The next day, Zhao Lifei woke up bright and early, way before Yang Feng was set to wake up. He was still deep in slumber, sleeping on his side and hugging her close to him. They had spooned all night, but she felt the intent behind it was different from what she had in mind.

Throughout the night, he would unconsciously hug her tighter with his brows creasing together. Even in his sleep, he could not relax. She had been taken from him twice, and twice, he couldn’t prevent it. This time, he swore nothing would ever happen anymore. The largest predator was eliminated, now all he had to do was trample the other pests that would try to touch her.

Zhao Lifei marveled at his face, lazily resting her head on one propped-up arm. He looked so innocent and harmless in his sleep. She was inclined to touch his face but knew that would wake him up. She intended to leave the house before he did for he might engage her in a few more rounds before she could escape.

"Sleep well, Yang Feng." She whispered as she kissed his forehead before slipping out of his embrace. He grumbled something that made her body tensed up. She turned around to find his hands desperately searching the bed for her. She quickly grabbed a body-pillow from the foot of the bed and placed it beside his wandering hands. When they located the pillow, he grabbed it without mercy and hugged it.

She let out a sigh of relief and climbed out of their spacious bed. Getting ready for the day, she wore a simple outfit comprising of a light blue dress and low-heels. Purse and car keys in hand, she tip-toed out of the room and headed straight to the Zhao Mansion.

There weren’t that many cars on the road which was expected. It was still early in the morning and everyone else was too busy sleeping. Desk-jobs were yet to begin and it was currently six in the morning.

Zhao Lifei left the house bright and early for one specific reason: to see her grandfather before he left for work. Through the rear-view mirror, she could see her eyes swarmed with disappointment. She wondered if it was by coincidence or purpose that her house was an hour away from Zhao Mansion. She guessed Yang Feng really didn’t want anyone to intrude on them.

"Oh my, good morning Young Miss. Please pardon this servant’s behavior I didn’t expect to see you today." Old Butler Tang said when the car rolled to the front entrance. Servants were rushing outside to greet her.

"That’s alright. I didn’t inform my grandfather that I would be here in the first place." Zhao Lifei passed the key to one of the employees who would drive it to the garage behind the house.

"Speaking of which, where is my grandfather? I assume he should’ve woken up an hour ago." She entered the house, taking off her white trench coat which the butler took with his hands.

"The Master is currently dining in the breakfast hall. Please join us, he would be thrilled to see that you’re here."

"I’m sure he would be." Zhao Lifei curtly replied while following the Old Butler towards a set of white, decorative doors. It opened to a large dining hall with plenty of windows to let in the sunlight.

"Xiao Fei." Zhao Moyao greeted when he saw her, placing down the newspaper and a cup of coffee that he was enjoying. "What brings you here this morning?" He looked towards the empty space by her side, "And without your guard dog?"

"I’m sure you know why I came here, grandfather." Zhao Lifei didn’t sit beside him like she usually would’ve done so. She took her seat in a respectable distance, that is, on the other edge of the table directly facing him.

Zhao Moyao waved a maid over, "Have the chefs prepare more breakfast." Then he turned to face his granddaughter with a masked expression. "Xiao Fei, you shouldn’t speak in circles with me."

"Why did you do it?" Zhao Lifei wired her fingers together, a flash of betrayal in her eyes.

Zhao Moyao’s eyes were momentarily clouded with confusion before it shifted to recollection, then horror, and finally... guilt. He knew exactly what she was referring to. "You were only a child. I wanted to protect you."

"Protect me?" She calmly replied, shaking her head in disagreement. "You tossed me into the lion’s den, grandfather."

"Nobody can predict the future, Xiao Fei. No one expected Zheng Tianyi to be a cheating scum. I believed it was the best choice for you. You were completely delirious when Yang Feng was sent to a boarding school."

Zhao Lifei stared at him with a blank expression. When she finally regained her memories in Jiang Zihui’s house, she had also recollected another memory of her past. It was after the first time she had been forcibly taken, and restrained on the hospital bed. A voice was speaking in the background, but one thing stood out the most: her grandfather’s voice saying, "If it does not work and she suffered all of that for nothing, there will be consequences."

She couldn’t believe it at first and that was why she came here today. But who would’ve thought, he would cut straight to the chase rather than speaking around in circles? She wished it was not the truth. She wished that it was only a misunderstanding and that he would never do something like that to her. Her expectations shattered when he went straight to explaining himself instead of feigning confusion.

"I was lied to throughout my entire childhood. I was raised to become the Matriarch of a man who never loved me. I suffered through the humiliation, and was drenched in all sorts of laughter and insults, all because you thought it was the best choice for me to get married to Zheng Tianyi."

Her face turned vicious, "Why did you do it? Was it because merging with the Zhengs was more beneficial than merging with the Yangs? "

Zhao Moyao’s face turned sour. "You refused to eat. You refused to sleep. You cried from dawn to midnight and even when you had nothing to cry out anymore, you would scream bloody murder. Hell, you wrecked everything you touched. You threw yourself at my feet, begging to see him. You even went as far as bashing your head against the wall. What was I supposed to do?"

Zhao Moyao seethed, "I adored you, Xiao Fei. You are the one and only granddaughter I truly cherished. I couldn’t let you destroy yourself like that. What was I supposed to do?!" He repeated his question, the breakfast spread had been long forgotten.

"You could’ve brought me to see Yang Feng! I’m sure you knew exactly where he was." Zhao Lifei’s nostrils flared, her eyes growing heated. The mellow sea of gold was drowned out by the pure hatred and anger.

"You could’ve told me the truth! You could’ve reassured me that he was going to come back soon! All I wanted was the answer to where he was. Yes, I wanted to see him, but I have always been a patient child in your eyes! Had you explained everything to me, I would’ve calmed down! But you didn’t." She snarled, her face filled with rage.

"Instead of sitting me down and informing me that Yang Feng was busy, you decided to ship me back to my parent’s house, order men to kidnap me, bring me to a facility, and proceeded to watch me make a fool out of myself by devoting my entire heart to Zheng Tianyi! You tricked my brain into thinking that the person I loved was Zheng Tianyi, when my heart was craving for another man all along!"

Her voice dropped an octave ."How could you have done this to me, grandfather?" She shook her head, "I trusted you. I trusted you would never harm me, that all of your decisions toward me came from a good place in your heart. It seems I was wrong all along."

"I was trying to protect you, Xiao Fei. Even when he was a child, Yang Heng already had a winding list of enemies! You were so young, so small and foolish, anyone could’ve easily captured you and used you as collateral! You could’ve been kidnapped, or worse, killed just because you were the only thing that mattered to the so-called heartless Yang Heng." Zhao Moyao slammed his hand on the table, his heart prickling with pain. She was staring at him like he was her worst enemy.

"You failed to protect me when Zheng Tianyi continued to humiliate me. You failed to step in when I desperately needed you. You failed to protect me when the entire world was against me. Where were you when I was stripped naked? Where were you when I was faced with taunts and insults left and right? Where were you when I was at my lowest?!"

Her words slapped him on the face, but that was not the end of it. "Because of what you have done, you will never see your official first great-grandchild." He was stunned beyond belief mainly because he didn’t expect the truth to hurt so much. He read in between the lines. Was...was she pregnant again?! He didn’t have time to analyze the information, for she dropped another bomb.

"You... betrayed me." She shook her head and then stood up. "You destroyed my life by giving my hand off to an emotionally and physically abusive man because you thought it was the best for me."

Zhao Moyao’s world crumbled when he saw her face. Anguish, betrayal, hurt, and so many things could be used to describe it. She looked as if she could never forgive him for his mistakes and that was exactly what he feared. "Xiao Fei, come back here." He demanded when she turned her back to him and stormed towards the door.

"Goodbye, Elder Zhao. Have a good day." She raised her head and didn’t look back even once when the door closed.

"Xiao Fei!" He shouted, standing up and wincing in pain when he placed too much strain on his body. It had been acting up more than usual lately, and with his skyrocketing pressure, his body was aching in pain. "Xiao Fei!" He roared, reaching his hand out for his granddaughter who was long out of sight. Gone like the wind, she never once looked back.