After speaking with Alan, Xiamen looked at the door and saw all the servants waiting for Hong Yi. The last place she expected to return to was his house. Five years of silence should have been enough to erase every trace of him from her life, but fate had other plans. She stood at the door with her son's small hand hidden tightly in hers, her heart pounding like she was walking back into a dream she had forced herself to wake from.
the first person she saw wasn't other than
his cousin emma . The woman everyone whispered about, the one the world claimed was the Hong yi future fiancée. She stood in the hallway wearing a graceful smile that never quite reached her eyes. The moment she recognized the Xiamen, her expression flickered, turning sharp for just a heartbeat before smoothing back into politeness.
"Oh," the cousin said, her voice light. "You're… back."
Back. As if she were some unwelcome memory returning to the wrong place.
Xiamen lowered her gaze, adjusting the hood of her son's jacket so his face stayed hidden. "I'm only here for a short time," she replied quietly. "Just until I settle some things."
Emma stepped closer, heels clicking like a warning. "Hong yi didn't mention you were coming. You know… people already misunderstand. They think we're engaged." She touched her necklace casually. "I don't mind the rumors. They're convenient."
Xiamen understood the meaning beneath the words. She always had. The cousin didn't love the Hong yi —she loved what he owned, what he represented, what she hoped to take from him. The company transfer, the shares, the influence… she wanted it all. Living in his house was only a step in her plan.
But Hong yi know her plan pretend don't care: the child standing behind Xiamen was the Hong yi son.
Before Xiamen could answer, footsteps echoed from behind Her breath caught involuntarily. yet the moment When he started going to inside the house, Cousin caught his hand. He paused looking behind when he saw her. Not shocked. Not angry. Just still, as if every part of him had frozen.he want to see her reaction
She forced herself to meet his gaze. She had practiced this moment in her mind a thousand times, telling herself she owed him nothing. When Emma asked why she came
Hong Yi said she stay with us for few months you don't need to care
Emma smile cracked.
Xiamen lowered her eyes, feeling her son press against her leg, seeking comfort. She gently guided him behind her, making sure cousin didn't see his face. She couldn't let the truth slip out—not now, not when she barely had control of her own emotions.
As Hong yi turned away, his shoulders stiff, she realized something painful.
Even after five years, even after divorce, even after everything…
one glance from him still hurt more than she expected.
And she wasn't sure how long she could hide both her child—
and her heart—from him