Gabriel pressed his lips together tightly, fighting his own tears as he cradled her shaking form.
Outside, the SUV sped down the quiet private road away from the Lu estate, carrying her further and further away from the sons she would never again be allowed to reach.
In that moment, as the afternoon sun flickered past the tinted windows, Song Yaya felt the finality settle into her chest like a cold, jagged stone.
She had lost them forever.
And no amount of tears could wash away that truth.
— — — — — — —
Inside the master suite, the afternoon light filtered gently through sheer cream curtains, casting a warm golden hue over the spacious room.
Wan Ruyi lay nestled against Lu Zhi Hao's chest on the wide daybed by the window. Her head rested lightly over his heartbeat, the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing calming her racing thoughts.
She had been quiet ever since Song Yaya's cries faded from the courtyard below. Though her face remained serene, her delicate brows were faintly furrowed in thought.
Lu Zhi Hao's long fingers combed through her silky hair slowly, untangling stray strands with quiet care. His other arm was wrapped around her waist, anchoring her close to him.
"Don't think too much," he murmured, his deep voice low and warm against the top of her head, "It's not your burden to carry."
Ruyi closed her eyes, breathing in his clean, masculine scent mixed with subtle cedar and faint sandalwood from his cologne. Her lips curved faintly into a tired smile.
"I know…" she whispered softly, her voice tinged with a delicate weariness, "But seeing a mother break down like that… it hurts, even if she had made terrible choices back then."
"She made her choices," Zhi Hao replied quietly, his thumb brushing across her temple. "And now… she would have to live with the consequences."
Ruyi was silent for a moment, listening to his heartbeat echo beneath her ear. Finally, she tilted her face up slightly to look at him.
"And you…" she asked softly, her dark eyes shimmering with tenderness, "Does it hurt you… Seeing your children reject their birth mother like that?"
His obsidian gaze met hers, calm and steady, "They have every right to reject her," he said evenly. "She didn't stand by them when they needed her. It was us… It was you… who nurtured them into men."
His hand lifted to trace the delicate slope of her cheek, his touch feather-light.
"You gave them love. They recognise you as their mother, and that's all that matters to me. She had abused and traumatized them, I don't even think they want to see her, if possible, they would wish to strangle her to death but she is still their biological mother!"
Ruyi felt her chest tighten with a warm ache. Tears pricked faintly behind her lashes, but she blinked them away, smiling faintly.
"I didn't do anything special," she whispered feeling warm and appreciated.
"You became their home," he corrected softly, pressing his forehead against hers. "That's more than special… It's irreplaceable."
His lips brushed against hers in a slow, lingering kiss. She sighed quietly, her fingers curling lightly into his shirt as she kissed him back with gentle yearning.
When they parted, she rested her head against his chest again, feeling his warmth seeping into her bones, calming the unease in her heart.
"Sleep a little more," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, "I will be right here."
"Mhm…" she breathed sleepily, her lashes fluttering shut as her breathing deepened.
Outside, the summer breeze rustled through the trees in the courtyard. Inside, wrapped in his arms, Ruyi finally allowed her tense body to relax fully, drifting into light sleep with his protective embrace anchoring her safely to the present.