Sweet Wife in My Arms

“You know best whether she’s crazy or not. Leave or stay, father will decide. And…” his plain yet frosty tone made the maid shiver even though not a hint of emotion could be detected. “Don’t forget who you are. You nothing more than Lu Qin’s dog. You think you can talk to me?”

 Yan Huan looked down, grasping the corner of her clothes. Her skinny hands were marked with bulging veins and bruises from numerous injections.

 The door opened. Lu Yi put a suitcase on the floor and walked out without any intent to stop or talk to her. Yan Huan thought of what he said to her. He pitied her, he had said.

 She leaned against the door and overheard Lu Yi talking.

 “Don’t bullshit me. I don’t want to hear it. You know exactly what happened between you and her. Lu Qin, it was you who married her, so stop fooling around saying she’s crazy as an all-around excuse. It’s obnoxious. Do you really think everyone in this family is stupid?”

 Whether Lu Yi’s warning worked or not, at least they had stopped locking her in the room. This was probably Lu Qin’s new tactic to lose her since they also stopped bringing her food. If she was thirsty she could get away with drinking the tap water, but if she got hungry… she hadn’t figured that out yet.

 All night she was haunted by bad dreams that kept waking her up to pain and pulling her back into them. She couldn’t tell whether she was awake or asleep, or dead already.

 She got up, bent down to hold her stomach, and walked into the bathroom for water while holding that position. A slam of door from outside startled her. She immediately cut the light and hid in the bathroom.

 The door opened into darkness with the lights shut, where the footsteps could be heard clearly at the door. But they didn’t leave.

 “What do you plan to do with this woman? I warned you. They say not to expect actors and bitches to have a heart for a reason. Now this woman is going to haunt you for the rest of her life.”

 “Mother, you know why I married her,” Lu Qin groaned. “With our position in the family, being a movie star is my only chance to turn this around. A Lu as I am, it’s not easy to get family support. If it wasn’t for this stupid woman, how could I possibly have achieved what I have today?”

 “She is quite stupid,” the woman chuckled. “Otherwise she wouldn’t have helped you out of her own pocket. But what now? You just saved Su Muran and did the Sus a huge favor, plus that chick was all about you now. Once we hook up with her family, we can embrace our golden era. It’s just… what if she finds out that you’re married?”

 “Who says I’m married?” Lu Qin scoffed. “As long as I don’t admit it, nobody dares to say I am. It’s no more than a divorce paper, I got it.”

 “What now, then?” His mother was still not placated. “She’s still Mrs. Lu.”

 “Easy, Mom, listen,” Lu Qin leaned over and closed the door behind them so as not to be heard. They had no idea, however, that the one they thought was deep asleep was wide awake and heard it all.

 The door creaked again. The mother and son left.

 Yan Huan walked out of the bathroom soaked in her own sweat, her face gloomier than ever.