843 Protect Together

Dragon Palace Home #10.

It was already past midnight when Iris and Jin Liwei returned home from the hospital. With Jin Liwei's tight security team and the assistance of his powerful AI children, nobody who shouldn't know was aware that the celebrity Iris Long went in and out of the hospital. Only a handful of very discrete hospital staff, in addition to Iris' new OB-GYN recommended by Wang Yingjie, took care of her during her thorough check-up. 

Both Iris and Jin Liwei were exhausted by the time they came back to their bedroom. They already ate dinner at the hospital but none of them had any appetite, especially Iris. However, she still forced herself to eat just enough for her babies. 

Iris sat on the chaise longue and rested her head against Jin Liwei's flat and muscled abdomen. His hands caressed her hair, giving her comfort after everything that happened today.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You already apologized to me many times," he said. "I don't want to hear your apology about this anymore. It's okay, love. At least we now know that the babies are safe and nothing happened to them. And of course, I'm also glad that you're alright now. You made me so worried."

She rubbed her face against his abs while at the same time inhaled his scent. There was still a slight throbbing ache in her temples but her fatigue from today numbed it somewhat. 

"Your new OB-GYN said that your nightmare might be a manifestation of your stress piling up," he said while continuing to caress her hair. "You've been so used to working hard in stressful situations before you got pregnant that now that you're forced to decrease your workload all of a sudden, you're finding it difficult to adjust to your new not-so-busy schedule while at the same time worrying about our twin babies growing inside your womb. You just need to relax, rest, and find your inner balance again. You'll be fine, love. Our babies will also be fine. I'll be here with you every step of the way."

She nodded and tightened her arms around his thighs.

"Let's get ready for bed, okay?"

She nodded again and allowed him to lead her to the bathroom. 

Later, both were lying in bed—Jin Liwei on his stomach and Iris on her side facing him. She was silent the entire time, still thinking about the nightmare but also doing her best to forget it.

Knowing what she was worrying about, Jin Liwei patted her back. "Don't think about it anymore. It's just a nightmare. It's not real. Remember what the doctor said. Try not to stress too much. It's bad for you and bad for the babies."

She didn't reply, only looked at him with her deep eyes filled with complicated emotions. Finally, she spoke. Her voice was a soft whisper. "It's how I died."

He frowned. "What?"

"The nightmare." Her eyes had a faraway look in them. "When I died before, I was glad. I felt liberated. Free, at last."

"I accepted my death willingly," she continued telling him in a whisper. "With open arms. I didn't do anything to stop the enemies from killing everyone. I only thought about myself. I was so selfish, Liwei."

"I know that I was the weakest in combat in the family. But I was still a highly-skilled sharpshooter. I could've fought if I wanted to but I didn't. I chose to stand in the sidelines instead and allowed everyone to get killed without doing anything. Not to mention that I was one of the best hackers in the world. I could've detected the attack before it happened. But I didn't."

He pulled her closer and embraced her more tightly with his arm. 

"All I wanted was to escape that life through death. Mother was right. I am too selfish."

"This might sound insensitive but I'm going to say it, anyway," Jin Liwei said. He forced her to look at him straight in the eyes. "I don't know the full story of what happened in your past life, Evelina. But I know that I'm glad that what happened in the past happened the way it did because if not, then I wouldn't have met you and fell in love with you."

"Oh, Liwei."

"Sssh. Don't cry." He kissed the tears flowing down her cheeks. 

She clasped his shirt with a trembling hand. "That night was hell, Liwei. But I welcomed it. I wanted to die without caring for the other lives lost around me."

He didn't say anything this time, only listened, while continuing to wipe her tears.

"Then I dreamed that night again but only it happened here in our home."

His expression hardened even as his heart ached for her. 'Ah, so that's why she's so upset by the nightmare.'

"I have you now, Liwei, and our babies. And our entire family. I can't just accept death willingly again. I want to live a long, happy life with you and our family. So I fought the attackers, something that I didn't do in my past life. I wanted to protect you and our family. But you still died. Everyone died. I was the only one left alive. It was so scary! So painful! I feel like an utter failure."

"Don't say that," he rebuked her. "Never say that. You are not a failure. Far from it. And you're wrong, Evelina. It's not your sole responsibility to protect our family. I'm here. We'll protect our family together. Always remember that."