𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 ➤ 𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐨

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓.

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𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 month and a half xiao and i got much closer than we already were. with the help of my mother i managed to sneak out to see him sometimes because she would always cover for me.

i was currently sitting underneath a large tree, staring at the clear sky, my hand intertwined with xiao's. i felt his grip tighten on my hand, causing me to look at him. his amber eyes stared down at the ground, avoiding all contact with me.

"xiao? what's wrong?"

i heard a small sniff, and then saw the clear liquid trickling down his cheeks. he was crying.  i quickly brought my hand up to his face to turn his gaze towards me. i was about to ask him if he was okay again but he beat me to it.

"two weeks."

he was right. two weeks until i would be married to zhongli. xiao shuffled closer to me and out his arm around my shoulder, placing his hand on my head and making me lean against him.

"what will happen to us, xiao?" now it was my turn to cry. the warm liquid gently poured down my face, eventually dropping onto the soft grass beneath me. 

ever since i met xiao i felt so much happier. i felt more free. but now, all of that was about to disappear right in front of me.

xiao lifted up by hand with his and kissed the top of it, his lips brushing past my skin. "nothing will happen to us, sweetheart." a few moments later i looked back up at him, at this point he was holding a small black box. i tilted my head in confusion. "open it, y/n." he gave me a soft smile putting the box into my hand.

as he instructed, i slowly opened the box to reveal a ring.

"xiao..? what is this for"

"y/n. i know you're married to zhongli." he moved his hind on top of mine and looked right at me, making eye contact. "but, will you make me the happiest man in the world?" i felt my eyes sting as tears of happiness slowly rolled down my cheeks.

"y-y/n?! don't cry! sorry if this is too soon for you i just-" i cut him off by planting a deep kiss on his lips.

"yes xiao. i will marry you."

his eyes softened as he brought a hand to my face and cupped my cheek, pressing our foreheads together. we then turned to stare at the sun, which lay high in the sky.

"we have to go to the practice ceremony, come on we'll be late." xiao stood up and offered his hand to pull me up after him. i nodded and we both hurried to the venue, hand in hand.

-

once we reached the venue my mother came running up to us. "xiao, y/n! the practice is about to start, get in there before your father gets suspicious." xiao gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing off to take his place by the alter.

after a few second my father came into view and without speaking a word reached out his hand. i reluctantly accepted it as my mother disappeared to stand beside xiao. the orchestra began to play to music as my father slowly walked me down the aisle. i felt a sharp squeeze of my hand, causing me to wince in pain.

i looked at the source to see my father glaring at me. "at least make it look like you want to be here, child. if you mess up this practice you'll regret it." i nodded hurriedly as he loosened his grip.

after a few more seconds i was stood in front of zhongli, who looked sort of..off. behind him stood a taller man who looked similar to him, that must be his father.

(i know zhongli doesn't have a father but please accept it for the sake of the story)

as the priest droned on and on i stole a slight glance at xiao, who was glaring at my father with a hint of rage in his eyes. he snapped out of his trance and looked in my direction. noticing i was looking at him he gave me a gentle smile.

"zhongli, do you take y/n to be your wife?" i glanced away from xiao to look at his boss, who had a sad, reluctant look in his eyes. after a few seconds he took a deep breath. "i do."

"y/n do you take zhongli to be your husband?"

i stood there, in silence. for a long time. the priest cleared his through awkwardly. "uh- ahem. would you like me to repeat that."my breathing became heavier, to the point where my chest hurt. "miss y/n, you're meant to say 'i do'."

no words came out of my mouth, i didn't want any to.

the priest addressed everyone, trying to clear the now awkward atmosphere. "why don't we take a break?" immediately my father grabbed my wrist and ripped me away from everyone into a different room.

"you stupid girl! is it so hard to say 'i do'?!" he had rage in his eyes and his fists were clenched. i had always been a bit scared of my father but now, i was terrified.

"i..i-im sorry." my voice was practically shaking as tears fell from my eyes.

"you're sorry?! if you're really sorry then why did you mess this up for me?!" he raised his hand, ready to slap it across my face but before he could someone stepped infront of me to shield me from the blow. the familiar teal hair came into my vision as xiao took the hit instead of me. my father's eyes widened slightly.

"don't touch her." xiao shot my father a cold look, a red mark appearing on his cheek.

"who the hell do you think you are. she's my daughter, and she needs discipline. move. now." xiao didn't budge. instead he turned his back to my father and turned his attention to me. "are you okay, sweetheart?"

hearing the nickname my father's anger increased massively. "y/n..have you been seeing this man?" he said, pointing at xiao. at this point my mother, zhongli and zhongli's father stood behind my father, observing the entire thing.

"you have havent you? you have brought shame to our family name. i can't believe that my own daughter is a slu-" he was cut off by the sound of a slap. this one done by my mother, to him.

"don't you dare call my daughter a slut. if anyone has brought shame to our family's name it's you, you're a poor excuse for a father." she said, her voice cold as ice. everyone raised their voices and started arguing. my chest felt heavier and heavier as i felt as though i couldn't breathe. xiao's grip was still around me, but it wasn't providing any comfort.

i needed to get out of there. i slipped away from xiao's grasp and ran out, leaving everyone and everything behind.

"y/n!"

i ignored xiao's callings to me and kept running until i couldn't hear his voice.