Chapter 4

Natalie Xu's POV

Julian sat down beside the bed and took my hand in his.

"Natalie, I'm sorry. My mind was completely scattered that day, and I didn't realize you had fallen down the stairs too. It won't happen again, I promise."

I pulled my hand back, turned over, and faced away from him.

"I'm tired."

I closed my eyes and ignored him completely.

During the days I was hospitalized, Julian stayed by my side in the room.

Every day before dawn, he would get up to cook, bring the food to the hospital in a thermos, and blow on each spoonful to cool it before offering it to my lips.

Whenever the doctor made rounds, he followed closely, typing every single medical instruction into the notes app on his phone, and even setting alarms for when the nurse needed to change the IV drip.

The nurse's station buzzed with gossip about how they had never seen such a devoted husband, and the patient in the next bed sang his praises too.

I hardly said a word throughout it all.

Most of the time, I just stared out the window. I would push the soup away after two sips, and even when he coaxed me for ages, I would only force down one more swallow.

Julian simply assumed it was pregnancy mood swings, attending to me with even greater care.

On the day of my discharge, he arranged a surprise.

First, he booked out an upscale downtown restaurant so that only the two of us occupied the entire dining hall.

Next, he took me luxury shopping, where the store manager personally greeted us at the door and presented the latest seasonal designs to me one by one.

Finally, there was a private lakeside water screen show, put on exclusively for me.

Sentences declaring love gradually lit up across the curtain of water, their reflections shimmering on the lake.

The lakeside breeze blew in damp and cool. Julian pulled my coat tighter around me from behind, resting his chin on top of my head.

Looking at the water screen, for a dazed second, I felt like I had returned to the past.

Those were the days when he had first begun treating me so gently, the days when I thought I had found true love.

For an instant, I even wanted to lift my hand and touch those hollow illusions of light.

But my hand came to rest on my lower abdomen.

It was flat. Completely empty.

The illusion before my eyes shattered into dust.

Julian noticed how stiff my body had become.

Wrapping his arms around my waist from behind, he asked, "What's wrong? You don't like it? Or are you not feeling well?"

He paused, his voice softening even further.

"Natalie, if something's bothering you, just tell me. How about I book an appointment with a therapist for you? It's completely normal to have emotional ups and downs during pregnancy. You'll feel better if you talk it out—don't keep it all bottled up inside."

"

I turned around and looked up at him.

"Julian, if I'm honest with you, can you be a hundred percent honest with me?"

Julian froze for a moment, then chuckled.

"Of course. What is there between us that we can't talk about?"

"Then let me ask you something."

My voice was quiet, yet crystal clear.

"That first love you've held onto for all these years—have you really let those feelings go?"

The smile on Julian's face instantly froze.

The stiffness lasted only a fraction of a second.

Julian quickly regained his usual tenderness, raising a hand to ruffle my hair.

"Natalie, that was so many years ago. It’s long over. Ever since we broke up, we haven't been in touch at all."

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

He didn’t even blink when he lied.

I turned my head, dodging his outstretched hand, and lowered my eyes without answering.

Julian frowned. "What’s wrong? Are you upset because of this? Didn't I tell you, it’s all in the past."

The moment the words left his mouth, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.