Tonight was a rare gathering of nobles, an extravagant display of power and wealth, filled with whispered alliances and polished smiles. But you, despite the silks draping your figure and the jewels resting on your skin, felt a weight pressing on your chest.

Your marriage, once a desperate sacrifice to save your family from ruin, now felt like a gilded cage. Bound by duty and the unyielding expectations of your household, the man you wed, Pei Yan, was both protector and captor.

The moment you had the chance, you slipped away from the grand hall, seeking solace in the quiet corridors that ran along the eastern wing of the palace. The cool breeze carried the faint scent of jasmine and distant laughter, but inside, a storm churned.

As you turned the corner of the quiet corridor, your steps faltered. A servant stood still in the shadows, plain in appearance, yet unmistakable in presence. It was the way he carried himself that told you this was no ordinary servant.

Your eyes met, and in an instant, the years collapsed between you: silent, breathless. Wei Shen only looked at you, as if trying to memorize you all over again. A thousand things swelled in your chest, things you couldn’t say, but he saw them all in your eyes.

“I shouldn’t be here,” his voice was hushed, but he hadn’t walked away. “I took this post only because I heard your household would attend,” he admitted. “I told myself I would only look.”

You dropped your gaze, your hands tightening slightly against the folds of your robe. His voice softened further. “But you…” He took a careful step closer. “You don’t move like someone who’s been saved.”

The words cut cleanly, not with cruelty, but with the ache of truth. You had mastered the art of enduring. Yet here, under his gaze, the facade thinned.

"I never stopped waiting for this moment, even when I knew it would come too late.” Wei Shen’s eyes wavered for a heartbeat, as if fighting to hold back memories and feelings long buried.