Chapter 5 - He must have loved her

The interiors of the sleek black Maybach were the smoothest, softest real leather. The seats were wide and comfortable to lay down on. Shen wanted Lina to rest but she wanted to look outside as they drove to the capital. It was a two hour journey and he was afraid she would be worn out. But she was adamant. All she could remember from the coma was blackness, and she wanted nothing more than a taste of the outdoors.

As they drove past the mountains through the valleys, the sun was setting. She looked across at Shen who was sitting by the other window. He obediently kept his distance from her, so as to allow her time to adjust. As the golden hour glow outlined his silhouette, she gazed at his other-worldly charm. His well defined jawline was slack and she could tell he was deep in thought and gritting his teeth with anxiety. His messy black hair had grown out and was getting in his eyes. Her heart softened as she edged towards him, and before she could process what she was doing, she reached out and stroked his face with her soft palm.

Shen froze in his seat, without even turning back to look at her. If he stayed very still, she might come closer. Lina suppressed a giggle from escaping. Whoever he was to her, he sure must have loved her. She couldn't help but want to hug his arm and rest her head on his shoulder.

'Why not?' she thought. This man had only shown her care since she had woken up. He was clearly concerned for her welfare. She ignored the warning bells again and sidled up to his stiff body and cuddled on to his arm.

As she looked up at his face, she finally saw him relax and unclench his jaw. As he slowly turned around to look down at her frail and petite body curled up on his side, his whole body relaxed. He smiled at her lovingly as she looked up at him with her big eyes. He slowly untangled his arm from her grasp and put it around her shoulders as he held her close to him. Suddenly, Lina felt very tired. She balled up under his arm and let herself drift off.

As her world turned black again, the image of the kind woman who looked like her came up. This time she wasn't smiling and her hair was a mess. She was screaming at Lina as she pointed away. Her eyes were stricken with terror and suddenly flames leapt out from behind and engulfed her battered body. Lina began to panic, she wanted to save the woman but felt paralysed, and her arms wouldn't move no matter what she tried. Her body trembled violently as she watched the woman screaming and burning.

"Sweetheart...Lina...Lina wake up" she opened her eyes as she heard Shen calling out to her gently with his arm still wrapped around her, his other hand gently stroking her cheek.

Lina groaned as she opened her eyes. She shivered, covered in sweat. Her face was wet, as if she'd been crying. It was dark now, but the car was still moving. She looked at Shen's worried face, relieved that she had woken up.

"You've had a bad dream again, haven't you?" he asked her with concern.

"Again?" she asked, puzzled.

"Was it the woman screaming?" he continued.

"Yes...how did you know?"

"Sometimes you had that dream, even before you were in a coma." he said quietly as he kissed the top of her head, and held her tighter. "But you've never reacted so awfully. You're covered in sweat and you were crying. I didn't want to disturb your sleep but I had to wake you once you started panicking."

Lina nodded. She paused and then said, "Who is that woman? Did I ever tell you? This time, she was burning alive."

Shen looked at her with worry. "Burning alive? You've never said that before. And you never told me who the woman was. You always said you didn't know."

She held on to Shen even tighter. "I don't want to see that again."

"Don't worry sweetheart. I promised you, I won't let anything touch you ever again."

The driver let down the partition between them and the front of the car and announced that they were almost home.

"Look outside, my love. We're in the capital. Welcome back!" he smiled at her adoringly, happy to bring his wife home again.