Actually, she could consider them as good friends who had a silent rule of never getting involved in the other's personal affairs and matters. Tang Moyu knew that it was unfair for the two of them to be tied in a loveless marriage arrangement, but Feng Tianhua had never indicated or shown any sign that he was rejecting the idea either.

  It was like he'd already accepted that she would be his wife and nothing could be changed about that.

  When Tang Moyu first met him with his mother, she didn't have a bad impression of him at all. In her young mind, he was like the rest of the boys she'd met before.

  "I can't say that we're childhood friends, but we knew each other for a long time. Even Li Meili knew about him." She started to reminisce about their younger years. "I met him when my parents and I visited your father. His wife…" she faltered for a moment, "Wang Ruoxi introduced Tianhua to me as my betrothed."

  There was nothing special about her first meeting with Feng Tianhua, but since then, she was supposed to meet him once in a while to be 'acquainted', according to her mother's words. Tang Moyu didn't think that their engagement was a big deal when she was a child since it was something far in the future anyway.

  During those times, she kept herself busy with her studies, trying to be a perfect daughter her parents could be proud of. Alas, no matter how hard she tried to prove herself, the day she was abandoned by her family five years ago had made it clear to the empress that she was worth nothing to them. She was just deluding herself that she would one day be able to gain their affections.

  How stupid. How foolish of her to place her trust in the family who never bothered to care about her feelings.

  "Growing up, Tianhua and I were civil with each other. Though we understood that we were to marry someday, it didn't stop him from pursuing other women." Tang Moyu continued.

  "And you allowed him to cheat on you like that? Didn't you think he was disrespecting you?" Feng Tianyi questioned. Whether they were engaged or not, what sane woman would like to see her partner being affectionate with another woman?

  "As I said, we've been thrown into this marriage arrangement where neither of us had any say in. I understood from a young age that I shouldn't make an issue out of his affairs." Tang Moyu inclined her head and cupped the side of her face using an elbow she propped on the armrest.

  "I assume you are aware of the reputation that the Tang daughters hold within Shenzhen?" She added.

  Feng Tianyi slowly nodded his head. Yes, he'd heard the rumors about the Tang family using their daughters to keep their influence steady in the social circle and the business industry.

  He also heard about the Tangs producing beautiful and graceful daughters, making it easier for their family to strengthen their ties with other families. Having seen Tang Moyu himself, the rumors paled in comparison to her great beauty.

  Even Lu Tianxin, who was also a Tang daughter, had a share of her graceful charm that no doubt could attract men like wolves, vying for her attention.

  However, what set the empress apart from other Tang women was her business finesse and cold beauty. Her ice queen personality also added to her charm, whether people acknowledged it or not. Many see the empress as some kind of ice queen, but Feng Tianyi thought that she was just being as tough as she needed to be.

  She had no one to rely on, so it's only natural for her to be tough and indifferent towards those she wasn't associated with.

  Tang Moyu exuded an air of determination and steely anger beneath the surface, causing others to tread lightly when she was around. From her point of view, one has to be really special before she would allow them, often temporary, emotional access. Something that Feng Tianyi had realized during his first weeks of stay with her and her little buns.

  Deep down, however, the devil knew that the fallen empress was lonely and fearful and had compensated it with an inflated icy exterior due to an extreme sense of vulnerability.

  He could somehow sympathize with her because once upon a time, he'd also experienced having others telling him more than once that he was full of himself, and didn't care about what other people feel and think. That he thought he was better than anyone else. Although in Tang Moyu's case, that wasn't true.

  She wasn't unfeeling and contemptuous of other people. In fact, she cared more than people knew. As for why didn't bother to explain herself, Feng Tianyi knew it was because she didn't want to be sound defensive.

  However, these traits didn't deter the devil from growing fond of Tang Moyu at all. It only made him feel attracted to her. The fierce independence she had can be off-putting for others, but for Feng Tianyi, it was admirable.

  "Since Tianhua and I knew that we were only together because of the arrangement, I couldn't make him stop loving anyone he wanted to. I knew that I'm also at fault too. I kept his freedom of being happy with another woman from him. We should have ended our engagement even before Xing Yiyue stepped in between us."

  Feng Tianyi's eyes darkened. Even now, Tang Moyu would rather take the blame for his stupid younger brother? If he truly didn't want Moyu as his wife, Tianhua should've been the one who should return the empress' freedom.