Chapter 283 - The End And The Beginning

"Matthew!" Suddenly waking up from her sleep, Zoey screamed to find herself inside the hospital.

"Z, calm down. Calm down." As she scanned the room, Zion Kwan held her by the shoulder while sitting on the side of the bed. 

"No, where is he?"

"Calm down, Z. Please." Shaking Zoey's shoulder lightly, Zion Kwan caught Zoey's unfocused eyes which made her nod her head. 

"Big brother, I had a prank call earlier — I fainted. God... why do people do this? They said my husband got into an accident — gosh..." Inhaling and exhaling, stabilizing her breathing, Zoey complained with tears on the corner of her eyes as she felt relieved at the thought that it was a mere prank call. 

"Where's Matthew?" Raising her gaze back to Zion Kwan, Zoey's relieved smile stiffened seeing the expression in Zion Kwan's eyes. 

Cora Ma who was standing on the side covered her mouth, muffling her cries as she needed to stay strong for Zoey. 

"Big brother, where's Matthew?" Zoey didn't want to assume, but Zion Kwan looked away that made her already cracked heart break. 

"Tell me, where is he?!" Zoey's voice raised, holding on Zion Kwan's arms as she shook it aggressively. 

"Where is my husband?!" Her voice cracked, the pain in her heart could make it stop beating any second. "Tell me... he is fine, right? Big brother, Matthew is fine, right? The call earlier was a prank call, right? Everyone is just pulling the biggest prank on me right now, correct?" Her lower lips trembled, she could barely keep still as she hoped that this was all a joke. 

That everyone conspired behind her to pull the biggest prank in her life. However, Zion Kwan's silence only made tears gush out from her eyes as her breathing skipped. 

"Big brother... it's just a joke. Please tell me it's just a joke!" Hitting Zion Kwan's shoulder weakly, Zion Kwan grabbed her wrist as he looked at her in the eye. 

"Z, Xi Matthew… he didn't make it. He was pronounced dea..."

"No!" Zoey interrupted Zion Kwan before he could finish his words. "That's impossible. I was talking to him this morning! That's impossible, how can he..." Zoey choked, shaking her head as she denied the news. 

They just woke up this morning together, enjoyed their breakfast together, and he even dropped her off to Z Image Building promising he would pick her up again later. Therefore, how could they say Matthew Xi is dead? 

This was too sudden... how could she accept that? Out of nowhere? It was just another ordinary day for the two of them... how could she believe that she lost her husband so suddenly? 

"Z,"

"No!" Plugging her eyes, Zoey screamed as she didn't want to hear any word from her brother. She screamed and screamed until she felt a pain in her stomach. 

"Ahh! Ahh!" The pain in her stomach grew even painful, before she felt liquid on her thigh. 

"Z!" Seeing everything unfold, Zion Kwan frantically removed the sheet and saw blood — lots of blood as Zoey screamed in pain. 

With that, Cora Ma immediately asked for assistance as Zion Kwan gave Zoey her first aid. Soon, a group of medical professionals rushed towards the room and efficiently tried their best to save the two lives in their hands. 

*****

Hours went by and Zoey weakly opened her eyes once again. She felt that she lacked energy to move, as she weakly moved her head to recognize the place she was in. 

"Little Zoey," Sitting on the chair beside the bed, Vivian Xi stroked Zoey's forehead as she forced a smile on her pale lips. 

Vivian Xi's eyes were swollen, yet, she wanted to keep a smile as Zoey's condition was way worse now. "Rest for now, okay? Mommy will take care of you." Staring at Zoey's weak eyes, Vivian Xi sniffed as she resisted herself from breaking.

"Mom, where's Matthew? My stomach hurt so much... Is my baby fine?" Zoey's throat was dry from all the screaming and crying from earlier. Yet, she just wanted to know and confirm that her husband and baby were fine. 

Vivian Xi just remained silent, caressing Zoey's forehead with a forced smile. However, within a fraction of second, tears began to fall from her eyes as she couldn't stop them from falling. 

This day was too much for Vivian Xi, most especially for Zoey. How could Vivian Xi relay that not only Zoey lost her husband, but now, she lost her child as well? How could Vivian Xi have the courage to tell everything to Zoey? 

Although Vivian Xi was in inexplicable pain herself for losing her one and only son, she was afraid of losing her daughter-in-law too. It had been a long day. 

Seeing Vivian Xi's reaction, Zoey bit her lower lips hard until it bled. Words weren't needed in this situation. Somewhat someway, Zoey figured she had a miscarriage… and it was her fault.

It was as if the last straw that was keeping her broken heart together, finally broke. The overwhelming pain... Zoey couldn't think she could handle it well. 

No, she couldn't. It was too much for her to take everything in. 

"Can I see them?" Despite falling apart, Zoey mustered her last energy to see her child and husband. It wasn't that she had accepted it, she just wanted to see them as she felt it had been eternity since the last time she saw them. 

After all, Matthew Xi always picked her up from work. Perhaps, this was the time that Zoey needed to pick him up. Maybe, he would wake up once he had seen her. Maybe, a miracle would happen?

Vivian Xi just nodded her head, wiping her tears as she couldn't speak at this moment. Just one more word, Vivian Xi would definitely break again. 

With that being said, Zoey was wheeled towards the morgue. Zoey glanced at the entrance, another pang of pain struck her pulverized heart. 

Slowly, as they entered, she wished a cheerful "it's a prank!" would welcome her. Alas, that wasn't the case. 

What welcomed her was a corpse beneath the white sheet. By the height of the body, it has the same size as Matthew Xi. It had a name tag hanging around the thumb of his toe, indicating who the corpse was. 

The person standing next to the body bowed his head, slowly reaching for the hem of the cover which he slowly unraveled down to below the chest. Slowly, as Zoey saw the temple of the corpse, her eyes began producing tears. 

It rolled down more and she could clearly see Matthew Xi's side profile. Zoey didn't even notice that the embalmer left her with her deceased husband to bid her farewell. 

"Darling..." In between her hiccups, Zoey choked as she forced herself to stand up from the wheelchair. 

Gazing down at him, Zoey closed her eyes as she placed her forehead onto his. He was a little cold, and only getting colder. "Darling, I'm here..." Tears flowed down as Zoey whispered. 

Her grip on his stiff shoulder tightened, to let him know she was there. "You said you'll pick me up. Darling, I'm not mad if you forgot about it. Let's just go home, okay? Wake up already..." 

"My love, wake up... you'll catch a cold if you keep lying here." Zoey whispered her words in between her cries, desperate for his embrace she should be getting now if he was still alive. 

However, no matter how she shook him, Matthew Xi didn't budge. No matter how she held onto him, giving him her warmth, his temperature just kept on dropping. 

"Love..." Lost in words, Zoey's faint cries began to resonate across the room as it grew louder. 

Vivian Xi, Zion Kwan, and Cora Ma who were outside the morgue remained silent. Vivian Xi could hear Zoey's cries, causing her heart to sink to rock bottom. Cora Ma cried as Zion Kwan embraced her as he rubbed her back. 

"Love, don't worry. I'll fulfill my promise to you. Love you always and forever." After hours of crying until her tears were all dried up , Zoey whispered as she rested her head on his cold chest. 

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GASP!

Zoey gasped for air, as she suddenly sat straight up on her bed. "God..." Zoey sighed in relief, yet her eyes welled up in happiness. 

"What a vivid nightmare." Remembering the pain that remained in her heart, Zoey muttered and then wiped the tears in her eyes. 

"Darling..." Under the dim lights, Zoey turned to the side of the bed. Alas, the relieved smile on her face stiffened seeing her empty bed. 

However, that wasn't the case. What alarmed her the most was that the bed wasn't her bed in the house! It was too small! 

Zoey could feel her heart thump loudly, as she immediately scanned the room. When her eyes adjusted to the obscurity of the room, her eyes widened in disbelief! 

Why does the place look like her room in Z Image Group, eight years ago?!

-END OF VOLUME 1-