The storm hadn't passed.
Thunder rolled ominously over the Lu Estate as Selina stood face-to-face with the man who once controlled her entire destiny—Grandfather Lu, the legendary patriarch who had vanished from public sight years ago.
Now, here he was, looking very much alive, his sharp, hawk-like eyes pinning her in place like a butterfly trapped beneath glass.
Selina's lips parted in disbelief, but her throat felt dry, as if every word she wanted to say had turned to dust. Her hands, trembling only moments ago, instinctively clenched into tight fists by her side.
Why now? After all these years, why appear tonight—on the very day Damian publicly erased me from his life?
She could feel it… that invisible chain tightening around her ankles again, dragging her back into a nightmare she thought she had finally escaped.
The air felt heavier than lead, pressing down on her lungs until every breath tasted like regret.
Grandfather Lu's voice broke through the suffocating silence.
"Running away again, Selina?" His words echoed almost identically to Damian's just moments before, but this time, it felt like a final verdict being delivered.
Selina forced a bitter smile, tilting her chin upward despite the burning sting behind her eyes.
"I'm not the girl you used to control," she whispered, but even to her own ears, the words sounded hollow.
Grandfather Lu took a deliberate step forward, his cane striking the stone pathway with an unforgiving crack.
"A girl can change her clothes, Selina. But it doesn't change the dirt beneath her feet."
Shame. Humiliation. It poured over her like icy rain, soaking her to the bone. No matter how far she ran, no matter how high she tried to climb, she would always be the outcast—the unwanted wife who couldn't even hold onto her own husband.
She turned sharply, her heels clicking like war drums against the stone as she fled down the rain-slicked path.
But fate wasn't done with her yet.
Scene Switch – The Ballroom
Inside, Damian stood near the grand piano, a glass of untouched champagne in his hand.
From across the room, he watched Selina's retreating figure disappear through the garden archway.
His jaw clenched so tightly his temples ached. His fingers curled around the crystal glass until tiny fractures spiderwebbed across its surface.
How dare she appear here? After everything… after the way she left… does she really think she can walk back into my life and disrupt everything I built without a second thought?
Yet no matter how much his mind screamed for anger, his heart betrayed him with a dull, aching throb that refused to fade.
The pain inside him felt like a knife lodged between his ribs—twisted slowly with every shallow breath.
Before he could stop himself, his feet were already moving.
Toward her.
Scene Switch – The Garden
Selina leaned against the cold marble fountain, struggling to keep herself from falling apart.
The storm had quieted to a soft drizzle, but inside her, the storm raged on.
And then…
The familiar sound of footsteps. Steady. Purposeful. Approaching.
She turned slowly, her heart pounding painfully against her ribs.
Damian stood there, his expression carved from stone.
"Why did you really come back, Selina?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through her like a blade.
Selina swallowed hard, her fingers curling into the folds of her dress as her body tensed, every muscle screaming to flee, yet her legs refused to move.
If I tell him the truth… will it even matter now?
But the truth clawed at her throat.
"Because…" her voice cracked, tears threatening to fall despite her best efforts. "…I had nowhere else to go."
Damian took a step closer, his gaze sharp enough to pierce through the thickest armor.
"You left me once, Selina. This time, you don't get to walk away without answering for it."
He reached out, his fingers brushing against her cheek—warm, familiar, devastatingly gentle.
That single touch felt like a lightning strike to her heart, electrifying the shattered pieces she had tried so hard to glue back together.
But before either of them could speak again—
A sharp, authoritative voice echoed from the garden entrance.
"Enough, Damian. There are some debts she can never repay."
Both of them turned.
Grandfather Lu stood there once more, but this time… he wasn't alone.
A tall, shadowed figure stood beside him.
And the words that followed chilled Selina to her very soul.
"Introduce yourself, boy," Grandfather Lu commanded.
The man stepped forward, his face finally visible under the pale moonlight.
"My name is Adrian Jiang. And I've come to collect what's owed."