What the hell was going on?
Dialu snatched the document from the elderly man's hand, her fingers trembling as her eyes scanned over the lines like they might turn into something else if she blinked.
"We would have broken off the marriage on the grounds that it hadn't been consummated," he said calmly, like he was reading her doom out of a weather report, "but since it has been, we have to follow the original contract which states they have to live together for a year before any legal action can be taken."
Dialu blinked. A year?! A full damn year?
Was this karma? Was this some twisted form of punishment for letting her hormones win last night?
Seriously, Grandpa? You tied me to a condescending ego balloon with hair gel and no soul for an entire year?
"This doesn't make sense," Queen Octavia muttered, scanning her copy of the document like she could will the clause to disappear.
"Does this mean this woman gets to be attached to my brother like a leach for a year" the red head almost screamed in outrage. Jun feng was in deep shit being married to a whore like her.
"there must surely be something that can be done about this" the queen said
"That's what was agreed upon," the elderly man said again with a shrug, not a care in the world. Who was this guy anyway? Legal grim reaper? No wonder her grandfather had chosen him?
"Mr. Wang Liu, can't we act like we didn't know that happened and go ahead like we had planned?" the Queen said, practically batting her lashes like this was a dinner party negotiation. "Rest assured, you'll be rewarded handsomely."
Dialu side-eyed the Queen. Bribery? Wow. So much class in one room, I might choke. But if the bribery could work, she wasn't against it at all
But Mr. Wang only smiled politely, bowed, and turned to leave. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. The terms were signed long ago… when everyone involved barely knew what they were doing."
Tell me about it.
Dialu didn't wait another second. As soon as the door creaked open, she followed him out like her dress was on fire. Her heels clicked with purpose. Escape. Now.
No one stopped her. Not one voice called her back. Thank the ancestors. She was seconds from combusting.
Mr. Lee's car was still idling at the curb like a loyal steed from a better, simpler life. God bless this man.
Usually, he left after dropping her off and returned only when she called. Why was he still here? Divine timing? Telepathic emergency signal?
Whatever it was, she was just grateful he was still there
As soon as her butt hit the seat and the door shut, she finally exhaled. The moment the car pulled away, her face crumpled.
She let it all out.
Finally.
For the first time in what felt like forever, she cried without hiding it behind locked doors or fake smiles. One night. Just one reckless impulsive night and now she was stuck with Jun feng the Jerk for a year. She gave up something precious and now what? Misery on a contract.
A white handkerchief appeared in front of her.
She blinked at it, sniffled, and took it. "Thank you, Mr. Lee," she said, her voice thick with embarrassment.
The old man nodded, eyes soft in the rearview mirror. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She gave a tiny smile. "Not really."
"Where to then?"
"Drop me at the cemetery."
******
The only person she wanted to talk to now couldn't even answer. But still she needed to.
After her father died in that stupid accident, her grandfather became her everything. Her rock. Her compass. Her buffer against the world. That's why she had agreed to get married at seventeen because he had demanded it of her.
He wouldn't have thrown me to the wolves… would he?
"I know you loved me too much to let me get hurt" she cried to his tomb bed laying her head on the hard stone
******
Food was the only thing on her mind as she walked into her apartment, dropped her bag, and bee-lined to the kitchen like it owed her money.
Her stomach growled in betrayal. Right, I forgot to eat. She'd been too busy surviving one family ambush after another to care about survival basics like breakfast.
She grabbed ingredients on autopilot.
Whatever the Jun family decided didn't matter anymore. Jun feng could sulk himself into a coma for all she cared. If she was going to survive this year, it would be on her terms.
Not Grandpa's. Not Jun Feng's. Not even the Queen's twisted fantasy of emotional manipulation in a red lipstick disguise.
Talking to her grandfather helped. A bit.
He'd been buried next to her father, and that was probably the only reason she ever visited her dad's tomb. They hadn't been close. He was too busy running off with his mistress and had never spent time with her.
What a legacy.
She chopped chicken like it was therapy.
Living with maids hadn't helped her domestic skills, but after moving out at nineteen, she'd forced herself to learn. Enrolled in cooking classes. Swore never to live on takeout and microwave regrets. Now? Her food? Worth sobbing over. Orgasm-on-a-plate levels.
As she tossed the salad, the sound of her apartment passcode being entered dragged her out of her thoughts.
She turned, serving spoon in hand, already guessing who it was.
"I knew I smelled something delicious," Leisha said, walking in like she owned the place and heading straight for the bowl like a food thief.
"Get a plate," Dialu said, smacking her hand mid-scoop. The spoon clattered dramatically to the floor.
Leisha grumbled but obeyed, grabbing a plate and serving herself.
"So… do we have to go man hunting now, or what?" she asked with a wink. "There's this guy I saw he seemed like a decent rebound—"
"Maybe you'll have to wait till next year," Dialu said calmly, mouth full of rice, pretending like she hadn't just dropped a bomb.
Leisha froze. "Wait, what?"
She sounded like someone just told her Santa Claus was a fraud and all the gifts were from her dad with back pain.
"Don't tell me you're heartbroken and need to heal and all that crap, because I'm not buying it."
Dialu said nothing. Just kept chewing like it was the secret to peace.
But Leisha was staring. Still staring.
She peeked at her through the corner of her eye. Maybe she'd get distracted?
Nope. Eyes. Still. There.
She tried to fill her mouth again, but Leisha was faster and stopped the spoon midair.
"It won't work. Tell me."
Dialu sighed and dropped the spoon. It hit the table with a loud, dramatic clank. "We didn't divorce. We have to live together for a year."
"Wait. WHAT?!" Leisha screamed like she'd just stepped on a Lego barefoot. The walls shook.
Dialu winced. "Okay okay, bring the volume down. I still have eardrums and stop saying wait what."
But Leisha was staring like she'd just announced she was pregnant with the devil's triplets.