Chapter 873 - Sinking (1/2)

What does it feel like to be underwater?

No matter how much you hold your breath, the desperation will make you inhale. And there, you won't find the oxygen to fill your lungs but instead, it'd be briny water that'll invade your body. The coolness invading your body would tire you out. The helpless struggle of trying to see the sky again will eventually run out as the body and heart would give up.

Your hair would start rising upward like seaweed, rippling in the currents. The struggle to reach out your hand would also die down. No matter how the panic would hammer against your ribs, you would just sink... Sink... And sink deeper.

That had been the feeling Xiu had experiences all too well, repeatedly in her dreams. The dream that had been following her for as long as she could remember. In fact, this dream was something she was all too familiar with.

She had always been struggling, flapping her arms and legs around, trying to reach out. However, she never reached the shore. She never managed to see the sky above.

Currently, she has again stuck in the same dream all over again. It had been a never-ending cycle after all. When she found herself in the same place, she wasn't even surprised anymore. And neither did she try to struggle out of there.

For the first time, she noticed how quiet it was around her. Ah, the world under the water had been eerily quiet. How come she never noticed it before? Oh, it must be because she was too focused on trying to reach out to the sky.

Usually, she would always wake up with a start whenever her body started sinking. However, today even though she had given up on struggling, she wasn't sinking. She wasn't feeling suffocating at all. Could she breathe underwater? She really couldn't tell at all.

But she knew one thing at that moment, the sky that seemed murky and out of reach had become clear before her. She could see the twinkling stars in the sky. It looked beautiful as always.

For the first time, she heard voices in this dream. Unfamiliar voices. The voices around her weren't speaking Mandarin. But she could understand them calling for help.

But before she could grasp what these voices were saying, the whole world around her spun and everything turned dark before her eyes. She felt someone shaking her softly. However, none of it scared her, instead, she let her body sink into the familiar embrace.

Darren hugged her even closer to his chest and in a soft voice said, ”You can wake up now. Don't continue to sleep like this. I hate your silence.” He kissed the space between her brows as he went on, ”I know you're scared of facing this reality. But you said it yourself you can't run from things forever.”

Xiu snuggled up against him and mumbled blearily, ”I can't face him. Not like this. It hurts.”

Darren continued to drop soft kisses on her face as he added, ”I know.”

Xiu's eyes shot open and she looked into his eyes, ”Regan, do you really understand?” Darren pressed his lips together when he saw the look in her eyes. Her voice was still hoarse to the point that it was barely audible to him. ”I am his daughter and at the same time, I am not. I am neither Destiny as a whole nor am I Xiulin as a whole. Just what am I then? Who am I? Huh?”

Darren caressed her face lovingly as he said, ”You're my Sweets. You're my wife. You're our little tiger's most amazing mother.”

Xiu hid her face in the crook of his neck. She didn't shed a single tear now. She didn't feel like crying anymore. It wasn't gonna solve anything anyway. She had learned to keep her emotions in check and yet, she couldn't control it before Xin Zimen.

He had offered something she had died yearning for. The love and care of the father.

'Don't get hurt.'

Those words were still ringing in her head. And those words became the stimulant that forced her to pour her heart out before him. She looked at her hands that had clasped his waist tightly. He was warm. Very warm.

”Do you want to drink some water?” asked Darren when he noticed how quiet she was. She silently nodded her head and Darren helped her up with his arm. With her body leaning into his arm, he helped her in drinking some water to moisten up her throat. She had been sleeping for too long.

After Xiu drank the water, she felt her throat easing up. Her eyes wandered off towards the window and she said, ”Oh, it's already nighttime.”

Darren pursed his lips before telling her, ”Not the same day anymore.”