“You said that if I let you down, you would never forgive me,” He repeated.

Feng Jiuxiao and Ling’er recalled the events that transpired, each remembering events from their perspective. Ling’er remembered how she sacrificed everything for a man she had known not long. She did not regret her choice. What she did regret was putting her faith in the wrong person.

When she found out the man she adored liked her in return, she was so happy that she eloped with Feng Jiuxiao.

Ling’er abandoned everything: her status, her family, her home, her life itself, all to follow Feng Jiuxiao, never mind the consequences.

When she arrived in his country, she found out about his identity.

She learned that Feng Jiuxiao’s father had already arranged a fiancée for him, but he never said anything to her.

Even the day before the wedding, she had heard it from someone else and not from the man who was supposed to be her knight in shining armour.

Thinking about how she had been so reckless, how he was marrying another woman, it felt like he was making fun of her foolishness.

“When I left, why did you look for me? Why didn’t you ask me if I was willing to remain by your side? Was I not worthy of that little bit of respect or consideration?”

Feng Jiuxiao looked up at Ling’er and saw that her eyes were red and filled with tears, but she was trying very hard not to cry; the sight caused him endless heartache.

“I just wanted to be with you.”

He had restrained himself before and tried not to look for Ling’er but failed. Quite miserably at that.

Watching Xiao Bao go from kindergarten to primary school and seeing Ling’er with another man was too much for him to bear.

“If you wanted to be with me, why would you marry another woman? You made me the third wheel in your marriage, and you still won’t own up to it. Just because you’re the country’s president doesn’t mean you have the right to trample on my feelings!” Ling’er bared her teeth in a snarl.

She had bottled up her feelings for so long that they were flooding out all at once now that she remembered the root cause of her suffering.

“Father arranged my marriage to Situ Qianhui. We were engaged before I met you, but I never thought of her as a partner in marriage; I always saw her as my little sister, nothing more. If not for that…” Feng Jiuxiao explained.

Ling’er interrupted him angrily, “Did you tell me? No! From the beginning to the end, you never mentioned that you had a fiancée. You even kept your marriage a secret from me. I had to learn of your marriage from gossiping women crowding Feng Yi’s streets! You brought me back, not as your wife but as your mistress!”

She laughed self-deprecatingly: “You don’t understand me. You never understood me. I’m not some cheap woman to whore myself out to a married man.”

Hearing Ling’er’s self-deprecatory laughter, Feng Jiuxiao felt like a needle had pricked his heart. He flung his arms around Ling’er and pulled her into a hug. With how thin she was, Feng Jiuxiao thought he could strangle her if he were not careful.

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to misunderstand. I broke off the engagement as soon as I brought you home with me. I wanted you, and only you, no one else.”

He and Situ Qianhui were supposed to marry a year after he succeeded as the President of Feng Yi. Feng Jiuxiao’s original plan was to break off their engagement after becoming president.

However, he did not expect his father to move up the date of their marriage, going so far as to leverage Ling’er’s life.

He would never gamble with Ling’er’s life at stake.

Ling’er did not struggle, remaining limp in Feng Jiuxiao’s tight embrace. “I placed all my bets on you and lost. I couldn’t return home. After eloping without a word to my father, how could I? I could not face him even if I tried. What was I supposed to say when he asked how I’d been or how you treated me? Was I supposed to lie to him after everything I put him through?”

“Hah! I guess I should be thanking you. You left me a daughter if nothing else. At least she grew up to be a sensible and obedient girl.”

How could Feng Jiuxiao not know what it would mean for Ling’er to pack up and leave? He knew the stigma it would leave on her like a damning badge of honour. For this reason, he could not be too flashy when searching for her or risk his father discovering his plans. However, that did not stop his old man from uncovering his tracks.

At first, he did not know how his father knew.

Now everything was clear. It was Situ Qianhui who tattled and his father.

That was why the wedding was brought forward.

His father would use the excuse of Situ Qianhui’s cooperation to seal the deal and officiate the marriage, thereby killing two birds with one stone.

Ling’er’s knowledge of the wedding being brought forward was probably part of his scheme to drive a wedge between them.

Had it not been for Jin Cheng, who discovered Ling’er was missing, everything would have gone according to Situ Qianhui’s plans.

“Ling’er, please, believe me, I never intended to marry anyone else. My marriage to Situ Qianhui was a farce concocted to draw my father’s attention away from you.”

“So it was all for show?” Ling’er laughed lightly. “Do you know how devastated I was when I learned you were marrying someone else? Watching my husband-to-be marry another woman and treating me like some extra concubine… Do you know what that feels like?”

“Ling’er, I have never thought of you as such,” Feng Jiuxiao interjected quietly.

“Do you know how I left the President’s manor or fled from Feng Yi? Do you know…”

Ling’er felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of the situation at that time. A group of men had almost raped her. If she had not left Miao Xin with Gu Worms to protect herself, the world would have lost a Long Ziling.

“Ling’er, I thought I had protected you well, but I never thought that Situ Qianhui, whom I regard as my younger sister, would join forces with my father. I would have risked my life rather than seek Situ Qianhui’s aid if I had known of her scheme.”

Feng Jiuxiao regretted trusting Situ Qianhui the most. That was why he had let them succeed.

Xiao Jiu woke up early and ran over on his two short legs.

“Grandma, I’m here to eat breakfast with you.”

His voice sounded down the corridor before he even arrived.

Ling’er heard Xiao Jiu’s cheerful voice and subconsciously pushed Feng Jiuxiao away, wiping the tears pooling in her eyes.

Feng Jiuxiao caught on to Ling’er’s intentions and carried her back. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her.

Ling’er could not be bothered with anything else. She accepted the handkerchief and wiped the tears threatening to spill over.

Xiao Jiu ran into the room. The first thing he saw was the food on the table. Seeing that the food had not been touched, he knew that his grandmother had not eaten.

He swept his gaze around the room and saw Grandpa and Grandma on the balcony, so he jogged over.

“Grandpa, Grandma, what are you doing?”

Xiao Jiu peered over the deckchair to see what his grandparents were doing.

Ling’er did not know if Xiao Jiu would notice anything wrong with her appearance, but she hoped not. She did not want him to fret. Seeing Xiao Jiu’s curious expression, she smiled and said, “Grandma did not sleep well last night. She was feeling a little sleepy.”

“Grandma should rest after breakfast. Mommy says pregnant women tend to feel sleepy. Grandma, let’s have breakfast together!”

Xiao Jiu reached out to hold his grandmother’s hand as he spoke.

Ling’er could not bear to reject Xiao Jiu, so she hastily freed herself from Feng Jiuxiao’s embrace, following him to the table for breakfast.

The breakfast Feng Jiuxiao made had not gone cold yet.

Xiao Jiu had never treated himself as an outsider when he came here. He picked up his chopsticks and swiped a piece of crispy scallion pastry, deftly depositing it in his mouth. “Grandma, it’s delicious! You have to eat more so that your baby will grow up healthy and strong.”

Ling’er originally had no appetite. Hearing Xiao Jiu’s reminder, how could she refuse? She could only pick up her chopsticks and follow Xiao Jiu’s example.