Dragon Palace Home #10.
"Careful, love," Jin Liwei said as he led his blindfolded wife along the hallway.
Iris held his arm and completely trusted him. She had no idea what her husband was up to.
Earlier, she had just finished singing a lullaby to coax their twins to nap when her husband suddenly announced that he had a surprise for her. He refused to tell her no matter how many times she asked. Then he covered her eyes with a silk handkerchief and began leading her to whatever surprise he prepared for her.
"We're here," Jin Liwei whispered.
His hot breath tickled her ear, making her shiver.
"Ready?" he asked.
She nodded.
He removed the blindfold from her eyes.
She blinked a few time to allow her eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. Soon, she realized that they were in her music room.
Feeling a little confused, she asked her husband, "Why did you bring me here?"
He didn't answer but looked at her with an expression that she couldn't quite identify.
"Do you want me to play something for you?" she asked next.
"We'll see if you're in the mood to play later," he only murmured.
"Liwei?"
He raised her hands to his lips and kissed it. "Come, Evelina."
Her confusion only continued to grow but she still trusted and followed him. He led her to the adjacent room which she used as an inspiration room whenever she was working on her music compositions.
The inspiration room was simple. The furniture and decoration were sparse and minimal yet still cozy. There was a couch, a soft area rug, a bookcase, a desk and a chair. The walls were devoid of any artwork but were instead filled with Iris' original sheet music for her current unfinished compositions.
She was about to ask Jin Liwei again why he brought her here when her eyes caught something that didn't belong to her inspiration room.
Her breath caught in her throat. It felt like the world around her froze as she stared at the thing right in of her.
"Evelina."
Jin Liwei's voice managed to pierce through her shocked daze. She forcefully took her gaze away from the thing to stare at her husband. She watched as he began rubbing her hands—oh, they were shaking. He hugged her. That was when she realized that her whole body was shaking. Even her teeth were chattering.
"I'm sorry, love. I think I made a mistake."
She didn't respond. She was unable to respond.
Her attention returned to the thing that caused her to act like this without her control.
The grand piano that she accompanied her in her past life as Evelina Vetrova.
Her piano that she used to play when she was gunned down to death.
It must have been drenched with her blood when she died. But now it was shining like it was brand new. It was obvious that the old piano had been maintained well. Or maybe it had been restored after being looted from the Vetrov estate after her death.
She didn't know what her piano had gone through after she was gone.
She didn't want to know.
Or maybe she did.
"I'll bring you back," Jin Liwei said and attempted to pull her away from the room but she resisted.
"N-no." Her voice was shaky but her determination was firm.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She nodded. Her body was still shaking but she forced herself to walk step by step towards the piano.
Jin Liwei didn't allow her to go alone. He clasped their hands together, sending warmth to her cold and shaking body.
Finally, they reached the piano. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow author on Instagram: @arriacross]
Iris reached over and glided her fingers on the shiny surface. It felt cold to the touch and seemed to make her shake harder.
"Evelina."
She squeezed his hand, silently telling him that she would be fine. She walked around to the back of the piano and bent down. Her finger traced the carving she made on one of the back legs.
E.V.
Her initials.
Jin Liwei also bent down and traced his finger over the two letters.
E.V. for Evelina Vetrova.
He studied his wife's expression. Her eyes looked like they were seeing a scene that wasn't the one in front of them. Most likely, she was remembering memories of her past life.
They both returned to the front of the grand piano. Iris was still a bit shaky but thankfully looked calmer.
"You really got it back for me," she whispered while touching the black and white keys.
"En."
She threw herself into his arms all of a sudden. He caught her and managed to stabilize his balance in time.
"Thank you, Liwei."
He kissed the top of her head and tightened his arms around her. "Anything for you, love."
His heart ached when he felt the front of his shirt become increasingly wet. He couldn't hear her crying but this kind of silent crying pained him even more than when she sobbed out loud.
He didn't know what right words to say to comfort his wife because her rebirth experience was not something an average person could live through and stay sane. This was why he could only hug her tightly in his arms and transmit all his love to her.
He had always hoped that his wife would face her tragic past life head on instead of always trying to avoid it. Perhaps she would be able to completely heal from all her trauma and finally move on by doing this.
Whatever choice she would make, whether to continue skirting around her past life or to finally face it head on, Jin Liwei swore to support her no matter what.
Iris lifted her head. Jin Liwei wiped her tears and kissed her with so much gentleness that it caused a new wave of tears to fall down her face.
She turned around and looked at the piano once again. "I want to play."
"Alright."
He helped her sit on the stool in front of the piano and stood behind her.
She didn't play right away but instead touched the black and white keys one by one as if greeting an old friend that she hadn't met for a long time but still continued to treasure all this time.