Love is a mistake that cannot be escaped

I gripped Gu Yichen's hand tightly, my fingertips turning white. He looked at me with concern and whispered, "Yan Yan, calm down. We'll find your father." His words calmed me down a little. Yes, the most important thing now was to find my father; everything else could wait.

The wedding was interrupted by the unexpected turn of events, and the guests were buzzing with discussion. Gu Yichen arranged for someone to see them off, and then took me back to the bridal chamber. I sat on the sofa, my mind in turmoil. The sentence on the photo echoed in my mind like a curse: "If you want to save him, come alone."

Gu Yichen held the photo, his brow furrowed. He examined every detail repeatedly, as if trying to find some clue. Watching his focused expression, I felt a surge of indescribable sorrow.

"Yichen, do you know anything?" I couldn't help but ask.

He looked up at me with a complicated expression, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Are you hiding something from me?" My voice trembled slightly, and a sense of unease welled up inside me.

He was silent for a moment, then walked up to me, squatted down, took my hand, and said, "Yan Yan, I swear, I have never done anything to betray you."

His eyes were sincere, and his tone was firm, but my doubts hadn't completely dissipated. Just then, a deliveryman knocked on the door and brought a package with my name on it.

I took the package, a vague unease creeping into my heart. Gu Yichen noticed my mood as well; he took the package and carefully opened it. Inside was an exquisite wooden box, and inside that was a faded, old photograph.

The photo showed a young girl dressed in clothes I had never seen before, and standing next to her was a handsome boy who looked exactly like Gu Yichen! I stared at the photo in disbelief, my eyes wide with astonishment.

Gu Yichen's expression also changed. He snatched the photo, his eyes becoming complex and unfathomable, as if he were both sad and angry.

"Yichen, what... what exactly is going on?" I asked in a trembling voice.

He clutched the photo tightly, remaining silent, his eyes darting away, as if unwilling to let me see the emotions in his eyes.

My heart sank, and a sense of foreboding washed over me.

His knuckles were white as he gripped the photo tightly, and his eyes, which were usually as deep as stars, were now dark and unfathomable.

I had never seen him so flustered. The uneasy premonition in my heart grew stronger and stronger, quickly wrapping around my heart like vines, bringing waves of suffocating pain.

“Yan Yan, I…” he finally spoke, but his voice was terribly hoarse, “The girl in the photo, she…”

He tried to explain, but the words caught in his throat, his brow furrowed with struggle and pain.

I looked at him, my mind a jumbled mess, and I couldn't make sense of it all.

"Who is she? What is your relationship with her?" I tried hard to control my emotions and not let my voice sound too trembling.

He fell silent, avoiding my gaze, clutching the photo tightly in his hand as if it were his last lifeline.

After a long silence, he whispered, "She...is mine..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a childish voice.

"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you unhappy?"

Our precious son rubbed his sleepy eyes and came out of the room. Seeing the heavy atmosphere between Gu Yichen and me, he seemed to realize something. He ran to my side with his short legs and looked up at me with a worried expression.

"Mom is fine, just a little tired."

I forced a smile and pulled him into my arms.

"Dad, did you make Mom angry?"

He turned to look at Gu Yichen and asked in a childish voice.

Gu Yichen knelt down, picked him up, and said gently, "No, why would Daddy make Mommy angry?"

"Then why is Mom unhappy?"

"Because Dad has some things to take care of. Once he does, Mom will be happy."

He nodded as if he understood, then reached out his little hand to touch my cheek and said in a childish voice, "Mommy, Daddy won't lie to you, you have to believe Daddy."

Looking into his innocent eyes, I felt a mix of emotions.

Yes, how could Gu Yichen lie to me?

But how do we explain his unspoken words in this photo?

His eyes were sincere and firm, as if they could see through all the unease and doubt in my heart.

I took a deep breath and handed the photo back to him: "Yichen, you still haven't told me who the woman in the photo is."

He took the photo, his fingertips gently tracing the girl's face in it, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke: "She is... my older sister, Gu Nian."

"Sister?" I covered my mouth in surprise, my heart filled with doubt. Over the years, I had never heard him mention that he had a sister.

"She has been missing for many years."

Gu Yichen's voice carried a hint of bitterness, "Back then, my parents divorced. I stayed with my father, while my sister was taken away by my mother. Later, my mother remarried, and we lost contact. I have been searching for her whereabouts ever since, but to no avail."

Looking at the girl in the photo, whose features bore a resemblance to Gu Yichen, I felt a surge of sympathy. So, he had been carrying this kind of pain all along.

"Where did you get this photo?" I asked, my intuition telling me that its appearance was no accident.

“It was sent to me by a stranger, and the address had a postmark from country M.” He frowned. “On the back of the photo, there was a sentence written: ‘If you want to know the truth, come to country M.’”

Country M? My heart sank. Could it be that Gu Yichen's sister was taken to Country M back then? And what was the purpose of the person who sent this photo?

"Should we tell the police about this?" I asked worriedly.

He shook his head: "Not for now, I'm worried about alerting them."

I want to go to Country M first to find out the truth of the matter.

I understand his concerns and I believe he can handle this matter well.

But I was still filled with unease, feeling that this matter was not so simple.

Just then, Lu Mingxuan called, his voice urgent: "Yan Yan, I've found out some things about the photos..."

"Mingxuan, tell me quickly, what did you find out?"

I pressed for more information, a glimmer of hope rising in my heart.

Lu Mingxuan's tone became serious: "Yan Yan, guess what I found out? The girl in the photo is actually still alive. She's currently living in a nursing home in the United States."

I was speechless with surprise. Gu Nian was alive! That's wonderful!

I couldn't wait to tell Gu Yichen the news, to let him know that the sister he had been searching for all these years was actually still alive.

I gripped my phone, about to speak, when the door was suddenly pushed open, and Lin Jiaojiao appeared before me with a smug smile on her delicate face. "Fu Yan, don't waste your energy, Gu Yichen's sister is long dead!"

She sneered and threw a document in front of me. "Take a look for yourself."

I picked up the document with a puzzled look in my eyes, and saw that it read "Gu Nian's Death Certificate" and was dated twenty years ago.

I looked up at Lin Jiaojiao in disbelief: "This is impossible! Mingxuan said Gu Nian is still alive, in a sanatorium in the US!" "Ha, you believe Lu Mingxuan's words?" Lin Jiaojiao sneered disdainfully, "He's just trying to lie to you. Gu Nian is long dead, killed by Gu Yichen!"

"You're talking nonsense!" I stood up abruptly, glaring at Lin Jiaojiao. "Yichen would never do such a thing!" "Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, ask him yourself!"

Lin Jiaojiao looked defiantly toward the doorway, where Gu Yichen was already standing, his face terribly gloomy.

He walked up to me without a word, his gaze sharp as an ice blade: "Is Gu Nian's death related to you?"