"Why did you really come, Li Zeyan?"
Su Jinyi's voice was soft but heavy—like frost settling over wilted petals.
He stood before her, close enough that she could smell his cologne—clean, dark, familiar. The scent of old regrets.
"I came to see if you're happy," he said, voice low.
She scoffed. "Liar."
His gaze didn't waver. "And what if I am?"
"Then you've grown better at lying."
---
She turned away first, heels clicking against the polished backstage floor. A graceful retreat—if one didn't notice the tightness in her shoulders.
He followed her.
Of course he did.
He always chased after the damage he caused.
"Jinyi," he said again, "what if I told you I regret it? Every choice. Every word. Every time I let you walk away."
She paused mid-step.
Just for a second.
Then kept walking.
---
The parking lot was dim. Her driver wasn't there yet, and she stood alone beneath a flickering streetlamp. She liked it that way. At least in the dark, no one expected her to smile.
The wind played with her silk scarf. A lonely sound echoed—the low hum of a distant engine.
And then…
"You really won't forgive me?" His voice again.
It struck like thunder behind her.
She turned.
But her words were measured, rehearsed—each one dipped in ice.
"You're not asking for forgiveness, Zeyan. You're asking for permission to pretend the past doesn't exist."
Silence.
His jaw tightened.
"You think I don't suffer too?"
She almost laughed. "Suffer? Was it painful to marry another woman while I stood outside your wedding with a resignation letter in my hand?"
His breath hitched.
So she continued.
"Was it hard to smile while you erased my name from every company record, as if I had never built half your empire with you?"
This time, he said nothing.
Because what could he say?
---
Her ride pulled up.
She walked toward it, heels clicking louder than her heartbeat.
But before she opened the door, she turned one last time.
"Regret is a luxury you don't deserve," she whispered.
And then, with elegance fitting of someone who had bled quietly for years, Su Jinyi entered the car without looking back.
---