If only she understood... if only she knew that as long as she asked him properly, he would never truly be able to refuse her.
His heart softened despite himself. His clenched fists slowly loosened. He wanted to reach out, to pull her up, to tell her that she didn't need to kneel.
But then the memories returned. The empty room. The tiny crying child. The agonizing days and nights he had spent alone with Duo Duo. The helplessness. The anger. The loneliness. And the woman before him who had once walked away.
His expression hardened again into stone. "Get up."
She didn't move. "Mochen..."
"Don't show me this pitiful face," his voice cut sharply. "Do you think I will forget everything simply because you kneel before me?"
Her lashes trembled.
Shen Mochen looked down at her. "Is this another one of your schemes?"
The woman suddenly raised her head, her eyes flashing. "You really think everything I do is a scheme?"
Shen Mochen's jaw tightened.
