The Brother I Betrayed - Chapter 2

Carrying a box of pastries Xu Mingyuan had made himself, I stood outside the commander’s residence and tried to swallow my embarrassment.

I might have looked perfectly in control in front of Xu Mingyuan.

In truth, I hadn’t the slightest confidence.

The Xu family knew only that Xie Yan and I were siblings in name, with no blood between us.

They had no idea how thoroughly I’d offended him.

Xie Yan kept his word. The threat he’d made on my wedding day still rang in my ears.

I’d rushed here without considering what I would do if he refused to see me.

…Or what I would do if he wanted revenge.

Fortunately, although Xie Yan didn’t come out to meet me, he left me some dignity.

The gates opened. With their heads lowered, the servants escorted me to my temporary quarters.

Surprised, I offered a little casual flattery.

“What an impressive residence. Even the guest rooms are so exquisitely furnished.”

Tsk. Had Xie Yan been taking bribes?

The servant leading me spoke quietly. “You flatter us, miss. These are my lord’s own quarters.”

My first reaction was to touch my married woman’s hairstyle.

Xu Mingyuan had put my hair up himself. There was nothing wrong with it. Why was this man calling me “miss”?

Only then came my second reaction.

“Your lord’s quarters?!”

Then why had he brought me here?

Wait.

Was he going to…?

“On my lord’s instructions,” the servant said, perfectly composed. “You’ve had a tiring journey, miss. My lord would not have you suffer any discomfort, so he arranged the most comfortable accommodations.”

I had no answer to that.

I wasn’t certain, but I suddenly remembered watching people slaughter a pig for the New Year.

Before killing it, they gave it a good meal and let it have a good sleep.

End-of-life care, I believe they called it.

Xie Yan had wasted no time putting me in my place the moment I entered his residence.

Fortunately, he wasn’t home. Apparently, he’d gone out on official business.

That gave me a chance to breathe.

I also helped myself to every last pastry in the box I’d brought to keep up appearances.

Say what you like—chew, chew—Xu Mingyuan was useless at plenty of things—chew, chew—but he really did have a gift for this sort of work—chew, chew.

Unfortunately, there was a price to pay for helping myself quite so freely.

That night, indigestion kept me awake.

I was lying in bed with my eyes closed, planning my next move, when a quiet creak came through the darkness.

Someone had gently pushed open my door.

Before my mind caught up, my body was already preparing to get up and light a candle out of habit.

Then I remembered I wasn’t at the Xu residence. Whoever was visiting my room in the dead of night wasn’t Xu Mingyuan.

The footsteps were already approaching the bed. I had no choice but to lie still and pretend to be asleep.

A moment later, the visitor stopped beside me.

Even with my eyes shut, I could feel his gaze moving over my body and face, so intense it seemed almost physical.

“Xie Shu.” The voice was familiar and strange at once, rough with fatigue.

Xie Yan.

I was dead. So dead.

Now I didn’t dare so much as twitch. I pretended to be deeply asleep.

When I failed to wake, Xie Yan remained silent for a long time before sitting on the edge of my bed.

A large, heavily callused hand cupped my cheek. He stroked it for a while with an intent I couldn’t read, then slowly moved lower.

At last, his hand closed around my throat.

“Xie Shu, I want nothing more than to strangle you right now.”

My heart lurched.

Terror caught my breath, but I didn’t dare open my eyes in case I provoked this madman further.

This was his house. Even if I screamed, no one would come to save me.

If Xie Yan really meant to kill me, I would have to save myself…

I frantically considered my options, trying to remember where I’d left the candlestick before bed.

But just as I prepared to spring up and snatch it while he wasn’t expecting it, his hand loosened first.

The oppressive air suddenly lifted. Xie Yan stood, but didn’t leave. He remained in the darkness, staring at me for a long time.

After enough time for a stick of incense to burn, he seemed finally to have looked his fill. He left quietly.

At the sound of the door closing, I let out a great, stale breath.

Only when I recovered did I realize my nightclothes were soaked with cold sweat.

Even my hand was trembling uncontrollably.

Faced with a fearsome man who had truly fought his way through a battlefield, no one could suppress that instinctive terror.

But that wasn’t the point.

The point was, my hand had been outside the covers the whole time.