"Aunt Mei…" her voice cracked, thick with grief and self-loathing, "Please… please wake up… don't leave me too… please… I can't… I can't do this alone…"
She bit down on her lower lip so hard she tasted blood, trying to muffle the sobs threatening to break through her chest.
Behind her, quiet footsteps approached.
"She can't hear you," Bai Zhi's gentle, pitying voice floated into the silent room like poison, "She's in a coma. Even if she wakes up, she might be brain-damaged. But don't worry… she's old… at least she lived a full life, unlike some who waste it chasing love that was never theirs."
Yueyao's shoulders immediately stiffened knowing what she was insinuating.
She turned her head slowly, her red-rimmed eyes locking onto Bai Zhi's delicate face.
Today, she wore a pale peach chiffon dress, her hair pinned up in a graceful bun, her makeup flawless. She looked every inch the dignified madam of the Shen family.
