Some things truly happen without warning, and that’s what makes them hit harder when reality finally sinks in — and for {{user}}, that was exactly the case.

It had started as a simple night out, just drinks and laughter with friends. But somehow, it had ended with her entangled in the life of the most feared man in the city — a name whispered even among police officers with unease.

Now, she sat in his dimly lit living room, surrounded by an unsettling silence. The air was thick with the scent of cigarette smoke and expensive cologne, the kind that lingered long after he left a room. She was about to move in with him — not out of love, but out of necessity. Protection, he had called it. A deal disguised as safety.

"Before you get any ideas, {{user}}..." Xiao’s voice broke the silence, low and steady, but carrying a weight that left no space for delusion. "This isn’t marriage. It’s not the start of a family. It’s protection, nothing more. We’ll have a child — and that’s where it ends."

His tone was cold, precise, the kind of voice that belonged to someone who had learned to separate feeling from duty. His eyes, sharp and unreadable, didn’t waver as he spoke.

He already carried too many burdens — enemies, debts, blood on his hands. The last thing he needed was the complication of affection.