CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 81; YOU ARE NOT MY MOMMY

Then, her body sagged completely, slipping from Yueyao’s grip. The sudden loss of weight threw Yueyao off balance. In that split second of weakness, her desperate eyes flickered around wildly before landing on Shen Xuan, who was frozen in shock beside Bai Zhi.

Before anyone could react, she lunged forward, grabbing her son by the wrist and yanking him roughly against her chest. She wrapped her trembling arm around his small neck, pressing the blood-stained knife against his delicate skin.

The entire hall erupted into chaos.

"Madam Shen, no!" the guards shouted, taking a step forward but freezing immediately as she pressed the blade tighter.

Shen Xuan screamed in terror, his small hands clawing at her wrist as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Mommy! Mommy, don’t! Please! Don’t hurt me!"

Shen Xiao’s heart twisted painfully in his chest as he saw his son’s terrified face. His obsidian eyes darkened with fury and anguish as he raised a hand, signaling the guards to remain still.

She didn’t have any other options; he already hates her, so why not use him to gain freedom?

"Yueyao," he said, his voice trembling with tightly restrained rage. "Let him go. He’s your son."

But Yueyao’s tears fell harder, her shoulders convulsing with silent sobs as she shook her head violently.

"No... no... You will only lock me up again... I can’t go back there... I can’t..."

Her voice broke into a ragged, hysterical whisper. "Please... please just let me go... I don’t want to be here... I don’t want to be here..."

Shen Xiao stepped forward, his tall frame radiating cold dominance as he spoke quietly, each word slicing into her like a blade.

"You are becoming crazy, Yueyao," he said, his obsidian eyes narrowing with a cold sadness. "Just like your mother was. You need to calm down, don’t get your emotions to blur your thoughts..."

Her entire body froze at his words. Her trembling grip tightened around Shen Xuan, the knife pressing deeper into his soft skin as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Don’t... don’t say that..." she whispered brokenly, her voice shaking. "Don’t talk about my mother... don’t you dare say anything about her... Don’t you..."

But Shen Xiao’s face remained expressionless, his deep voice rumbling softly through the silent hall.

"Do you want to end up like her? Dying alone... drowning in her own delusions and fears?"

Memories crashed violently through Yueyao’s mind, her mother’s broken screams as she was dragged away by nurses, her lifeless body hanging from a tattered bedsheet, the cold emptiness in her eyes as they took her away in a black body bag.

No! Her mother was never crazy! She could feel it, they had framed her, her mother was the sweetest human ever, how could she be crazy?

"No!" she screamed, her entire body shaking violently as she sobbed. "No... no... no... it was never true, they killed her... They killed her..."

"Yueyao," Shen Xiao said, trying to keep his voice steady, though his heart pounded against his ribs nervously, "No one killed her. It was her condition. You need to calm down... please. Don’t hurt your son. You gave birth to him through blood and pain."

"He is not my son!" she screamed, her arms shaking as she held Shen Xuan close, the blade trembling inches from his skin. "Don’t call him that! He hates me... just like you all do! Let me go! I don’t want to stay here anymore!"

"You are panicking," Shen Xiao said, taking a slow step forward. "You are overwhelmed and I understand that. But this is not the way to go about it, you are going to regret this if you...."

"Stop lying to me!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with hysteria. "You will lock me up just like her! You think I’m crazy like my mother, don’t you? Just admit it!"

"I never said you are crazy," Shen Xiao said sharply, his tone flaring with frustration before he caught himself. He took a breath, his next words quieter. "But you are not okay either, Yueyao. Look at yourself.... You are holding a knife to your own son.... This isn’t you."

"Then who am I?!" she spat, eyes wild and unfocused. "Some broken woman in your golden cage? A shadow of the person I used to be?"

"You are Yueyao," he said, more gently this time. "The woman I...."

"Don’t you dare," she snapped, voice dangerously low. "Don’t pretend you ever loved me."

A flicker of pain passed through his eyes. His jaw tightened. "Put the knife down before you do something irreversible. I won’t let you destroy yourself, Yueyao. Not like this."

Shen Xuan shrieked between sobs, "Let me go! I want my real mommy! Mommy Zhi would never scare me! I hate you! I hate you!"

Yueyao flinched like she’d been slapped. Her knees buckled slightly, the knife shaking in her trembling hand.

Shen Xiao saw it, the exact second her resolve cracked.

"Yueyao..." he said softly now, voice low, coaxing. "Put the knife down. Please. You are emotionally unstable. Don’t do something you can’t take back. This, this will ruin you."

Tears streamed down her face, jaw clenched so tight it ached.

"Just let me go..." she whispered hoarsely. "I don’t want this life anymore. I no longer want it."

"I’ll let you go," Shen Xiao promised, voice raw. "But not like this. Not while you are holding our son hostage. You can scream, you can hate me, but don’t become the thing you fear. Don’t become what broke you."

She looked down at Shen Xuan, at his tear-soaked face twisted in terror, and her arms began to tremble again, blade lowering, if only by an inch.

Shen Xuan’s terrified cries rose higher as he sobbed loudly, his small voice trembling with hatred and fear.

"I hate you!" he screamed, his little hands pushing desperately against her. "I hate you! Mommy Zhi is better than you! She would never hurt me like you are doing! You are not my mommy anymore!"