It was dark and chilly, making Lu Xinyi shiver in her sleep.

Did her husband leave the window open again? She hoped not. The weather was still a bit warm, and Shen Yi had a tendency to leave the window open when he couldn’t sleep. She rolled on her side and groaned, her hand reaching up to shake Shen Yi awake. When her hand touched nothing, Lu Xinyi groggily sat up and looked on his side of the bed.

“Yi?” She called out sleepily.

His space on their bed was cold, indicating that he’d been long gone before she woke up. Where could he be at this ungodly hour? Didn’t he come home with her earlier? Why wasn’t he in bed with her?

She heard a low laugh inside their darkened room. The door creaked open slowly; a silhouette of a man can be seen from the doorway.

“Yi, where did you go? What are you doing this late?” She was about to question him more when she realized that it wasn’t Shen Yi who entered the room. The man had a sinister smile on his face as he made his way at the foot of the bed.

Lu Xinyi clutched the sheets to her chest and curled on the bed in fear. It was Zou Yin who entered, his smile glaring in the dark.

“You! What are you doing here? I thought the police had you. You should have been in jail!” she yelled. Where was her husband? Where were her bodyguards? Why was no one around to stop this man from entering the Shen Mansion?

“You thought wrong, my dear. Didn’t I tell you that I will make you mine?”

Her heartbeat picked up, turning her breath ragged. Where was everyone?

“You should leave. My husband will kill you this time,” she said with a trembling voice.

“Oh, you mean he could still kill me at this rate?” Zou Yin lifted his right hand, showing something that Lu Xinyi hadn’t noticed earlier.

“No… no… no!” She shook her head in disbelief while Zou Yin’s manic laughter echoed within the room as he showed her the decapitated head of her husband.

“No!” Her voice pierced through the silence of the night.

“Xinxin! Xinxin!”

Shen Yi took the sheets over her form as she continued to thrash on their bed. He gripped her shoulders and shook her, hoping she would wake up from her nightmare.

“Xinxin, wake up! Wake up, please!”

She whimpered on his hold. Her eyes half-lidded as she woke up, finding her husband alive and looking at her filled with fear and worry in his eyes. The room was lit by the afternoon sun glow from the outside.

She sat up and cradled her head on one hand. What was wrong with her? Lu Xinyi remembered now. She was starting to get sleepy these days, and she was having an afternoon nap after she had lunch with the twins earlier. It was all just a dream, a nightmare at that.

“Xinxin…” Shen Yi repeated in a low voice, his hands rubbing her arm to soothe her.

She stared at him momentarily before she broke down and cried. She couldn’t understand why she was having a nightmare. None of them were true. Shen Yi was here with her, alive and safe.

Shen Yi didn’t know what else to do but embrace his wife. He sighed to himself, aware that this might be the last time she would have nightmares again. He regretted not being able to save her on time, not saving her from the Zou Yin’s assault. He could only blame himself for not being able to protect her. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

He sat down with her on the bed and cradled her head. He had planned to leave for a while to visit Li Yuren and follow up on what would happen next to Zou Yin. However, given his wife’s state, he didn’t think he would be able to leave when he was needed here more.

He felt useless as he held her shaking form.

“Xinxin, what can I do? Tell me what to do to help you,” he asked desperately.

Lu Xinyi continued to sob on his chest as she held unto his shirt, and he did what she asked him to. He stayed beside her until she once again fell asleep peacefully this time. Shen Yi eased her off of his chest and laid her sleeping form gently on the bed, taking extra care to place the blanket lovingly over her, lest she would become cold in his absence.

His head turned towards the door when he heard the pattering steps of the twins. They were standing outside their door, looking worriedly at their mother.

“Is Mommy alright?” Little Yuyan asked. She and her twin brother were informed that they’d be expecting a new baby sibling soon, and Lu Xinyi would be restless for the next coming weeks due to the symptoms of her pregnancy.

“We heard her crying,” Shen Zichen added.

Shen Yi waved a hand and gestured to them to come inside. They both entered at the same time and stood at the side of the bed, watching Lu Xinyi sleep.

“Is she okay? Is Mommy sick again?” Little Yuyan asked Shen Yi again, her hand gripping his arm.

“The doctor said she’ll be fine. Mommy is strong; she’ll be able to endure it.” Shen Yi told the children, although it sounded like he was trying to convince himself instead. His mother explained that the event had left a trauma on Lu Xinyi although she looked normal as usual.

A week after her abduction, the early symptoms of her pregnancy such as morning sickness and dizziness started to affect Lu Xinyi’s daily activities. Now, she could be found in bed more than outside or in her kitchen.

Both children whimpered quietly as they sat on the bed, watching over their mother. Little Yuyan looked as though she was about to cry, Shen Yi trying his best to assure the twins. Shen Zichen was no different; he also needed Shen Yi’s comfort and reassurance.

“I’ll sleep here.” Little Yuyan made up her mind, her body shuffling under the covers to settle next to Lu Xinyi. “I’ll stay with Mommy so I can chase the monsters away while she sleeps!”

“Then, I’ll stay here, too!” Shen Zichen exclaimed, not wanting to be left alone by his sister.

“No, Zi Gege! I’ll stay with Mommy!” Little Yuyan pouted but her twin brother insisted.

“But she’s my Mommy, too! I’ll protect her while she sleeps,” Shen Zichen protested.

“Zichen, Yuyan,” Shen Yi interrupted them sternly, his eyes watching the two. “Mommy needs to rest. Your fighting wouldn’t help her to feel better.”

“Sorry, Daddy,” the twins murmured their apology in unison.

“You two can stay here, but you need to be quiet and not to fight, alright?” Shen Yi told them.

Nodding their agreement, the twins laid down the bed beside Lu Xinyi, one on either side of her. Shen Yi wasn’t surprised at all when the two fell asleep quickly. What happened to their claims to chase the monsters anyway?

Shen Yi shook his head and returned to his laptop which he’d forgotten when Lu Xinyi trashed the bed because of her nightmare. His hand unconsciously clenched tightly as he realized how close he was to losing her that night.

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