She's Trapped in a Cage, and He'd Rather Die Than Let Her Go

(Forced, imprisoned, deranged, violent, obsessive, frenzied.) Love turned to hate. That day, he dug open the grave of the man she loved with his own hands.

“I thought that after more than three years, you’d have some humanity left in you. But you keep threatening me with my lover’s grave. You killed him, and now you won’t even let him rest...”

“He’s the one you love, so what am I? What am I?” He sprang to his feet, a beastly howl bursting from his throat. The sound tore through the air, breaking into a shrill rasp as it careened around the room.

“Then come to hell with me! I’ll take you with me when I die. Even as a ghost, I’ll keep you trapped by my side!” His voice was so hoarse it was barely recognizable, yet he kept shouting, every word vicious as blood and froth. As he spoke, he grabbed Su Tingyi by the hair and slammed her head against the wall, once, twice, three times. He showed no sign of stopping.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of me. I love you. And we have a child, too. Yes, let’s die together. Otherwise, if we both die, she’ll be so lonely all by herself. A child without a mother and father is terribly pitiful.” His voice seemed to rumble up from a split in the earth’s crust, scorching like lava and rough as broken stone.

Then he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Wait for me.” He pulled a pair of silver handcuffs, glinting coldly, from his pocket.

“Su Tingyi, will you die with me? There’s one more thing I have to do before we die. Will you wait here for me?”

After saying that, he strode off without the slightest hesitation, plunging into the wind without looking back. He was going to dig open that grave. A name that should have rotted in the earth long ago still clung to her like a bone-deep sickness, tormenting them both. He would dig him out with his own hands, grind his bones to dust, and scatter them to the winds.