Registration Office – 8:02 AM

Lu Rowan stood near the entrance, checking his watch for the third time. The morning air was crisp, but his palms were damp. He hadn’t slept after Mei’s message.

When she finally appeared, his breath caught, she was wearing her office clothes a white shirt and a black skirt, black stockings with black pumps which fitted her frail body but something was wrong, she looked pale and lifeless . Not the kind of pale that came from nerves or cold but the kind that whispered something was wrong from afar. Her steps were slow and deliberate as if each one cost her something.

“Mei?” he said, stepping forward. “You don’t look well. We should go to the hospital first.”

She shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper. “We will sign first.”

Rowan frowned. “This isn’t a business deal, it's a life choice and you’re not okay.”

Arthur arrived just in time to catch the tension. “Let’s get through this,” he said calmly, placing a hand on Rowan’s shoulder. “Then we’ll take her to get checked out with no delays.”

Mei nodded, her face unreadable.

The process was fast they took pictures and signed

LuRowan had presented her with some papers which they both needed to sign, she only browsed through seeing that they where property agreements she just signed, as she was close to fainting she just wanted to be done before she could give up

As soon as she was finished she walked to the car, Lu Rowan was walking beside her it was as if he didn't want anything to happen to her.

As soon as she sat on the seat her body went limp, Lu Rowan was shocked to a point that he couldn't breathe he just stood there not moving. Arthur saw what was happening and he stood fast from the driver seat going to his boss' side. He was still on Mei's side about to close the door so he quickly pushed his boss aside, opened 3 buttons on Mei’s shirt, and removed his shoes. But when he turned to his boss he was crouching down holding his chest. This was the first time in years he had seen his boss having a panic attack so he shocked him but he couldn't respond so he slapped him telling him to be strong for Mei. He seemed like he was coming back so he helped him to the car. Arthur started the car going fast to the hospital, as he was driving he could cast some glance to see if they were OK. Lu Rowan seemed to be back; he was now holding Mei close to her whispering something he couldn't hear.

They arrived at the hospital 15 minutes later

The nurse’s face darkened as she read Mei’s vitals. “She needs medical assistance immediately. Her blood pressure is low, and there are wounds on the sides of her stomach, some are old with pus and some are fresh .”

Rowan stood frozen. “What wounds?”

The nurse turned sharply. “Why would you do that to that poor girl, I have no choice but to call the police and you act like you don't know what is happening to her. Who are you to her exactly?” the nurse asked

“Am her husband” Rowan replied

Rowan’s fists clenched. “What are you implying?”

Arthur stepped between them. “Ma'am l think you're mistaken he is not the one who did this and it a family matter we will let her decide if she wants to report it or not”

He then whispered to Rowan she didn’t mean you. She was just reacting to what she saw. Let’s focus on Mei for now.”

But Rowan wasn’t listening. His voice rose. “She was fine yesterday. What happened to her and who did this?”

Mei, lying on the hospital bed now awake because of the noise, reached out and touched his arm. Her grip was weak, but her eyes were steady.

“Don’t ,” she said softly.

Arthur leaned in. “Yes boss, we'll handle this. But not by losing control.”

Rowan looked at Mei, then at the nurse, then back at Arthur. His jaw tightened and he nodded unwillingly .

They moved Mei to a private ward.

Lu Rowan and Arthur were there in the rooms, to avoid them closed her eyes only allowing the sound of monitors beeping around her. She had signed the papers,and she had made her first move.

She knew that a war had started but she had some little trust in Lu Rowan.

The doctor was very friendly she had came back and ask everyone to leave the room cause as she treated Mei she tried asking more about the wounds all she would say was am now fine this won't happen again doc am now going to be fine she smiled as long as that man outside will be by my side l will be fine forever. The doctor realised and understood that the man outside was not the one hurting her but he was helping her and she felt a little relieved.

***Chapter 11:His escape, plan for Mei***

Private Hospital Room - 2:30 PM

The sterile white room felt like a sanctuary compared to the chaos of the morning. Mei lay propped against pillows, an IV drip feeding nutrients into her pale arm. The bruises on her ribs had been cleaned and bandaged, but the deeper wounds, the ones that couldn't be seen still ached with every breath.

Lu Rowan sat in the chair beside her bed, his usually perfect composure cracked like broken glass. His tie hung loose, his sleeves rolled up, and his dark eyes held a haunted quality that hadn't been there that morning.

"Why?" he asked quietly, his voice rough with suppressed emotion. "Yesterday you walked away from my proposal in fury. Last night you agreed to marry me. What changed, Mei?"

Mei's eyes met his, and for the first time since he'd known her, there was no guardedness in them. Just exhaustion and a kind of raw honesty that made his chest tighten.

"You're a better deal than Shen Ji," she said simply, her voice hoarse but steady. "Besides, I never chose him. Even if this won't go according to plan, at least I could have chosen ‘this’ myself. You're good-looking, you're rich, you have more power than him,you're not under the Liangs so having you as my husband would be quite some catch don't you think ."

The clinical way she assessed him should have stung, but instead Lu Rowan felt something twist in his chest. She was speaking about marriage like a business transaction because that's all she thought it should be.

"Mei," he said quietly, "that's not how marriage should work."

She turned her head on the pillow to study him. "Isn't it? You proposed a business arrangement yourself, you said it was a mutual benefit, that's why I grabbed it."

He had no answer for that. She was right and the truth of it sat heavy between them.

Arthur cleared his throat from the doorway. "The doctor says Mrs can be discharged this evening, but she recommends rest and monitoring for the next few days."

Mei nodded. "I'd like to leave now, please."

Let's go somewhere quiet where we can talk. Arthur brings the car and drives us to Melkies hotel. Mei couldn't sit still now why are we going to the hotel to talk but she couldn't say it least he thinks she was a pervert.

The sleek black car pulled up to the entrance of Shanghai's most exclusive boutique hotel. Lu Rowan had chosen it not for its luxury, but for its discretion and paparazzi rarely lingered here, the staff knew how to make guests disappear from public view.

Bai Liang was coming from a lunch date with a client when she saw a car that seemed like Lu’s he knew it was his because since he had told her that he did want an arranged marriage she had been following him to see is he had a Lover or if he was gay like the rumors suggested.

Hidden behind a pillar across the street, Bai Liang watched as the car door opened. Lu Rowan stepped out first, moving with the fluid grace that had caught her attention months ago when her mother first mentioned the possible alliance. But it wasn't his elegance that made her blood boil —did she just see a female figure? and when he moved around to the other side of the car to open the door for the person.

He opened the door with careful gentleness, extending his hand to help someone out . Mei moved slowly, clearly still weak, but she took his hand without hesitation. There was something in the gesture that spoke of intimacy, of familiarity that shouldn't exist between two people who barely knew each other.

Bai Liang's manicured nails dug into her palms as she watched Lu Rowan place his other hand at the small of the woman's back, guiding her toward the hotel entrance with protective attentiveness.

As she turned Bai Liang catch a glimpse of the person

It was Mei her cousin

"This can't be happening," she whispered to herself, but even as she denied it, the evidence was right there before her eyes. The man who was supposed to be hers was walking into a hotel with her cousin, treating her like she was precious.

Hotel Lobby

"We're here because we signed the marriage certificate without proper communication," Lu Rowan explained as they walked through the marble-floored lobby. "We need time to talk, away from everything else. To figure out what this means."

Mei nodded, too tired to do anything but follow his lead. The hotel's opulent surroundings felt like another world with crystal chandeliers, silk wallpaper, the soft murmur of wealth conducting its business in hushed tones.

At the reception desk, Lu Rowan was offered the card, he took the card as if he was a regular in there

As they took the key cards, Mei's phone buzzed. She glanced at it, and her face went pale.

I saw you at Meilkes hotel with MY fiancé. Do you want to die? I'm not moving from here till you come down.

The message was from Bai Liang, and the venom in it made Mei's hands shake slightly.

Lu Rowan noticed immediately. "What is it?"

Mei showed him the phone. His jaw tightened as he read, then he looked toward the windows facing the street.

"She's watching us," he said grimly.

Let me hold your hand, Mei felt the walls closing in again, the familiar sensation of being trapped but this time, instead of accepting it, she made a choice.

She looked up at Lu Rowan and said " Mr Lu can we sleep here tonight?" she asked quietly. "I don't feel like going home."

Lu Rowan's eyes softened. "Of course. We don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go. Not anymore."

As they stepped into the elevator, Mei felt something she hadn't experienced in years: the possibility of safety. It was fragile, uncertain, built on foundations she didn't entirely trust. But for the first time since her parents died, someone was asking what she wanted instead of telling her what she needed.

The elevator doors closed, and for a moment, the world outside—with its expectations and demands and people who claimed ownership over her life—simply disappeared.

Outside the Hotel - 5:15 PM

Bai Liang stared at her phone, waiting for a response that never came. Her fingers trembled as she dialed Mei's number, listening to it ring endlessly before going to voicemail.

"Answer me!" she hissed into the phone. "I know you're up there with him!"

But the hotel's windows reflected nothing back at her except her own fury and the growing realization that something fundamental had shifted. Mei wasn't coming down. She wasn't apologizing or explaining or begging for forgiveness.

For the first time in their lives, Mei wasn't afraid of her.

And that terrified Bai Liang more than she could admit.