His jaw tightened, but his tone remained calm, too calm. "You mistake necessity for cruelty. I am the only anchor she has left. If I let go, if I send her where you suggest…" His eyes flicked briefly toward Yueyao, still seated on the sofa, humming softly to Yueqin as if in her own world. "She would drown in the weight of what she cannot face."
Fang Lin's breath caught. "Or perhaps," she whispered fiercely, "you are too afraid that if she remembers the truth, she won't choose you."
That pierced him. The faintest flicker cracked his mask, a fleeting storm in his gaze before it smoothed again.
"Be careful, Lin Lin," he said at last, his tone quiet but razor-sharp. "There are truths more dangerous than lies. And if you insist on shaking her world… the pieces may cut you before they cut me."
The air between them throbbed with an unspoken threat, and Fang Lin felt her blood run cold. Yet before she could reply, Yueyao's voice floated across the room, soft and curious.
