Gay Harem

Lover Number 8.1 ― Lookalike

"Mom," Li Jie whispered, leaning into her comforting presence, his voice carrying a heaviness that was impossible to miss. "I feel so much lighter now."

Han Yasheng pressed a loving kiss to the top of his head, her eyes shimmering with a combination of pride and worry. "My Li Jie, everything will be alright. I've always told you this."

"I know," Li Jie replied, his laughter tinged with a touch of sorrow. It wasn't happiness that danced in his eyes but a growing acceptance of the changes life had wrought upon him. "It feels like everything's falling into its rightful place."

"As long as you're happy, you can do anything," Han Yasheng remarked, her eyes gleaming with a hint of danger. "You can reshape the world as you see fit. You have an army at your command."

Li Jie chuckled, a sound that held more complexity than his earlier laughter. He was no longer content to play the role of the naive and innocent prince, bound by duty and tradition. He had grown, evolved, and now possessed the power to be the person he truly was, the person Parsa had fallen in love with.

"Mom," Li Jie turned to face Han Yasheng, a question burning in his eyes. "Have you always been watching over me?"

"Of course," Han Yasheng replied, her smile warm and reassuring. "I've never stopped, and I never will."

Li Jie hesitated, his heart heavy with emotions he had held within for far too long. "Then, did you... Did you know him?"

Han Yasheng's expression softened, and she continued to stroke his hair, offering both comfort and support. "Not as well as you did, but I observed him from afar. He seemed like a remarkable man, a shining light in the darkness of the palace, much better than the treacherous snakes that inhabit that place. He was worthy of my child's love."

Li Jie swallowed the lump in his throat, his gaze distant, lost in a sea of memories. "He was... He was a truly great person, Mom. He loved me with all his heart, just as I loved him. Perhaps even more."

Han Yasheng shifted to sit on the bed, inviting Li Jie to join her. He laid his head on her lap, cherishing the rare sensation of her soothing touch as she continued to pat his head gently. It was a maternal embrace that he had longed for, one he had never received from his birth mother.

"Sometimes I... Well, most of the time, I..." Li Jie began, his voice shaking with the weight of his emotions. He choked on his words, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes. "I... I knew that he would... he would... Ugh!"

A guttural cry of anguish escaped his lips, his sobs tearing through the heavy air of the room. He cursed himself for his weakness, for his inability to articulate the turmoil within him.

Han Yasheng, her own eyes glistening with the pain she felt for her child, fought back her own tears. She had to be the pillar of strength for Li Jie, to bear the weight of his agony as he finally opened up about the grief that had festered for so long. There was no time for her own tears; her sole focus was on being there for him, to help him.

"I was so selfish," Li Jie continued, his voice quivering, as if each word was wrestled from his soul. He gasped for air, feeling as if he had been running a marathon. "I should have let him go. I... I..."

Han Yasheng's comforting hand continued to glide across his hair. "No," she reassured him, her voice soft and consoling. "Things happen for a reason. I heard that phrase so many times when my husband passed away. I despised it. I couldn't fathom how his death could have a 'greater reason' when the best scenario would have been to spend our days together until the end.

"But with time, I began to think maybe it was for the best. The physician assured me that my husband passed without pain, and after months of sorrow, I started to believe that perhaps it was the way of the heavens, a form of mercy. Maybe he would have suffered more, maybe he would have left in agony. Maybe, maybe, maybe... There were a lot of maybes that gave me solace and many that fueled my resentment.