He Betrayed the Heir, Then Returned to Save Him novel · Chapter 1 of 24
Chapter 1: The Day He Came Back
Killed in prison for betraying Su Ye, Lu Chen is sent back by the judge Morbius to the day Su Ye first comes home, bound to feel his pain and forbidden to tell. Su Lu greets him warmly and says: he'll sign by Friday.
Lu Chen died on the floor of cell nine while four men watched and nobody came to stop it.
The warden had unlocked the door himself that night.
He had looked at his watch, looked away from Lu Chen, and walked down the corridor whistling.
Lu Chen understood then that someone had paid for this.
He knew who.
Su Lu had promised him a husband, a home and a place at the table, and he had believed every word.
The first kick broke his ribs.
The last thing he saw was the ceiling light, buzzing, with one dead moth in it.
Then there was a long stone hall, and he was kneeling in it.
The floor was black and cold under his knees.
A man sat above him on a high bench, in plain black robes, with his dark hair tied back.
He looked about thirty, and his gray eyes were calm.
A heavy book lay open in front of him.
"Lu Chen," the man said. "Twenty-two years old. Your name is on a very long page."
Lu Chen's voice came out cracked. "Where am I?"
"The hall of judgement for life and death. I am Morbius, the chief judge here."
Morbius turned a page without hurry.
"You tricked Su Ye into signing away his inheritance. You gave the paper to Su Lu."
"Yes."
"Then she poisoned his family at their own table, and you helped her say the blame was yours."
"Yes."
"You told the court you hated that he had come home."
Lu Chen shut his eyes.
"I said it," he said. "It wasn't true. I only said it because she told me to."
"That is not an excuse, and you did not offer it as one." Morbius closed the book. "Do you regret what you did?"
"Every day I was alive after it."
"Not the prison. The paper."
Lu Chen opened his eyes and looked at the judge.
"I would have given my hand to take that pen back," he said. "I loved him. I only found out when it was too late."
Morbius said nothing for a while.
Behind Lu Chen, other souls waited in a long line and did not speak.
"I was about to send you down," Morbius said. "Hell is waiting, and it would be fair."
Lu Chen nodded. He had already made peace with that.
"But the Su family still suffered, and your punishment cannot undo it." Morbius stood. "So I will do something I rarely do."
"What?"
"I will send you back to the day Su Ye first comes home. You will remember everything."
Lu Chen stared at him.
"There are three conditions," Morbius said. "Listen to them once."
"I'm listening."
"You must never tell anyone what happened in this hall, or that you lived before. If you do, I take your soul seal and keep it in hell for good."
"I understand."
"Second, I will bind your soul to Su Ye's with a chain of life and death. Whenever he feels pain, you will feel it, in your own body."
"And him?"
"He will feel nothing of yours. That is deliberate."
Lu Chen almost smiled at that. It was exactly fair.
"Third, you will do all of this with no promise at the end. Not forgiveness, and not his love."
"I don't want a promise," Lu Chen said. "I want to stop it."
"Then go."
Morbius lifted two fingers.
The hall tilted and went white.
Lu Chen was standing in a garden, holding a tray.
The air smelled of cut grass and late roses.
The sun was warm on his neck, and his ribs did not hurt.
He looked down at his hands. They were clean and whole, with no scars from the cell.
On the tray were two cups of tea and a plate of almond cookies.
He remembered this tray, and he remembered this morning.
It was the first day Su Ye came home.
"There you are."
Su Lu came down the path in a cream blouse, her black hair swinging at her chin.
She touched his sleeve. "You look pale, Chen. Did you sleep at all?"
His whole body went still.
She had been this kind to him for four years, and he had believed every day of it.
"I slept fine," he said.
"Liar. Here, I put extra sugar in yours, the way you like it." She lifted a cup off the tray and pressed it into his hand. "You do too much for everyone. Let me look after you for once."
The tea was sweet and hot, and it was only tea.
He drank some so that his face would not change.
A black car turned in at the gate.
Everyone in the garden stopped talking.
The back door opened before the car had fully stopped, and a young man climbed out in a pale linen shirt, laughing at something the driver had said.
He was tall and fair, with dark curls and blue eyes, and he looked up at the big house and grinned.
Su Ye.
Lu Chen's throat closed.
The last time Lu Chen had seen this face, it was in a photograph pinned to the trial board.
Now Su Ye was alive, shaking the driver's hand.
Su Ye caught sight of the tray and came straight over.
"Is that tea? Please say that's tea, I've been in a car for six hours."
He took the nearest cup before anyone could answer and drank.
"Ow," he said, and laughed. "Hot. Very hot."
The pain hit Lu Chen at the same moment.
It tore across his tongue and the roof of his mouth, and his palm burned raw.
He kept his face still. He kept the tray level.
Nothing showed on Su Ye. He was grinning and blowing on the cup.
So it was true, Lu Chen thought. Everything Morbius had said was true.
"Sorry, that's my fault," Su Lu said. "Su Ye, this is Lu Chen, my oldest friend. He runs half this house for me."
"Lu Chen." Su Ye said the name slowly. "Hi. I'm Su Ye. I know that's obvious."
He pushed back his sleeve and held out his hand.
A thin red cord was knotted around his left wrist, worn soft with age.
"Don't mind that," Su Ye said, when he saw Lu Chen looking. "I've never taken it off. I can't even remember who tied it."
Lu Chen took his hand.
It was warm, and it held on a little longer than it needed to.
"You're cold," Su Ye said, frowning. "Your fingers are freezing. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
"You're a bad liar."
"So I've been told," Lu Chen said, feeling an unexpected pang in his chest.
Su Ye let go, smiled at him once more, and was swept off toward the house by the family.
Su Lu waited until the door had closed.
She stepped close, and her voice was soft and fond.
"Look how he looks at you. You don't even have to try."
Lu Chen kept his eyes on the tea.
"He'll sign by Friday," she said. "And by spring, you'll be his husband, just like I promised."
His left palm was still burning where Su Ye had burned it.
This time Lu Chen would hand him nothing to sign.
"Friday," he said. "Of course."
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend