Master has passed away

He Mei didn't know when she had fallen asleep. Her head lay between her knees as she had crouched down on the floor while crying. Her figure appeared frail and thin and a sense of loneliness and helplessness emanated from her.

It was dinnertime when she woke up. She felt a different type of fatigue as she struggled to open her swollen eyes. Her heart felt empty. It wasn't as heavy as it was the whole day. She got up from the bed before walking to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and saw a haggard figure appear in front of her.

She was once the kind of beauty that made heads turn, but what remained now was a pale and haggard woman. Her once smooth skin looked paler and a little dull, with faint shadows under her eyes that no amount of rest seemed to fix. The brightness in her brown eyes had faded; they looked distant, always a little heavy. She had grown thinner too, not in a graceful way, but as if stress had slowly worn her down. Her once-full cheeks had hollowed slightly, and her delicate hands, once accustomed to careful adornment, now trembled with quiet exhaustion.

When she thought about it, she realized that it had been three years since she had tried to conceive. It was fine until six months, but after that she got tensed day by day. She begged God for a child every day. Prayers, prayers, more prayers. Please stay, please grow, you're my chance of happiness. I will love you with all my heart, please come into this world.

But it wouldn't.

Her period. Her bloody period! Each sanitary napkin soaking up her hopes and expectations was wrapped in old newspapers and discreetly disposed of. 

Her heart knew how much she loved children. And she was the one who couldn't have her own child. What an irony!

These three years of silent struggle had etched their mark upon her. Her slender figure, once the envy of many, had changed in ways only she truly noticed. Her posture, once effortlessly poised, now carried a weight invisible to the world—a heaviness born not of years, but of longing, of hope stretching thin, of nights spent weeping in the quiet corners of her home.

He Mei splashed her face with cold water to freshen up. She wiped her face and went down for dinner. As she entered the dining room, she saw the entire family sitting on the table with a solemn look on their faces. Everyone glanced at He Mei but they didn't pay any attention to her and continued eating. He Mei also didn't have the courage to say or ask anything, so she ate her meal in silence and went back up.

It didn't take long for the atmosphere around He Mei to change so much that it became hard for her to breathe. Gu Zhan didn't touch her anymore. In bed, all she saw was his back. Eventually, he moved to the guest room. She felt degraded, a non-person, certainly a non-woman. She felt that there was nothing left between them.

She was only twenty-seven. She could manage her company, but the meaning of her life came from Gu Zhan. For so many years, she had been surrounded by his gentle and tender love, she had set down roots in this home, the thought of being isolated was heartbreaking.

While she was dealing with all this, something more was waiting for her. She soon got another bad news which devastated her.

"Young Miss," the butler of her old house informed her, "Master has passed away."

He Mei's brain took some time to process this news before she felt like she had been struck by lightning. Her entire world collapsed. Although her father was on the deathbed for quite a long time, at least she had the assurance that he was there. Maybe he would wake up some day. But now, he was gone…

He Mei ran down the stairs like a madwoman and got into the car before proceeding towards the old residence. After reaching the residence, she ran straight to her father's room. A solemn atmosphere had covered the entire mansion. As she reached He Ning's room, she saw He Ning covered with a white sheet from head to toe. She ran to him, shaking her head.

"Father cannot leave me. No, he can't!"

"We are so sorry ma'am," the attending doctor expressed his condolences. 

With a heavy heart, He Mei removed the sheet from the face to see her father's aged face. For a moment, time stopped as she stared at him. She couldn't laugh, cry or react to anything. She just stood there with tears rolling from her eyes. And then slowly the pain in her heart became unbearable. He Mei unleashed a primal scream of pain and agony. It wasn't just a scream; it was a raw expression of her shattered heart.