What kind of man am I, then?"
"A man who buys everything, even marriage."
There it was. The slap of truth between them.
He didn't flinch. Instead, he leaned in, voice like a blade wrapped in silk.
"You're right. I bought this marriage. But I never promised it would be meaningless."
---
The silence stretched.
Then, without asking, he reached out and touched her cheek. His thumb brushed the corner of her lip, wiping away a smudge of lipstick she hadn't noticed.
It wasn't a kiss.
It wasn't affection.
It was control—carefully disguised as tenderness.
Her breath caught, but she didn't look away.
"Good night," he said softly, stepping back. "Don't forget we have dinner with the board tomorrow."
She watched him disappear down the hall, heart pounding against her ribs like it was trying to escape.
---
Later, she lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Why did that simple touch feel more intimate than anything her ex ever gave her?
Why did Lu Shenyan's voice linger in her mind, even when he was gone?
> "I never promised it would be meaningless."
It was supposed to be a contract. Just one year.
No love.
No emotion.
No future.
So why did it suddenly feel like something far more dangerous was starting?
---