18 There Is No Next Time

But is there a reason for someone to cheat on their lover?

Li Ruyan was unable to come up with a reason because, in her mind, cheating was cheating.

There was no excuse for it and those who cheat should be condemned to hell.

And yet, her heart was so weak that she wanted to reach out and believe him. They have known each other for almost five years and were in a relationship for four years.

This kind of long relationship was not easy to forget, and the love and fondness that resulted from that connection that was built through years of spending time together were even harder to ignore.

Even though Li Ruyan wanted to trust Min Yue, her heart was still torn because she could not forgive his act of lying to her.

But in the end, her will was weakened by the insurmountable amount of love she possessed for him that just because of these simple words, she ended up nodding her head, telling him that she would trust him just like all the times she placed her faith on him.

If he was to break her trust again, she was not sure if she would be able to bear it. Many times, she gave him a lot of leeway in their relationship only to receive heartbreak. If it were to happen for the second time, then...

Li Ruyan swallowed.

No matter how much she pretended to be strong, she was still a person and would feel the need to cry when hurt or betrayed.

While looking at him, her face was relaxed yet her eyes contained so many deep emotions.

"Min Yue, I will trust you again just this once. But..." Li Ruyan paused for a second, smiling sadly at him.

"...there is no next time."

"...."

She was telling him that this was his last chance and if he ruined it, Li Ruyan would let him go and truly break things off with him. It was already unbelievably stupid of her to say yes when she saw with her very own eyes that he was with another woman and was engaged to that woman.

Moreover, he did not fully disclose the truth to her. Most women would have up and left without a word if they were in her situation.

Li Ruyan was stupid and naïve. For Min Yue, she could really accept such a thing without question.

If her brother found out about this, Li Ruyan would receive the scolding of her life and would be hauled back to Italy before she could even say "Big brother."

She lived in Beijing, the capital city in her motherland, China, after running away from home and living an independent life by herself. She planned to go back home after university but then she stayed because of Min Yue even though she could have come back to Italy and lived her life without worrying about anything.

In the past seven years that she had stayed in this country, she was able to visit many places like Summer Palace which was also known as Yihe Yuan, Garden of Restful Peace. Then there was the Forbidden City and Tianmen Square. There were many more places like the Temple of Heaven, Bird's Nest, and Drum Tower.

Additionally, these were places that were dear to her because she visited them all with Min Yue.

Her stay in Beijing was memorable and happy because it was her first time living so far away from her family and this was also her chance to live like a free bird without any eyes watching her. And if that wasn't enough, she met Min Yue, the love of her life who turned her world upside down and made her the happiest person alive.

She always believed that they would get married eventually and nothing would be able to separate them but Li Ruyan could feel that dream slipping from the palms of her hand like a slippery eel, wanting to escape and disappear under the water, forever gone.

It hurts.

It really hurts a lot.

These were the words that could be used to describe what she was feeling but she smiled once more and placed her trust in the same man that made her feel loved and cherished as a person.

In her mind, the word 'stupid' was repeated many times around but similar to a martyr, she was numb towards it, choosing pain just to have a chance with the person she holds dear in her heart.

Li Ruyan gazed at Min Yue for a second before slowly crossing her arms. Her lips were quirked upwards, showing her cute dimples, and yet what looked like a smiling face was giving off the feeling of experiencing suffering and desperation.

"Min Yue, do you know that I love you? ...That I really love you a lot. I love you so much that even after finding out that you were engaged to another woman, I am willing to trust you just because you asked me to."

Min Yue's dark eyes were sharp and intense.

Li Ruyan despite not moving in place felt the need to step back because of the gaze he was giving her. It was too much.

She could feel her will slowly being weakened by that stare but she did not want to succumb.

"Min Yue, I wanted to tell you so that atleast, you would know how I was feeling. Did you know? That feeling of betrayed by the person one loves the most is almost equal to a death sentence." She was maintaining her smile while speaking.

'And did you know? That I still thought of you while crying inside.' But Li Ruyan did not say this.

"Min Yue, I will believe in you because you are right. You are the kind of man who would not do something like this without a proper reason. However, it was also possible that the Min Yue that I love for the past four years was merely an illusion."

Min Yue swallowed, his Adam's apple moving and the expression on his face told her that he was going to refute. "Li Ruyan, I did not lie to you about me. The things we went through together for the past five years and the feelings I showed you were real."

She shook her head. "Let's hope that you are telling the truth. Otherwise, maybe it would be my turn to give up." Li Ruyan said.

Min Yue stiffened, her words made the hairs on the back of his neck stand, and somehow, he could not breathe as if those words were a trigger, causing him to lose oxygen from his body.

It was harder to breathe.

He felt similar to a fish out of water. But there was also anger as he could not accept it.

Never.

Never.

Never.

Li Ruyan, you are not allowed to leave me. Don't leave me. You can't, you can't you can't.

Min Yue's mind was filled with a cacophony of hysterical thoughts while on the surface was a still figure of a man who was motionless and silent as if he was mute.

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