Chapter 9: The Gala
1778 Words
# Chapter 9: The Gala
The invitation sat on Su Nian's nightstand like a loaded trap.
Cream-colored card stock, embossed with the Shen family crest. The annual charity gala. Her name written in elegant calligraphy beneath Shen Liangchen's.
She hadn't touched it since the butler delivered it an hour ago.
The locked office haunted her thoughts. That door. The warning. The torn photograph of her mother's face.
But before she could plan her investigation, the gala demanded her attention. An event where she would be paraded before Acity's elite as the newest Shen bride. An event designed to humiliate her.
She picked up the invitation. Turned it over in her fingers.
The door slammed open.
Madam Shen stood in the doorway, a crumpled bundle of fabric clutched in her manicured hands. She crossed the room in three sharp strides and threw the bundle onto Su Nian's bed.
It unfolded as it landed.
A dress. Old. Faded burgundy silk with yellowed lace trim along the neckline. The style belonged to a decade ago, and the fabric bore the distinct sheen of too many dry cleanings.
“Wear this to the gala,” Madam Shen said, her voice dripping with contempt. “Don't embarrass our family.”
Su Nian looked at the dress. Then at her mother-in-law.
“This is a maid's hand-me-down.”
Madam Shen's eyes narrowed. “You're lucky I'm giving you anything at all. A woman who sold herself into this family doesn't deserve designer gowns.”
The words burrowed in like splinters.
Su Nian kept her face neutral, but her fingers curled into her palm. She thought of Grandma Shen's kindness. The locked office. The promise she made to herself to uncover the truth.
She said nothing.
Madam Shen smiled, satisfied by the silence. “Good. At least you know your place.”
She turned to leave.
“She knows no such thing.”
Grandma Shen's voice cut through the room like a blade.
The old woman stood in the doorway, her walking cane planted firmly on the floor. She wore a simple silk qipao, but her presence commanded the space. Behind her, a maid carried a large garment box wrapped in gold ribbon.
Madam Shen froze. “Mother-in-law, I was, ”
“I know exactly what you were doing.” Grandma Shen stepped past her, her gaze fixed on the worn dress on the bed. “You were testing my patience.”
She snapped her fingers. The maid stepped forward and placed the box at Su Nian's feet.
“Open it,” Grandma Shen said.
Su Nian's hands trembled slightly as she untied the gold ribbon. The box opened to reveal layers of tissue paper. Beneath them,
She forgot to breathe.
The dress was midnight blue silk, the color of a winter sky just before dawn. Delicate silver embroidery traced along the bodice like scattered stars. The fabric shifted as she touched it, catching the light, shimmering.
“My wedding dress,” Grandma Shen murmured. “I had it remade for you. Your measurements were submitted to the seamstress last week.”
Su Nian's eyes burned. “Grandma, I can't accept, ”
“You can, and you will.” Grandma Shen's voice hardened as she turned to Madam Shen. “My granddaughter-in-law will attend the gala in a dress befitting her status. She will stand beside Liangchen as a Shen. Not as a servant.”
Madam Shen's face went pale, then red. She opened her mouth, closed it, and finally forced a tight nod. “Of course, Mother-in-law.”
She left without another word.
Grandma Shen waited until the door clicked shut, then reached out and touched Su Nian's cheek. “Stand tall tonight, child. You belong there as much as anyone.”
Su Nian swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thank you.”
---
The gala hall blazed with crystal chandeliers and the murmur of Acity's wealthiest families.
Su Nian stepped through the entrance and felt eyes turn toward her.
The midnight blue dress fit like a second skin. The silver embroidery caught the chandelier light, scattering it across the marble floor as she walked. Her hair was pinned up, a simple jade hairpin holding it in place.
For a moment, the whispers stopped.
Then they began again, sharper this time.
“Is that the Shen boy's new wife?”
“The one from the countryside?”
“Look at that dress, must have cost a fortune. Probably emptied Liangchen's wallet.”
Su Nian kept walking, her chin held high. She found her assigned table near the back corner. Away from the main stage. Away from the Shen family's central table.
She sat alone.
The gala unfolded around her like a play she wasn't invited to join. Speeches. Auction items. Champagne toasts.
Then the wolves arrived.
Three women approached her table, their designer gowns rustling with each step. The leader wore emerald silk and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
“So you're the new Mrs. Shen,” she said, looking down at Su Nian. “I'm Wang Yifei. We were all so curious to meet you.”
Another woman, thin and sharp-featured, leaned in. “That dress is beautiful. Too bad the woman wearing it is a placeholder.”
Su Nian set down her champagne glass. “Placeholder?”
“Everyone knows Shen Liangchen belongs to Lin Yuxin,” the third woman said, examining her nails. “You're just filling time until he comes to his senses.”
The first woman, Wang Yifei, laughed. “Don't be cruel. She probably thinks she earned her place here.”
Su Nian stood.
She was shorter than all three of them, but when she spoke, her voice carried.
“Clothes can be replaced,” she said, meeting Wang Yifei's gaze. “Character can't. I suppose that's why you're all so nervous about what I'm wearing.”
The smiles vanished.
Wang Yifei's eyes hardened. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Su Nian stepped closer, her voice dropping. “I know exactly who I am. Do you?”
She walked past them before they could respond.
Her pulse quickened. Her hands shook slightly. But she didn't look back.
---
The bathroom was blessedly empty.
Su Nian stood at the sink, gripping the counter edge, forcing herself to breathe. The reflection staring back at her was composed. Regal. Unbroken.
She hadn't felt this scared since the night she'd knocked on Shen Liangchen's study door.
Two minutes. She needed two minutes to collect herself.
The door swung open.
Lin Yuxin stepped inside and locked it behind her.
Su Nian turned. The heiress looked flawless in a white gown, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders. But her eyes held something cold. Something dangerous.
“We need to talk,” Lin Yuxin said.
“I'm listening.”
Lin Yuxin crossed the room until she stood inches away. Perfume. Roses and something metallic beneath.
“I don't know what game you're playing,” she said, her voice low and tight, “but it ends tonight. Leave Liangchen. Divorce him. Disappear.”
Su Nian met her gaze. “And if I refuse?”
“Then I'll make sure you can't show your face in Acity again.” Lin Yuxin's smile was razor-thin. “I have resources. Connections. You're nothing but a country girl who sold her womb for money.”
The words hung in the air.
Su Nian felt something shift inside her. The fear she'd been holding since she stepped into this house. The shame. The desperation.
It crystallized into something harder.
“Two years ago,” Su Nian drawled, “you were photographed checking into the Imperial Hotel with Director Zhao. He was married at the time.”
Lin Yuxin's face went white.
“The photos were bought back by your family for three million yuan,” Su Nian continued. “The tabloid editor who took them was transferred to a branch office in Qinghai. Director Zhao's wife filed for divorce three months later, but the settlement was never made public.”
Silence.
The bathroom's only sound was the hum of the ventilation fan.
Lin Yuxin's hands trembled. “How... how do you know that?”
Su Nian stepped past her toward the door. “I know a lot of things, Miss Lin. And I'd suggest you remember that before you threaten me again.”
She unlocked the door.
“Stay away from Shen Liangchen,” Lin Yuxin whispered, but her voice had lost its edge.
Su Nian paused, her hand on the handle. “I'm not your enemy. But I'm not your puppet, either. Remember that.”
She walked out.
The hallway was cool. Quiet. The gala's noise filtered from the main hall, a distant hum.
She made it two steps before she saw them.
Through the glass doors leading to the terrace.
Shen Liangchen stood with Lin Yuxin.
No, Lin Yuxin was still in the bathroom. Su Nian turned.
Lin Yuxin emerged from the bathroom, her face still pale, and walked directly toward the terrace doors.
Toward Shen Liangchen.
Su Nian watched as Lin Yuxin stepped onto the terrace. Watched as Shen Liangchen turned. Watched as Lin Yuxin said something, tears streaming down her face, and Shen Liangchen reached out and touched her shoulder.
A comforting gesture.
An intimate gesture.
The kind of gesture he'd never shown Su Nian.
Her chest caved in.
She turned away. Walked toward the exit. Her heels clicked against the marble floor, each step carrying her further from the lights, the music, the laughter.
She didn't stop until she reached the car.
The driver looked at her with surprise. “Madam? The gala isn't over.”
“Take me home,” she said.
Her voice didn't shake.
---
The car rolled through the dark streets.
Su Nian sat in the back seat, her dress bunched around her, her gloves torn off and thrown onto the floor. She stared at her own reflection in the window.
She'd been blind. Stupid. She'd thought she could navigate this marriage. Find her place. Uncover the truth.
But she was still a tool. A womb. A placeholder.
No more.
The car stopped at the Shen mansion gates.
Inside, the house was dark. Cold. Silent.
Su Nian climbed the stairs. Past her room. Past the hallway of family portraits. Past Grandma Shen's closed door.
She stopped in front of the locked office.
The door that had taunted her since the day she arrived.
She reached into her clutch purse. Pulled out a bobby pin.
Her hands were steady now.
No more waiting.
No more playing by their rules.
She knelt in front of the lock.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD