841 Good Night, Evelina

"Push," the doctor instructed. "The head is out. Only a little more and we'll be welcoming your first baby into this world."

A sweaty Iris pushed with all her might. Jin Liwei was right there beside her, holding her hand, and wiping the sweat off her forehead. Before long, the couple was rewarded by the loud cry of their first human baby.

"It's a—" the doctor announced.

Iris felt dazed from the effort of pushing a small human being out of her womb. "It's a what?"

"Love, our first baby is a—" Jin Liwei said in triumph before kissing her on the lips. 

"What did you say?" she asked again, confused at what they were saying and what was happening.

The doctor interrupted them after handing the first baby to a nurse. "We're not done yet, Mom and Dad. We need to get your second baby out next."

Another wave of powerful contraction assaulted Iris and she screamed while pushing her second baby out. Although she knew that childbirth was supposed to be painful and her body was acting as if it was in tremendous pain, the level was actually not that bad, like she was just imagining the pain. 

But everything was real…right?

The disoriented Iris was overwhelmed by everything that was happening. She couldn't think straight and just allowed the situation to play out naturally.

###

Two weeks later, Iris was still recovering after giving birth to her twin babies. She was in the middle of her recommended one-month confinement. At the moment, she was breastfeeding one of her babies in bed while Jin Liwei was feeding their other baby with a bottle beside her. 

Happiness filled her. Yes, she was happy.

But something felt off.

What was it?

She couldn't remember what happened after the birth up to this point. Perhaps she just forgot…maybe. She glanced at her baby that she was breastfeeding.

So adorable!

Wait, she couldn't see her baby's face clearly. She looked at her other baby that Jin Liwei was feeding with a bottle. The baby's face was also blurry. She blinked several times in an attempt to clear her vision but to no avail.

"Darling," she called her man.

"Yes, love?" Jin Liwei replied. There was a soft and happy smile on his face. 

"What are the genders of our babies?" 

"What?"

He repeated what he said but she only grew more confused. A mild panic started to bloom inside her heart.

"What are the names of our babies?" she asked next. 

This time, the expression on his face became quizzical but he still humoured her and answered her question. However, like before, she couldn't hear him clearly or understand what he was saying. 

"Liwei, I think something is wrong," she told him, now starting to panic.

He gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her cheek. "Nothing is wrong, love. Our babies are healthy and they're beautiful just like you, their mother. We couldn't be any happier right now. You're still recovering. Why don't you get some more rest? I'll watch the babies while you sleep."

"But—"

"Good night, Evelina." 

She felt him take away the baby in her arms. "Liwei, wait…."

Her eyes grew heavy. So heavy. No matter how hard she tried to fight off the drowsiness, she couldn't. Sleep pulled her, sucked her slowly at first, and then quickly into the world of darkness. She fought against it. But she sank…and she drowned.

###

When she awakened, the smell of blood, gunpowder and death filled the air.

Huh?

The numerous helicopters sounded like beating drums announcing the execution of criminals.

No!

Shouts and screams blended with gunshots. Smoke rose in the night sky like an evil phantom about to swallow the moon and the stars.

Oh, please no!

Inside the Dragon Palace Home #10 mansion, Iris who was wearing a white dress watched this scene from hell. She stood in the shadows, sweeping her dark phoenix eyes across all the carnage below her. Moonlight reflected on her black hair.

"No! This isn't happening! This isn't real!"

But everything felt real. The sound of two babies crying alarmed her. Where were her babies?!

"Liwei!" she shouted in fear. "Where are you?!"

She started running from room to room. Everywhere she went was a total wreck. However, the weird thing was that there was nobody in sight, even though she could hear the sounds of fighting and screaming in the distance. 

The familiar hallways didn't seem to end. She ran and ran but couldn't reach where she wanted to go. Tears flowed down her eyes nonstop. She was screaming and calling for Jin Liwei. She could still hear the loud, distressed cries of their babies but couldn't figure out where they were. 

With her great hearing, she heard the enemies finally invading the mansion. The gunshots rang louder as they drew nearer.

"No, please! My family in this life is innocent! Don't take them away from me!"

She ran faster and harder, not knowing where she was running towards, but she didn't care. The most important thing was to look for Jin Liwei, their babies and the others and to make sure that they were safe. This time, she wouldn't just sit there calmly and allow the enemies to annihilate her entire family. She would fight back and save her loved ones. 

"Evelina, where are you?" 

Finally, she heard Jin Liwei's voice calling for her. She followed his voice and arrived at her piano room. He was carrying both of their twin babies in his arms. She ran towards him and embraced him before taking one of the babies from him. 

"We need to get out of here," she said in an urgent tone.

Then Beethoven's "Für Elise" started seeping through the sounds murder in the air.