Chapter 3: The Weight of Silence
1082 Words
Lee Ziya had never been good at lying — especially to herself. But after that night, deception became her only armor.
She showed up to work early. Left late. Ate at her desk. Timed her breaks around Xiao Nai’s meetings. She even avoided the floor where his office was like it had a force field. The executive floor had become sacred, untouchable — like a place she didn’t deserve to step into anymore.
Yet somehow… she still ran into him.
Once at the vending machine. Once while carrying a stack of printouts near the stairwell. Twice in the hallway near the server room — a place he had never shown interest in before. And just that morning, she'd turned a corner too quickly and smacked into his chest, nearly sending her coffee flying.
Each encounter was brief, but loaded.
Xiao Nai would pause, eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to remember something just beyond his reach. Ziya would mutter a barely audible “Sorry” and vanish like a ghost.
It was unbearable.
“You look like a haunted raccoon.”
Zhou Chen’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts as he plopped down in the cubicle next to hers. He held two egg tarts in one hand, one of which he stuffed into his mouth ungracefully.
“You’re pale, skittish, always nauseous… wait. Wait. Are you pregnant or something?”
Ziya choked on her sip of water. “I-I’m just tired,” she said quickly, wiping her mouth. “Late-night gaming binge.”
“Ziya, you don’t even own a gaming rig.”
“I watched a walkthrough?”
He stared at her with narrowed eyes, egg tart halfway to his mouth. “You’re acting weirder than usual. And don’t think I didn’t notice how you avoid Boss like he’s Patient Zero.”
Ziya forced a laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
But her hands trembled.
Because the truth haunted her more than his eyes did.
She told herself she was imagining things. That she’d been dreaming when she remembered the look on his face… the heat of his breath… the way he whispered her name like it belonged only to him.
But the blood on the sheets wasn’t imagination.
The bruises on her hips weren’t fantasy.
It happened.
And she had to pretend it hadn’t.
Zhou Chen, however, wasn’t buying her sudden obsession with paperwork.
“Okay, so you fainted, the boss carried you, and now you’re dodging eye contact like he’s a ghost. What. Happened.”
“I just wasn’t feeling well.”
“You weren’t feeling well, and instead of calling an ambulance, Mr. Iceberg carried you bridal-style out of the pantry? Is this a new company policy for medical emergencies?!”
She scowled. “It’s not what you think.”
“Oh, so what is it? Enlighten me, Miss I’m-Acting-Suspicious.”
But before she could snap back, a shadow fell over their desk.
Zhou Chen turned — and nearly fell off his chair.
Xiao Nai stood there.
Dark suit. Calm expression. But his eyes flicked toward Ziya for a heartbeat too long.
“I’ll be borrowing Miss Lee Ziya,” he said casually.
Zhou Chen blinked. “Borrowing… her?”
“She’s with me.” Xiao Nai’s voice was nonchalant, almost bored. “So, if I carry her, it’s not weird.”
What?
Zhou Chen’s jaw dropped. “Wait, with you as in… you two are—”
“She needs to rest more. And eat on time. Next time she skips lunch, I’ll send someone to drag her to the cafeteria.”
Then he walked away.
Zhou Chen turned to Ziya slowly. “…You faint once and now the CEO’s acting like he’s your husband.”
Ziya buried her face in her hands.
She couldn’t keep doing this.
She couldn’t keep running.
But fate had other plans.
That Thursday, she entered the elevator like usual. Pressed the button for Floor 11. Took a deep breath.
Then she heard the soft ding behind her.
The doors reopened.
And he walked in.
Her entire body froze.
She clenched her fists by her sides. Maybe if she stared straight ahead, didn’t move, didn’t breathe—
Xiao Nai stood silently beside her.
Floor 7.
Floor 8.
Floor 9.
Then—CLUNK.
The elevator stopped.
Ziya gasped. “What… what’s happening?”
“I stopped it.”
She turned slowly to face him.
“You—what?!”
He finally looked at her — really looked at her. “Are you going to keep running?”
Her breath hitched.
“That night—” he began, his voice low, strained, “—I don’t remember all of it. But I remember… you.”
Ziya’s hands trembled.
“I told you, we were both drunk—”
“But you bled.” His eyes darkened. “You bled, Ziya. That wasn’t just a stupid drunken accident. I need to know what really happened. What you’re hiding.”
Her voice cracked. “There’s nothing to say.”
He stepped forward.
“I know you want to pretend it didn’t happen. I know you think it was just a mistake. But I can't forget it. I’ve tried.”
She clenched her jaw. “Then try harder.”
His breath caught.
Ziya looked up, eyes glassy but defiant.
“That night was a mistake, Mr. Xiao. So is everything after. We made a mistake. I won’t tie you down with it. And you shouldn’t either.”
Silence.
Painful. Suffocating.
Finally, Xiao Nai pressed the button again.
The elevator whirred back to life.
When the doors opened, Ziya stepped out without looking back.
But her heart ached in ways she couldn’t explain.
Because she wasn’t just trying to escape the night…
She was trying to escape the possibility of something more.
Later that noon, after the elevator confrontation, Ziya walked back to her desk.
Her heart still hammered from the collision of emotions—fear, confusion, and a fragile flicker of hope.
The glass walls of the office suddenly felt both suffocating and exposing.
Every glance, every whisper felt like a spotlight on her secret.
She forced herself to breathe deeply, steadying the tremble in her legs.
Zhou Chen caught her eye and gave a small, reassuring nod.
With trembling hands, she booted up her computer, fingers shaky as they brushed the keyboard.
Her mind was a whirlwind — the weight of her secret pressing down harder than ever.
She swallowed hard.
One day at a time.
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