The golden gates of the Lu estate loomed ahead, shining brilliantly under the unforgiving afternoon sun, as if mocking her very existence.
Selina Jiang stood motionless at the entrance, the cold wind whipping her long silk dress against her trembling legs. In her delicate hands, a crumpled invitation trembled—its edges bent, her fingerprints pressed deep into the fine embossed lettering.Her lips parted slightly, a faint tremor running through them as she struggled to swallow the bitter lump rising in her throat. Her knuckles turned bone-white as she clutched the invitation tighter, her heart pounding against her ribs like a wild, caged animal desperate for release.
She had told herself she wouldn't come.
And yet, here she was.
Standing outside the very empire she had once called her home.What a sick joke, she thought bitterly. I spent years building this legacy alongside him… and now, I'm nothing more than an uninvited ghost haunting the doorsteps of my own memories.
Every step she took toward the towering entrance felt heavier than the last. Each memory she had tried to bury clawed its way back to the surface—Damian's rare, faint smiles during their quiet dinners, the warm brush of his fingers against hers when no one was looking… the promises he whispered in the dark.
"I'll protect you, Selina. Forever."
Forever?
That word tasted like poison now.
A loud cheer erupted from inside the grand ballroom, pulling her painfully back to reality.
Through the massive glass windows, she saw it—Damian Lu's engagement party.
To someone else.
A woman stood at his side—young, flawless, wearing the very necklace Damian had once gifted Selina on their wedding anniversary. The sight of it burned her vision, a cruel reminder of everything she had lost.Her heart felt like a fragile crystal wine glass placed at the edge of a trembling table—one wrong movement, and it would shatter beyond repair.
She forced herself to turn, her heels scraping against the stone steps as she made to leave.
But before she could take another step—
A voice.
Low. Icy. Unmistakable.
"Running away again, Selina?"
Her entire body froze.
That voice hadn't haunted her dreams for nothing.
She turned slowly, her eyes meeting the one person she had prayed never to face again.
Damian Lu.
He stood there, impeccably dressed in a custom black suit, a faint smirk playing on his lips, yet his eyes…
His eyes held storms.Selina's breath caught in her throat. Her fingers curled instinctively, nails digging into her palms hard enough to draw blood. She didn't dare blink, afraid that if she did, this moment—this unbearable confrontation—might break her completely.Why does he still have this power over me? Why does it still hurt like this?
Damian took a step closer, his polished shoes clicking ominously against the marble floors.
"I didn't expect to see you here. Or did you miss the part where your presence isn't exactly… welcomed?"
Selina forced herself to stand tall, lifting her chin despite the tremble in her knees.
"I didn't come here to see you," she snapped back, though her voice cracked at the edges.
Damian let out a low, humorless laugh, his eyes scanning her from head to toe.
"Still a terrible liar, Selina."
For a brief second, something flickered across his face—regret? Pain?
But it was gone just as quickly, replaced by that same impenetrable coldness.
"Run along," he murmured, turning his back to her. "This celebration doesn't have a place for ghosts."It felt as though a knife had been plunged into her chest, twisted slowly, mercilessly.
The world blurred again, but this time she refused to cry.
She turned sharply, her heels clicking defiantly against the stone as she walked away from the only man she had ever loved—and the empire that had discarded her like yesterday's news.But just as she reached the edge of the estate grounds, a familiar, elderly figure blocked her path—his wrinkled face twisted with something she hadn't seen in years.
The Lu Family's patriarch.
And the words that fell from his lips froze her blood cold.
"Child, do you really think you can escape your fate so easily?"