Lin Rui made his choice, and it was resolute. It had been written in black ink on a golden parchment. The wedding would proceed, and that was that. The story would continue as it was meant to, because if it didn't, if he deviated too far, then everything risked unraveling.
He stood in his chamber, fastening the last tie of the Khan's robes, his reflection staring back at him with an expression that felt increasingly foreign. This was the face of necessity and control. Of someone who understood sacrifice.
This is the only way, he told himself again.
He put on his mask and headed toward the door when movement in the corridor caught his attention.
Lian Zhi.
She was walking quickly, her gaze fixed ahead as though she were chasing a thought that refused to slow down. Lin Rui's heart jolted violently in his chest.
Not now.
He started to regret ever giving her the jade token.
His instinct took over. He reached up and yanked the Khan's outer robe loose, discarding it hastily, replacing it with the plain layers of Ruhan's attire. His heart was pounding like a drum with every movement.
By the time the door opened, Ruhan stood there, not the Khan.
She spotted him instantly.
Her relief was immediate, written openly across her face. And then… determination.
Before he could speak, she grabbed his wrist.
"Come with me," she said urgently.
"Princess—" he began, but she was already pulling him down a narrow side passage, one rarely used, shielded by tall stone walls and overgrown wild vines. The air there was cooler, quieter, untouched by palace eyes.
She stopped only when they were fully hidden.
Lin Rui stared at her, heart pounding. "What is this?" he asked. "You shouldn't be seen with me like this."
"That's exactly why we need to talk," Lian Zhi replied.
She didn't waste time. There was no hesitation, no pause.
"We can't stay here," she said. "Not like this. Pretending nothing happened. Pretending we didn't say what we said."
Lin Rui felt the ground shift beneath him.
"I know I said just knowing how you feel is enough," she admitted, "But it's not. Not for me."
"Lian Zhi—"
"You're stepping back," she continued, sensing his hesitation again. "You're pulling away again. I can feel it. And I understand why, I do. But understanding doesn't mean accepting it."
He inhaled slowly, trying to anchor himself. "This palace is dangerous," he said carefully. "You've seen that now. The closer we are, the more risk—"
"So we leave," she said immediately.
He blinked. "What?"
"We leave," she repeated, eyes burning with conviction. "Together."
The word struck him like a thunderbolt.
"No," he said without thinking. "That's impossible."
"Why?" she demanded. "Because the palace says so? Because fate says so?"
"Because this isn't a game," he snapped, then softened at the look on her face. "Because we wouldn't survive."
She stepped closer. "We won't survive here."
Her words landed cleanly, brutally true.
"You expect me to stay," she continued, voice trembling now, "to smile politely, to stay hidden in my chamber while I tremble every night? Watch you come and go, but unable to touch you, and call that love? Why would I do that?"
He opened his mouth, but she didn't let him interrupt.
"What is so great about being a eunuch, Ruhan?" she asked sharply. "About being invisible? Helpless? About bowing your head to people who will never even know your name?"
His jaw tightened.
"You talk about survival," she pressed on. "But what kind of life is this? Where loving someone means pretending they don't exist?"
Her hand clenched into his sleeve. "Why won't you fight for yourself? For us?"
The question sliced deeper than she could possibly know.
Because if I fight, the story breaks.
Because if the story breaks, I might never leave.
But he couldn't say any of that.
Instead, he said, "Running won't change anything."
"Yes, it will," she said fiercely. "We won't be here. We won't be pieces on their board."
"Then run to where? Kabil and his men will look in every corner of Tughril. We won't be able to escape."
She took a breath, then lowered her voice. "We go to Hua."
His heart skipped.
"Hua?" he repeated. "If we go to Hua, then the Tughril will see it as a breach of treaty. They will declare war."
"Not the palace. They won't even know we escaped." She answered back. "There are villages far from the capital," she said quickly. "Small ones. No palace. No court. No one would recognize us. You'd just be… you."
The image rose in his mind. A life or survival, of running away.
It terrified him.
"But if we run away, Tughril would still demand Hua to answer. This is still a risk of war," he reasoned.
She smiled then. A small, sharp, clever smile.
"We fake our deaths," she said with a dangerously calm tone.
His stomach dropped.
"You remember," she continued, eyes bright, "the poison I used back in Hua? The one I used to escape the wedding?"
Of course, he remembered. The plan he had ruined.
He let out a short, incredulous breath. "That was reckless."
"It was brilliant," she countered immediately. "You have to admit yourself."
"It was foolish, but it worked, for a moment."
"Yes," she said, meeting his gaze. "This time, it will be permanent."
Silence stretched between them. She was waiting for his response.
His mind was screaming. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't the path. This was a deviation. A massive, catastrophic deviation.
She took his hand. Not wanting to wait for his answer any longer. "We can't just stay here pretending our love never happened," she said quietly. "That will destroy us both."
He closed his eyes.
This was the cruelest twist of all.
Because for the first time since arriving in this world, someone wasn't asking him to sacrifice for the story.
She was asking him to choose.
And Lin Rui didn't know how to tell her that the choice she was offering was impossible for him to make.