Chapter 1

When the car crash happened, Dashiell instinctively held me tight in his arms.

Afterward, I was unscathed, but he was rushed to the ICU, fighting for his life for nearly five hours before being transferred to a regular ward.

Friends who came to visit couldn't help but admire and sigh, "As expected of the poster boy for doting wife, he'd risk his life to protect you. Serenity, you're so lucky!"

"Please tell me which direction I should pray to be blessed with such a handsome, wealthy, and devoted man."

I forced a smile, remaining silent.

Because they didn't know that their so-called doting husband, Dashiell, had already found a new flame outside our marriage.

On the eve of the accident, he was entangled with that young, beautiful intern in the underground parking garage, taking her again and again.

His eyes held a joy I hadn't seen in a long time.

And I, without fuss or fight, quietly planned a car accident.

Originally, I was supposed to "die" in this crash...

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1

"Serenity!"

A terrified low growl suddenly echoed through the silent hospital room.

I quickly put down my phone and got up from the couch. As soon as I approached the bed, Dashiell pulled me into his arms.

His body was trembling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

I gently stroked his back.

The arm around my waist gradually tightened. "Darling, don't leave me..."

My hand suddenly froze.

"These past few days, I've been dreaming of you lying in a pool of blood..."

Dashiell looked up at me, his eyes bloodshot. "From now on, I can't let you out of my sight, not even for a second."

I held his body tight, trying my best to comfort him.

"That won't happen."

After a while, he released my waist and patted the spot beside him. I stood still, not moving.

"Darling~"

He looked at me with pleading eyes, his tone unusually tinged with a hint of coquetry.

"Why have you been so cold to your husband lately..."

"Has your husband done something wrong? Please tell your husband, he'll definitely change."

He nuzzled his face against my palm, showing complete dependence, reminiscent of the young Dashiell.

I stared at the scabbed wound on his high bridge nose and sighed softly, then lifted the covers and lay down beside him. In an instant, he pulled me tightly into his embrace, his eyes filled with the satisfaction of regaining something lost.

"Serenity."

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Dashiell fought against his weariness, waiting for that "I love you too," but this time he waited for a long while, only to hear a "Go to sleep" as his consciousness began to blur.

He instinctively tightened his hold on the person in his arms, finally succumbing to exhaustion and falling into a deep slumber.

Once the breathing of the person beside me gradually steadied, I opened my eyes and gently tried to push him away.

The slightest movement caused him to hold me even tighter, leaving me unable to move at all. I gave up, resigned to lying quietly in his arms.

I hadn't been sleeping well lately, and now, enveloped in a familiar scent, I quickly surrendered to fatigue and fell asleep curled up in Dashiell's embrace.

But my sleep had always been light.

So in the middle of the night, when I heard a faint sound from behind me, I woke up almost instantly.

"Stop crying, Lavender. I'm fine."

Dashiell's hushed voice came from the bathroom.

"You don't need to come see me. I'll come to you when I'm better."

"I miss you too... Be good, take care of yourself. When I get out of the hospital, you'll have your hands full with me."

I faced away from him, pretending to be asleep. My eyes remained fixed on the pallid moonlight outside the window, unblinking until they began to ache and fill with tears.

It turns out that even when you decide not to love anymore, your heart still aches.

A pair of arms gently encircled me from behind, pulling me into an embrace. I silently closed my eyes, and a single tear rolled down my cheek, disappearing quickly as it seeped into the pillow.