Chapter 188: Broken Hearts
Chapter 188: Broken Hearts
"Little Star... what are you trying to do?" Dao Ming’s voice was too low that if not for Xiang Ling’s sharp hearing, she wouldn’t have been able to hear him. The shock, confusion, and eventually hurt - was evident in his tone but it did nothing to change her decision.
"I’m informing you that from this moment onward, both you and Xin Cheng are forbidden from entering this room without my permission. I’m also informing you that from now on, you both don’t have to pretend to be the perfect husbands. For the sake of all the help you both have provided me in the past, I will let you two stay here. But once you are finished with your work in the Mortal Realm, please leave Chen Manor immeditely."
She felt her voice getting heavy as despite her determination, her heart wasn’t able to forgo the feelings she seemed to have developed for these two men. She kept her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her, trying to hold back the tears that had filled the back of her eyes.
"Little Star..."
"Stop calling me that. We aren’t close enough to address each other so intimately. And... please leave." She didn’t give him a chance to speak any further because she didn’t trust herself to not succumb if he tried to persuade her.
Dao Ming didn’t move and just sat there while looking at her in silence. Certain long moments passed before he finally spoke while squeezing her fingers softly. "Alright. I will leave for now. But this conversation isn’t over. We will talk about it later. You should get some sleep now."
Finishing his words, he hurriedly turned his attention away from her and climbed out of the bed. Without another glance in her direction, he walked out of the room and headed in the direction of Xin Cheng’s room. With every step that he took away from her, he felt his heart sinking even more.
He should be feeling satisfied, even less burdened as Xiang Ling just made things easier for him. If she would aslo start ignoring him and continue living her life while thinking of him as someone who wasn’t of any importance to her, that would make him feel less guilty for avoiding her feelings.
However, just thinking about how he would no longer matter to her, he felt like someone was carving with a sword on his heart. Without knocking or saying anything, he pushed open the door and entered in his friend’s room. Stepping inside, he settled down at the opposite end of the table where the Demon Emperor was currently sitting and reading the official documents that he received from the Demon Realm.
Dao Ming took out several jars of wine and placed them on the table before opening one of them and pouring the wine in his mouth. He was unable to stop himself recalling the words that his beloved woman just spoke to him. He did feel the hurt in her tone when she was speaking, but at the same time, he also noticed her determination and that was what scared him the most.
Xin Cheng finally spared him a look and upon noticing his state, he asked, "What happened to you?"
"Do you know what she just told me?" Dao Ming asked in return while his gaze was fixed on the burning candles sitting at the corner of the table.
"So you did went to meet her. No doubt you are covered in her scent." Xin Cheng commented as he returned his attention to the document he was reading.
Dao Ming completely ignored his friend’s words and spoke, "She told me that Zhang Xuan is her only husband."
The words were too powerful for Xin Cheng to even pretend that he didn’t care. His eyes shifted to his friend as he asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Dao Ming chuckled as he took another big gulp of the wine. "I knew that you wouldn’t have been able to think of it either. We all were indeed stupid to ignore such an important aspect of their marriage."
Xin Cheng closed the document and set it aside before he demanded a clarification from his friend who looked like someone who just got his heart broken. "What are you talking about?"
"I’m saying that we aren’t her husbands, Ah Cheng, and she’s not our wife. The one we married was Chen Xiang Ling, but the one Zhang Xuan just married is the Supreme Immortal Xing." Dao Ming finally revealed the shocking reality check he just received from Xiang Ling.
Xin Cheng opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He struggled to think something but his mind was overwhelmed with the information he just received. When he finally spoke, he asked something completely different, "What made her say this?"
Dao Ming gave a small shake of his head before he answered, "It’s us. She’s getting tired with the way the two of us have been behaving toward her. She’s afraid that if things continued like this, in the end she will be the one getting hurt. That’s why... she has decided to protect herself."
He finally turned his attention toward his friend before he repeated the words Xiang Ling said to him. "She has forbidden the two of us from entering her chamber without her permission. She has also requested us to leave Chen Manor as soon as we finish our business here in the Mortal Realm. She said from now on, we will have nothing to do with each other."
The more Xin Cheng listened, the heavier his heart became, but there was nothing he could do. He deserved all this after hurting her feelings time and again. He was in no place to question her decision.
"I’m feeling like I have lost her tonight, Ah Cheng... and it hurts. It’s too painful." A single tear rolled down Dao Ming’s cheek as he confessed his deepest fear. But he was not the only one who felt his heart breaking into pieces that night.