"It's not me! Yan Sinian, you can't even give me the chance to explain myself!"
Gu Nian resolutely hammered the front door of the villa, drenched to the bone by the pelting rain from outside. The early-May spring breeze was slightly cool, causing her to shiver, but she stood tall and firm.
"I didn’t cut Lu Yuwei's brake line, and it wasn’t me who caused her present coma!"
The mansion's door swung open abruptly. Just as Gu Nian was about to knock again, she almost missed the space and fell. She tried to step inside but was blocked by two servants who came out.
Yan Sinian stood inside, his face cold and stern, looking at her with displeasure. His deep, brown eyes were filled with untold loathing as they rested on Gu Nian.
"Who could have thought, that Miss Gu, you'd have the courage to do something but lack the guts to own up to it."
His voice was deep and low, the implied menace making Gu Nian feel as if she had been shot. Standing outside, she looked at his scornful gaze and felt a chill in her heart.
"I've always had the courage to face the consequences of my actions. It wasn't me who did this, it wasn’t me who harmed Lu Yuwei!"
Gu Nian stood firm, her face resolute, despite the fact that she was shivering from the cold.
Yan Sinian smiled grimly, stepping over the threshold and looking down at her. He suddenly grabbed her chin harshly as if wanting to crush it.
"When Yuwei met with the accident, I investigated nearby surveillance footage. It was your assistant who tampered with her car, and you were the one who called her to the mountainside road. Gu Nian, do you think I'm an idiot?"
"I can explain!" Gu Nian managed to say, her face contorting in pain, yet she still faced him, steadfastly keeping her gaze on the man before her.
"Explain? Heh, what's there to explain? To say that you did all this because you love me so much? Or that you did all this because you didn't want to divorce me? Gu Nian, you disgust me!"
With those words, Yan Sinian forcefully shoved Gu Nian, making her fall hard onto the ground. Stairs were right behind her, and she tumbled down the steps, biting her lips to endure the pain as she lay paralysed on the ground.
The wet ground made her feel even colder, as the bone-chilling wind felt like countless blades tearing at her injured body.
"Aren't you wanting to explain? Well, I don't feel like listening tonight. Perhaps, if the mood strikes me tomorrow morning, I might consider giving it a listen," said Yan Sinian, his eyes coldly smirking as he turned and entered the house, once again closing the villa's door firmly.
Gritting her teeth, Gu Nian crawled up painfully, her abdomen prickling with a sting like needles as she stood in the rain. Her face was deathly pale, but her gaze remained fixed on the second-floor bedroom window.
She could accept a divorce, could yield her position to Lu Yuwei, but she absolutely couldn't allow herself to be misunderstood, especially not by Yan Sinian.
Married for six years, she never imagined she would ever feel this desperate. She thought she understood Yan Sinian. A year ago, their marital life could have still been described as blissful.
She had assumed that he'd moved past his former lover, Lu Yuwei, who had betrayed him and left...
But all changed a year ago when her father died suddenly in a car accident. It was a major blow to her. The Gu family began to decline. And that's when Lu Yuwei made her reappearance, effectively putting an end to her once joyful marriage.
Yan Sinian seemed to morph into an unrecognizable person. Her disappointment in him was palpable as he began to spend all his time with Lu Yuwei. He went from not coming home once a day, to once a month, to now, not coming home at all.
He even aimed to take over the Gu Group, turning her into another one of his possessions.
This was the man Gu Nian had devoted her heart to for many years, and all she had to show for it was his heartlessness in return.
Just yesterday, it was Lu Yuwei who had called her, asking her to meet at the pavilion at the end of the Pan Mountain Road. However, en route, she was involved in an accident that knocked her unconscious, and she was still in a critical condition.
It was thus convenient for Gu Nian to be made the mastermind of this incident. Yan Sinian didn't listen to any of her explanations and immediately blacklisted her.
However, for the sake of the Gu family and her inherited Gu Group, Gu Nian needed to clarify everything.
She couldn't remember how long she had been standing there, only aware that her entire body was numb with cold, and her abdomen hurt intensely. A warm flow trickled down her legs, steadily dripping onto the ground.
The morning after the rain was especially chilling, the day slightly cold. Gu Nian came out of her daze, lowering her head only to find her white dress soaked through with bright red blood.
Her legs were trembling. Looking up, she saw Yan Sinian coldly watching her from his second-floor bedroom window.
Gu Nian tried to keep the last shred of dignity, but her vision blotted out unexpectedly and she fell shockingly onto the ground.
When she opened her eyes again, she was staring at the hospital ceiling, with Ling Yetao, full of anxiety at her side.
Seeing her awake, Ling Yetao quickly stood up, a hint of smile finally clawing its way to his worried face.
"Nian Nian, you finally woke up. Is there any discomfort anywhere else?"
Gu Nian didn't respond. Recalling the sight of scarlet before she fainted, along with the current piercing pain in her abdomen, she somewhat realized what had happened.
Seeing her not responding, Ling Yetao became anxious, assuming she was still uncomfortable. He stood up to call for a doctor, but was stopped by Gu Nian.
"No need to go. I know my body...the child. It's gone now, right?"
Ling Yetao was initially planning to tell her this news after she became a bit more stable, but he didn't expect that she would sense it herself. Knowing that he couldn't hide it anymore, he nodded.
"It's okay, Nian Nian, you will be fine. There will be children in the future. Your health is the most important." Ling Yetao said while he held her in his arms, patting her shoulder.
Gu Nian felt wronged, disappointed, and pained. After all those traumatic events that happened, she hadn't cried, but at this moment, she broke down, leaning on his shoulder, her eyes vacant.
The child. Will there be another one? That was her first born, was the child she and Yan Sinian ardently wished for, but regrettably, the child came at a wrong time.
Gently placing her hand on her lower abdomen, Gu Nian felt her heart being twisted like a wrung-out rag. Two months ago, one night, Yan Sinian and Lu Yuwei had some disputes. To aggravate Lu Yuwei, when he got home, he slept with her.
Gu Nian didn't expect that the child she'd been wishing for a long time would unexpectedly come to life that night.
But she failed to protect this child. When she found out, the child was already gone.
Feeling Gu Nian shaking all over, Ling Yetao clenched his fist in fury.
Without giving Gu Nian any time to cope, the room's door was opened. Yan Sinian's cold face appeared, noticing Gu Nian leaning on Ling Yetao's shoulder, a smirk of disdain graced his lips.