Marrying My Father's Enemy - Chapter 13: Her Watchful Protector

Struck down amid the battle, the Hero and Demon King meet their demise. As their souls linger on the edge of the afterlife, a mysterious force intervenes, merging their fragmented souls together with a new being. Rusty, the living armor, now affected by their memories and presence, embarks on his own quest. Will he seek revenge on those who betrayed the hero, or will he fulfill the desires of the fallen demon king? or instead, forge his own path?

Thea fell in love with Ryder who is her childhood best friend.She kept her feelings hidden.A deceitful third party involvement manipulated Ryder into believing that she had broken his trust.~Exceprt~Thea's voice trembled as she grasped Ryder's hand. “Ry...Ryder, please listen.” she begged, her eyes pleading for his attention.Ryder jerked his hand free from Thea's grasp, his expression hardening into ice. “I don't want to hear anything from you.You're no one to me from now on.”“You are going to believe her?”her eyes welled up with tears.“I don't want to believe you..” Ryder spat, his eyes flashing with anger. “From now on, don't dare show your face to me.” With those cutting words, he turned and walked away,leaving Thea shattered, her body racked with sobs as she collapsed to the ground.Years passed Thea returned to the city working as a waitress to support her life.But fate delivered a cruel blow when Ryder and his fiancee walked into the restaurant.“Didn't I say you better stay away from us?How dare you appear in front of us?”Thea's voice trembled as she spoke, her heart heavy with emotion.“Ry...Mr. Thompson,” she corrected herself, her eyes locking onto his, “I never thought our paths would cross again, especially not here.”“I made it clear previously that I never wanted to see you again..” he said, each word cutting through Thea like a knife, reopening old wounds and slicing through her fragile heart.Thea's eyes welled up with tears as she gazed into Ryder's, “I didn't mean to hurt you, Ryder...” she implored, her gaze clinging to his, desperate for him to see the sincerity in her eyes and believe her words.He scoffed,“Hurt?I hate you for what you did to her.How can you hurt my woman?”Thea looked at his eyes to find the glimmer of the boy she once knew.But that boy was gone replaced by a man consumed by rage and hatred for her.She knew she lost him forever.Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes.Will Thea and Ryder ever find their way back to each other, or is their love lost forever, a casualty of misunderstandings and hurtful words? Will they be able to overcome the lies and betrayal that tore them apart, or will their hearts remain forever fractured?

Back to the end of Ming Dynasty, he was reduced to a slave.

This emperor, a beggar can do it, a slave can do it, a bandit can do it, but a house slave can’t do it?

- Description from novelbuddy

The journey of a generation’s male empress started because of four words.

“Send a dowry escort.”

During the 19th year of Yuanqing, Qi Yunruo boarded a carriage and entered through a corner door of the second prince’s estate. Then, across the watery corridor, he gazed at the prince from afar.

Notes:

For aristocratic women in imperial China to marry into a family part of the upper nobility, they must be of the legitimate line and must also have an escort/dowry maid that married into that family. That escort would be a “ying” (媵) and could be considered a concubine.

- Description from Novelupdates