Begin Again

Chapter 17

The next morning, Zhan woke up in a large and spacious bedroom. His eyes fell on a beautiful white crib against the wall, adorned with pink sheets and an adorable elephant mobile. But his heart sank when he realized that Yanli wasn't there. Panic surged through him, and he remembered the devastating news he received from his lawyer the previous night - Xuan was determined to fight for custody of their daughter.

Just as he was about to leave the room in search of Yanli, Yibo's mother entered. "Where's Yanli," he asked in desperation. 

"She's with my husband, finishing her bottle," she replied. Seeing his distressed state, she advised him to rest, "You should go back to bed. You need to rest. I'll bring you some soup for breakfast."

Zhan couldn't rest, not without his daughter by his side. He made his way to the kitchen, where Chen Xiao was holding Yanli and feeding her a fresh bottle. "Please give her to me, I can feed her," Zhan said, reaching out to take his precious baby girl in his arms.

As he held Yanli close, tears welled up in his eyes. "I won't let him take you from me, my little baobao," he whispered, gently feeding her. He asked Men Li, Yibo's mother, what happened.

She explained, "Yibo brought you back last night. You passed out after hearing the news from your lawyer. You need to rest, Zhan. The stress is taking a toll on you."

But Zhan couldn't rest, not when the fate of his daughter was at stake. He wanted to talk to his husband and fix things himself. However, Men Li revealed that Yibo had already left to try and help him by talking to Xuan.

Zhan's worry and stress got even worse. "He has no right to do that. I need to handle this myself. Xuan will use Yibo against me, and they might take Yanli away," he said. "Where's the nearest bus station? I need to get back home. I need to fix this."

After Yanli finished her bottle, Zhan tried calling Yibo, but there was no answer. He then attempted to call Xuan, and even his lawyer, but both calls went unanswered as well. Frustration and worry consumed him as he packed his few belongings into his backpack. He asked Men Li for directions to the nearest bus station, but she urged him to wait and stay calm.

Zhan couldn't bear the uncertainty any longer, and he raised his voice, pleading, "Please, just let me go. I need to go!"

He began to panic again, and breathe heavily. He felt a heavy weight on his chest. Men Li rushed to his side, helping him sit down, while Chen Xiao fetched a glass of water. "Zhan," she said with concern, "you can't go in this state. Please trust in Yibo. He truly cares for you and wants what's best for you."

Men Li began to share her story with Zhan, hoping to offer him some comfort and understanding. "Zhan, Yibo knows what you're going through. He's experienced a similar situation. You see, I was once in your place as well," she began.

Her voice trembled with emotion as she continued, "Yibo's father was a cruel man. He hurt me and Haikuan, both physically and emotionally. At that time, he was still running the hotel before leaving it to his brother. We lived in the hotel as a family, but behind closed doors, it was a different story."

"I kept silent about the abuse, scared and unsure of what to do. He would tell me he loved me and our little family, and the next moment, he would hurt us. I felt trapped, far away from my home, family, and friends. I had no one to turn to," she revealed, tears streaming down her face.

"I spent my days hiding from him, until one day as I went into the hotel kitchen for some food I met Chen Xiao who was one of our dishwashers at the time. He was 17, and I was almost 33 years old," she continued, her gaze shifting towards Chen Xiao, who gave her a reassuring squeeze of the hand.