Chapter 4: Mirror Hearts and Masked Lies
The grip on my wrist tightened like an iron shackle. His fingers were cold, digging into my skin, and before I could even catch my balance, he yanked me forward so fast the air caught in my throat.
His eyes deep blue, burning like ice set on fire locked on mine with something that wasn't just anger. It was rage, pure, sharp, and unfiltered, the kind that looked like it could slice me open without ever lifting a blade.
"What did you do to her?"
His voice was low but rough, each syllable rumbling like the growl of a storm about to break.
"Answer me!"
The words came again, this time snapping through the air like a whip, behind him, I caught the sound of a muffled sob. The platinum blonde girl, Yue'er was crumbling, her body shaking like a fragile leaf in the wind.
She looked like she was watching her whole world fall apart.
"I'm asking you a question, Yunxia," his voice rose again, his hand still pinning mine like he owned it. "What, Did, You, Do. to Yue'er?"
My lips parted, The truth was tangled in my throat, but I forced it out, quiet and fractured.
"Nothing… I didn't do an—"
I never finished.
His hand shoved me away hard, Like I was garbage tossed aside, My shoulder slammed into the wall, the shock knocking the breath out of me.
"Li Shen!" Yue'er's voice cut through the air, sweet and trembling, carrying that delicate kind of weakness that drew people in like moths to a flame, she rushed toward him, her every step looking hesitant but also graceful.
"Don't blame Sister Yunxia, okay? It was my fault…" She sniffled, her small hands clutching at his sleeve like he was her only anchor. "I… I wore the same dress she was going to wear on her wedding day. She must've gotten upset…"
She sniffled again, wiping away tears with slow, pitiful movements tears that looked too perfect to be real.
I just thought she looked so beautiful in it… so I wanted to try it on too." Her voice cracked right on cue. "I'm sorry… I just missed her. I didn't want her to leave me."
She looked up at him then, hazel eyes shimmering with that fragile, breakable light that made people forget to question anything she said.
Li Shen's jaw tightened as he looked from her trembling figure… to me.
I didn't move, didn't speak, I just stayed where he had thrown me, my eyes locked on them both.
Silent, Watching.
…
Li Shen's POV
I could feel Yue'er trembling beside me, every breath she took came out in broken pieces, every sob muffled against my shoulder. Her warmth pressed against my side, and I felt that familiar surge protectiveness, anger, the need to shield her from anything that could hurt her.
My eyes slid to Yunxia, she was sprawled where she had landed, one hand pressed to the wall for balance, her face was blank, but her eyes…
They burned.
Not with pleading, not with guilt.
With something else something I couldn't read.
"Why is she always like this?" I thought. "So cold… so impossible to understand?"
I remembered the stories about her always proud, always distant, always a little too sure of herself, This wasn't the first time something had happened between her and Yue'er.
And seeing Yue'er cry like this my chest tightened painfully. My mind screamed at me to protect her.
But…
Something didn't feel right.
When Yunxia spoke, her voice had cracked not with weakness, but with restraint, She hadn't begged for me to believe her, She hadn't defended herself like I expected.
And her eyes…
Those weren't the eyes of someone guilty.
Still, I pushed the thought aside. I had seen Yue'er hurt. I had heard her voice breaking. I couldn't doubt her not now.
But as Yue'er clung to my sleeve, her words replayed in my head.
A dress she said Yunxia had hit her over a dress.
Yunxia caring about dresses? That didn't fit.
A slow, cold unease crawled up my spine, but I ignored it.
Now wasn't the time to question Yue'er.
At least not yet.
…
Yunxia's POV (Flashback)
The first thing I heard when I arrived at the venue was the quiet echo of my heels against polished marble.
Everything was perfect exactly how I had imagined it. The flowers were arranged in soft ivory and blush tones, the music was gentle but alive, and guests were filtering in with smiles and bright chatter.
It was supposed to be my day.
Then I saw her mother my aunt, the woman who had raised me after my parents were gone. She rushed toward me, her steps quick, her expression tight with urgency.
"Yunxia," she grabbed my wrist, voice lowered but tense. "Please be patient, Yue'er's still getting dressed. She's been… fragile lately, You know how her depression has been."
Depression.
That word was always Yue'er's shield, wasn't it?
A universal excuse that could explain anything from skipping obligations to taking things that didn't belong to her. People let her get away with it because pity made them blind.
I said nothing, Just nodded, biting down the frustration until it tasted like blood in my mouth.
I waited.
And then she came out.
From my dressing room.
Wearing my wedding dress.
For a heartbeat, I thought maybe it was a joke. Some cruel attempt at humor but there she was twirling in it slowly, the skirt brushing the floor, her smile lit with triumph.
Like she belonged in it.
Like she was the bride.
I didn't rage, Didn't scream.
I only stood there, watching.
The dress sagged on her narrow shoulders, the bodice too loose, the hem dragging, She didn't fill it out, didn't wear it with the weight it deserved. She looked like a child playing dress.up in clothes she didn't understand.
But her eyes those wide, shining eyes.told a different story.
She was showing me she could take this from me, too.
And she thought she had won.
I almost laughed.
Of course.
This wasn't new, she had always wanted what was mine, my toys, my friends, my praise and even my spotlight.
and now, even my wedding dress.
…
As expected, my aunt, no, my so called adoptive mother rushed over the moment she noticed me watching. Her face twisted into concern, but I could see the panic beneath it, not for me, though Never for me, always for her.
"Yunxia, don't overthink this," she said quickly, stepping between us like a human shield. Yue'er was only trying it on nothing more!
Yue'er blinked up at me with those perfectly staged watery eyes. Her lower lip quivered like she was moments from breaking down, Oscar-worthy.
"Sis… I hope you're not angry," she sniffled. I just wanted to see if the dress would suit me too, because you looked so, so beautiful in it.
She dabbed at imaginary tears, her voice trembling like fragile glass. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just really liked the dress. and besides there were two of them, right? We could both wear the same one twinsies!
She smiled through the crocodile tears, trying to pass it off as sweet.
My aunt nodded along, already slipping into the role of the doting, protective mother hen.
Yes, yes! That's a wonderful idea. You should let her have one, Yunxia. After all, she's your sister and you know how Yue'er suffers from depression.
That word again. The invisible chain they used to keep me silent.
"Don't do anything to upset her," she added, her tone sharpening. "She probably just missed you, that's all. She didn't want you to leave her behind. That's why she did this."
Right, because it's always about Yue'er.
I walked up to her slowly, every step deliberate, calm a thousand thoughts spiraled in my head, but I kept my expression serene. Then I smiled sweetly, almost too sweetly.
"You can have the groom too."
Gasps rippled through the room even Yue'er froze, her fake tears hanging mid drip.
Now, you're probably wondering why I said that. It wasn't out of heartbreak there was none left to feel. I had found out days ago that they were cheating behind my back. Yue'er and my fiance and to complete the betrayal, she was already pregnant with his child.
But truthfully? I didn't care. I had never truly loved him, he was just a political pawn, another piece in the family's endless chess game. My emotions for him had been dead from the start.
Turning on my heel, I walked away, leaving stunned whispers in my wake as I headed for the dressing room. Let them talk, I owed none of them anything.
That's when she walked in my supposed mother in law.
A powerful woman. Respected. Feared. Yet she was the only one who had ever shown me genuine care, treated me like a daughter, not as a political asset, but simply for being me.
She stepped into the chaos, taking in the scene with a single glance Yue'er in my dress, guests pretending nothing was wrong and her face darkened.
What is the meaning of this? she snapped at my aunt.
Silence, The room went cold.
Without hesitation, she strode up to Yue'er and—SLAP.
The sound cracked through the venue like thunder.
Her voice was sharp, unyielding. Why are you wearing the wedding dress I personally prepared for Xia Xia?
Yeah, Xia Xia, That was the name she always used for me soft and warm, like a mother should sound.
For a second, I felt something dangerously close to home again.
But that feeling didn't last long.