Step Aside, My CEO Ex-Husband! Chapter 1145 - 1147: I’m Back

With gritted teeth, Tianxin endured the sharp pain, her eyes tightly shut to stifle any cries.

Her body felt utterly depleted, on the verge of collapsing, her hands clenching her garment with all her remaining strength.

She managed to open her eyes and whispered weakly, "Dad, I acknowledge my mistake. I shouldn't have dozed off in secret!"

"End your relationship with Ziyang this instant, do you hear me?!" Huo Shaohua commanded, his voice stern.

"Dad, I will never break up with Brother Yang! I'd rather die!" Tianxin declared with unwavering resolve, her heart hardening against his wishes.

Regardless of the severity of her father's punishment, she was resolute in her refusal to part ways with Brother Yang.

"Look at the ancestors of the Huo Family and repeat that statement!" Huo Shaohua ordered, gesturing towards the ancestral tablets.

Tianxin's gaze drifted upwards to the Huo Family's ancestral tablets, her large eyes welling up with tears of anguish.

While she felt the weight of disappointing her family, an equally strong resentment towards such traditions festered within her.

Why did such archaic rules have to exist? She despised them, yet felt powerless to change them...

"I will not break up with Brother Yang! I accept any punishment you deem fit!" she declared before the ancestral tablets, her words echoing with sincerity and truth.

She was prepared to face any consequence. Even if the world branded her a traitor to the family, her commitment to Brother Yang remained unshaken!

"You ungrateful wretch!" Huo Shaohua roared, raising a wooden stick and bringing it down upon Tianxin with furious, unyielding blows.

His rage boiled over; she dared to defy him so brazenly in the presence of their ancestors.

Gripping the stick tightly, he continued to strike Tianxin, and at some point, she crumpled to the ground, her strength completely gone.

Before Huo Shaohua could reach out to her, another figure moved with incredible speed, catching Tianxin as she fell.

Upon seeing who it was, Huo Shaohua's eyes blazed with renewed fury!

Tianxin, weakly closing her eyes, felt a familiar and deeply cherished fragrance envelop her as she was held upright.

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing Ziyang, and she widened them in disbelief, fearing it was merely a hallucination.

Ziyang held Tianxin close, shielding her protectively, his embrace tightening with a pang of heartbreak.

"Such a foolish girl," he thought, "Why couldn't she pretend to yield, feign agreement to a separation?"

"Why such stubbornness, refusing to concede, choosing to endure pain rather than part with me?"

"Truly, a pitiable soul..."

"Brother Yang, is it truly you?" Tianxin’s voice was faint, barely audible.

She attempted to raise her hand to touch his face, but found herself too weak, her limbs lacking the necessary strength.

"I have returned," Ziyang responded, his voice resonating with reassurance.

He was back, and he vowed she would not suffer again.

He would bear any subsequent trials; she had already endured more than enough.

"I..." Before Tianxin could utter another word, her pupils dilated in sheer terror as she screamed, "Brother Yang!"

She watched in horror, utterly helpless, as her father delivered a powerful kick, sending Brother Yang flying a considerable distance away...

Tears streaming down her face, she began to crawl towards Ziyang, her knees protesting with sharp pain, her progress agonizingly slow.

Grinding her teeth, she pressed onward, pushing through the agony in her knees, struggling with all her might to reach him.

"Brother Yang!" she cried out, picturing the immense pain he must be experiencing.

How could her father inflict such a blow? Could Brother Yang possibly withstand such brutal force!

Ziyang righted himself as if unaffected, then moved to help Tianxin.

However, Huo Shaohua intervened first, pulling Tianxin away, preventing her from reaching Ziyang.

"Dad, let me go!" Tianxin struggled, her voice laced with desperation.

"Ziyang, how dare you deceive my daughter! After all I’ve done for you both, is this how you repay my kindness?!" Huo Shaohua bellowed, his voice tight with suppressed rage.

His anger was incandescent; he felt an overwhelming urge to end Ziyang’s life right then and there!

How dare he associate with Tianxin!

"Master, I have not deceived Tianxin!" Ziyang replied, his breathing labored, a dull ache radiating from his shoulder.

The Master's kick had carried its full force, and his shoulder was now throbbing with pain.

"How old is she now? If this isn't deceit, then what would you call it?!" Huo Shaohua demanded, his fury escalating.