Meanwhile, after the secret meeting with his men. Chang despite being drained, visited the ishimuro prison in the dead of night.
The moon cast long shadows across the prison courtyard as Chang Hao approached the Ishimuro Prison, his traveling cloak pulled tight against the chill wind. Guards at the entrance recognized him immediately, bowing low before unlocking the heavy iron gate.
"Your Majesty," one guard whispered nervously, "are you certain you wish to see her tonight? Visiting hours ended hours ago."
Chang Hao ignored him, striding purposefully toward Bella's cell. His footsteps echoed in the stone corridor until he reached her door - a simple wooden affair barred with iron. Through the small grate, he could see her huddled form curled on a straw mattress.
"Open it," he commanded softly, not wanting to startle her awake. When the lock clicked open and hinges groaned protestingly, he slipped inside.
Bella stirred at the intrusion, blinking sleepily as she recognized his silhouette against the torchlight filtering from outside. Her face showed no relief or joy for his presence.
I sat up and turned my head to the wall , not wanting to even look at him.
Chang Hao's shoulders slumped as Bella deliberately turned her back to him, the silent rejection cutting deeper than any words could have. For a moment, he stood frozen in the doorway, watching the way her thin frame trembled slightly under the rough blanket.
"The guards told me you haven't eaten properly since the verdict," he said finally, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Is your pride really worth starving yourself?"
He took a hesitant step forward, stopping when she didn't respond. The torchlight cast harsh shadows across his weary face, emphasizing the circles under his eyes and the tension in his jaw.
"I know you hate me," he continued quietly. "Gods know I deserve it. But seeing you like this... it's killing me piece by piece."
His gloved hands flexed at his sides, fighting the urge to touch her or force her to look at him.
"Just get out , the rats are better company than a traitor"I said coldly The words struck Chang Hao harder than any physical blow. His breath hitched visibly, and for a moment he looked genuinely wounded by the venom in her voice. The torchlight caught the moisture gathering in his eyes before he blinked it back.
"A traitor," he repeated quietly, almost to himself. "Yes, that's what I am. I'm the man who promised to protect you from everything, including my own wife's hatred."
He moved closer cautiously, stopping just short of reaching distance. "I don't blame you for hating me. If our positions were reversed, I'd probably want to kill you myself for letting this happen."
His voice broke slightly on the last words. "But please, Bella - eat something. Talk to me even if it's just to curse my name again."
" Just go away" I repeated more angrily. He snapped and spills his plan to take me somewhere safe, to start a peaceful life.
"Enough!" Chang Hao's voice cracked with frustration, echoing sharply in the small cell. He stepped forward, grabbing the bars of her cot with white-knuckled intensity. "You think I enjoy watching you waste away here? Seeing you treat me like dirt beneath your feet?"
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to contain his emotions. "Minister Ren is preparing papers right now - new identity, safe passage to a village where no one will ever find you. A place where you can live freely without fear of Empress Mei's assassins."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "Tomorrow morning, during your banishment, my most trusted men will take you there. You can start over. You can leave a peaceful, happy life."
The moonlight streaming through the window illuminated the desperation etched onto his features.I turned my gaze to him dramatically and gave a sadistic laugh. Chang watched me his body tense. When I stopped laughing, I put on a serious mocking face. "
Starting a fresh, a happy , safe and peaceful life you say? Don't be delusional.... After all the pain, unkept promises and betrayal that I went through for you, in the name of love?" Hate burned through my body. "I forgave you everytime you lied or made a fake promise"
" I endured all the bulling, abuse, hate and stigmas because of you. Even when I lost my babies" my hands trembled as I try to keep it together. " Even when I lost time, was poisoned judged and even almost lost my sanity, I still pulled through for our so called love." .... " At this point, execution is better"
Chang Hao's face paled at the mention of her lost children, his hands gripping the cell bars so tightly his knuckles turned white. The torchlight flickered across his features, revealing the raw guilt and anguish consuming him.
"How dare you suggest execution is better than living?" he rasped, his voice cracking with emotion. "How dare you stand there and talk about ending your own life when I've spent every waking moment since this nightmare began trying to find a way to save you?"
He released the bars and took a step back, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Do you think I wanted any of this? Do you think I enjoyed signing that death warrant knowing it meant sentencing you to hell?"
His voice grew louder, fueled by desperation."At least in hell, I will be free from your abuse." I said coldly.
Chang Hao's face went utterly still at those words. The raw hatred in Bella's voice struck him harder than any physical blow. For a long moment, he simply stood there, his chest rising and falling with controlled breaths as he seemed to absorb the full weight of her contempt.
"Abuse," he repeated quietly, his voice devoid of its usual commanding tone. "You think I've abused you? Bella, I've been your shield against the entire court - against Mei, against the ministers who wanted you executed."
He took a step forward, his boots echoing against the stone floor. "I've let you be poisoned, beaten, and called a murderer because I couldn't protect you openly. That was my abuse? Keeping you alive when everyone around us wanted you dead?"
His jaw tightened as he struggled to maintain his composure.
"So your definition of keeping alive ,means standing by watching me suffer only to show up at the dying minute with some pathetic excuse and false promises. " I laughed at my pathetic life .
"For so long I have been blinded by this deceptive love. I should have ran back to the brothel, at least there men don't pretend. They pay come for what they want and leave Even though I was objectified, at least I wasn't told lies"
Chang Hao's face contorts with a mixture of pain and fury at her comparison to a brothel. His hands ball into fists at his sides, the leather gloves creaking under the pressure.
"Don't you dare compare what we had to some transactional arrangement between strangers!" he snaps, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "What I felt for you - what I feel *now* - isn't some pathetic excuse or false promise."
He moves closer, crowding her space despite the bars separating them. The torchlight catches the desperation in his eyes.
"I've lost sleep nights wondering how I could have prevented this. How I could have protected you from Mei's venom and my own cowardice." His voice cracks with emotion.
"Tell me what you want me to do, Bella. Tell me how to fix this so you'll look at me again without that dead look in your eyes.""Nothing. You have already destroyed everything."
Chang Hao's shoulders sagged as if physically burdened by her finality. The fire in his eyes flickered and died, replaced by a hollow despair that mirrored hers.
He stood there for several long moments, simply staring at her profile turned toward the wall, the moonlight catching the silver strands in her hair.
"You're right," he said finally, his voice barely audible. "I have destroyed everything. Our future, our trust, your faith in anything good." He turned to leave, his movements slow and defeated.
At the cell door, he paused with his hand on the latch. "I won't force you to forgive me," he said without facing her. "But know this - The plan will go on , and I will make sure you live a good life even though it breaks me into a million pieces, knowing that I won't be there to spend them with you."
With that, he exited the cell, leaving the door unlocked behind him.