Contract Marriage: The President's Stand-in Lover - Chapter 22:

The Out Of Control Confession

Gu Chen’s voice cut through the air like an icicle, sharp enough to pierce the

fragile sound of Vianne’s sobs.

She lifted her head abruptly, eyes blurred by tears, and through the haze saw

his tall figure standing at the top of the staircase.

The light from behind framed him in shadow,

his face carved with an expression so dark it made her shiver.

He must have heard about the scene in the meeting room.

Making a scene? she echoed in disbelief, as if the word itself were a cruel joke.

Leaning against the wall for balance, she rose shakily to her feet.

Her face was still wet with tears, but she forced a crooked,

bitter smile that hurt more than crying ever could.

Yes, I’m making a scene. Gu Chen, I’ve had enough.

I’ve had enough of all of this.

Her voice was hoarse, trembling on the edge of hysteria.

The ever-composed, polished Lin Vianne had finally broken.

Gu Chen descended the stairs in quick, heavy strides, stopping in front of her.

He seized her wrist, his grip so tight that she winced.

He stared down at her, anger boiling in his eyes yet beneath that fire was something else,

something fleeting and uncertain.

Fed up? Because of a disagreement over a project? Lin Vianne,

where are your professionalism and calm?

A project? Her laughter broke through the silence like glass.

Do you really think this is about a project? She tried to shake off his hand,

but his grip wouldn’t loosen. Her tear-streaked face tilted up toward him,

her gaze burning with despair. How long do you plan to pretend you don’t understand?

She took a deep breath, as if pulling from the last reserves of her strength,

and finally let everything she had buried deep inside come pouring out.

Yes, I am a substitute. A pathetic stand-in chosen only because

I look like the woman you really love. I accepted it.

I chose this myself to save the Lin family. I deserved it.

I told myself it was just a transaction. Three years, that’s all.

Keep my heart locked away, get what I was promised, then walk our separate paths.

I tried to play the perfect Mrs. Gu, tried not to care about your indifference,

tried not to look into your past.

But you, Gu Chen why must you keep me at arm’s length one moment and draw me close the next?

Why give me a taste of warmth just when I’ve resigned myself to the cold?

Why, every time I start to think I might matter, do you crush me again with reality?

Her tears welled up once more, her voice trembling beyond control.

Do you enjoy watching me waver because of your occasional, condescending kindness?

Watching me act like a fool testing, imitating, pretending?

Did it amuse you to see me almost, almost fall in love with you?

Did it make you proud?

The words fell out before she could stop them.

Fall in love with you.

Both froze. Gu Chen’s breath hitched, even Vianne looked stunned by her own confession.

The feeling she had refused to name, refused to face, was now naked and undeniable.

Time itself seemed to hold its breath.

His grip on her wrist slackened slightly. In his dark, deep eyes, emotions collided

shock, disbelief, and something else, fragile and unfamiliar.

He wanted to speak, but his throat was dry, his voice lost.

Vianne looked at him, and in his silence she saw her answer.

Her heart sank completely into the cold abyss. A soft, bitter laugh escaped her lips

one filled with mockery and despair.

See? I was right again. You can’t even give me a single word of denial.

She pulled her hand free. Her body trembled from exhaustion, but her eyes were hollow,

burnt-out embers of what used to be hope.

Gu Chen, I’m tired. So tired. I can’t act in this play anymore.

Her gaze locked onto his, her words deliberate, clear, final.

Let’s get a divorce.

The words hit him like a hammer to the chest. His pupils constricted, his face drained of color,

and a surge of raw panic clawed through him like an unseen hand crushing his heart.

Impossible, he barked, the refusal bursting out of him instinctively part fury, part fear.

Why not? Vianne asked, her tone eerily calm, her despair hidden under a veneer of composure.

The contract states that if one party can’t fulfill the agreement, it can be terminated through

negotiation. What’s the penalty? I’ll find the money. Even if it ruins me, I’ll pay.

I forbid it.

Gu Chen stepped forward and gripped her shoulders, his strength almost painful.

His eyes blazed, yet deep within them flickered a desperate plea he himself didn’t recognize.

Vianne, I won’t let you leave. Do you hear me?

You forbid me? she repeated softly. Her voice was light as air, but every word struck heavy as stone.

Gu Chen, what gives you the right to forbid me? Employer?

Or a coward who can’t even face his own heart?

The word coward sliced through him like a knife,

cutting straight into his most fragile, hidden wound.

His expression twisted, his chest heaving like a cornered beast.

I am not a coward. His roar echoed, raw and wild,

an attempt to drown out the fear burning in his chest.

Then what are you? Vianne’s tears slipped silently down her cheeks,

but she stood her ground. Can you swear you keep me not because of my face?

Can you swear that when you look at me, you see only me Vianne Lin and not her?

Each word struck him like a blow. Her questions left him cornered,

stripped of every defense.

He looked at her pale, fragile face, the stubborn strength still flickering beneath the ruin.

Her eyes, washed clear by tears, were now brimming with shattered despair.

The things he could have said to deny, to dominate, to dismiss

none of them worked anymore.

A strange ache swelled in his chest, an ache that terrified him.

He feared the light in her eyes would die out completely.

He feared that once she turned away, she would vanish from his world forever.

I… he started, his voice rough and unsteady, carrying a vulnerability that startled even himself.

But before he could finish, Vianne shoved him aside and ran down the stairs.

She couldn’t face him any longer, couldn’t bear the suffocating tension,

the fragile hope that would only break her again.

Vianne!

Gu Chen reached out instinctively, but his fingers met nothing but cold air.

He stood frozen as her figure stumbled away, the words he wanted to say dying in his throat.

All that came out was a strangled, furious curse.

Damn it.

His fist slammed into the concrete wall beside him.

The dull thud echoed through the stairwell,

and pain spread through his bruised knuckles but it was nothing compared

to the agony burning in his chest.

The stairwell was empty now, except for the sound of his ragged

breathing and the fading echoes of her sobs.

That uncontrolled confession had been a double-edged blade,

cutting her open and slicing straight through his armor.

Beneath his cold shell, something raw and bleeding had been exposed

something fragile he had never dared to show.

The marriage that began as a contract had reached the edge of a cliff.

And this time, it seemed that no amount of dominance or indifference

could keep her from slipping through his grasp.