Dylan sat on the sofa, his long legs, clad in black trousers, crossed elegantly. Resting on his knees was a book titled The Complete Guide to Pregnancy—the one Elise had brought home.

His long, slender fingers were hooked between the pages, while his eyes slowly scanned the words. Hearing the bathroom door click open, his hand froze mid-turn, and he looked up.

Elise stood just outside the doorway, wearing a set of pure cotton, lotus-root-pink pajamas. Her delicate face was bare and fair, her cheeks flushed a soft peach from the steam of the bath, and her beautiful eyes shone clear and bright.

From head to toe, she exuded the gentle, soft warmth of someone who had just bathed.

She had always been flawlessly beautiful even without any makeup––and that was one of the things Dylan appreciated about her the most.

Elise’s body stiffened the moment she registered her husband’s gaze on her face. The early autumn night already carried a slight chill, making a hot bath feel incredibly relaxing. But that relaxation vanished almost instantly the moment she saw Dylan.

She had assumed he wouldn’t come back tonight. Or rather, even if he did, it wouldn’t be this early—it wasn’t even 9:30 PM yet.

I didn’t think Fleur would let him go so fast, she thought to herself, frowning.

The two stared at each other, yet neither of them seemed ready to speak. They were a couple who had once been deeply in love and completely inseparable, but now they shared the same room in complete and cold silence as if they were just strangers.

Looking at Elise, Dylan felt a brief moment of daze. He was suddenly reminded of when they were newly married...

His eyes darkened as his gaze swept across her abdomen. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he lowered his eyes back to the book. Reaching up with his other hand, he loosened his tie slightly, a faint frown creasing his brow.

Try as he might, he couldn’t digest a single word on the page anymore.

Seeing him look back down at his book, Elise didn’t mind. She walked over to the vanity, sat down, and began her daily skincare routine.

A woman must love and cherish herself, no matter the circumstances; she had always understood this single truth.

During the five years of despondency following the loss of her child, she had lost her way and given up on herself. She didn’t even want to look back on those miserable days now.

Fortunately, she had pulled herself out of it. At twenty-eight, she was still young; it wasn’t too late. For the rest of her life, she still had plenty of time to love herself and love her child.

Finishing her skincare, Elise caught Dylan’s reflection in the mirror, still sitting on the sofa reading. Her brow furrowed slightly. She had taken a nap in the afternoon, so she wasn’t particularly sleepy right now. She had originally planned to lie in bed with the lights off and listen to some prenatal stories to ease into sleep. But now that Dylan was back...

Elise pursed her lips, walked to the nightstand, and opened the drawer. She took out her headphones and put them on.

Connecting them to Bluetooth, she opened her app and hit play. Pulling back the duvet, she climbed into bed, put on her eye mask, and turned on her side to adjust to the most comfortable sleeping position before closing her eyes.

Throughout the entire process, she was perfectly calm and collected, treating Dylan as if he were nothing but lifeless furniture.

Dylan waited until everything behind him fell completely silent before closing the book. Setting it down, he sat frozen, his narrow eyes dark and deep.

After a few minutes, a faint sigh echoed softly in the quiet room. Then, he rose and quietly walked out, turning off the main bedroom lights and softly closing the door behind him.

Lying on her side, Elise’s breathing gradually grew steady and even. Dylan’s presence and departure hadn’t stirred a single ripple in her emotions.

It turned out that she could be this calm when facing his comings and goings. It turned out that letting go of an incompatible lover wasn’t that difficult after all.

Yet, in the dead of night, disobedient memories of their beautiful past would occasionally slip into her dreams. Waking up in the middle of the night, her pillow would still be damp, and her chest would feel empty. Fortunately, that suffocating, agonizing pain no longer tightly wrapped around her heart.

She believed that one day, she would truly be able to forget Dylan from the bottom of her heart, along with every little detail of their past.

. . .

Dylan decided to go to the study. The main lights were off; only the desk lamp cast a warm, orange glow, enveloping his silhouette.

Sitting at the desk, he held an ultrasound report in his hand. It was the report on their lost twins. For all these years, it had been quietly locked away in the very bottom drawer of his desk.

On the 4D ultrasound, the features of the two babies were already quite clear. Dylan always felt that the one who looked like him was the boy, while the other, who resembled Elise, was the girl.

Back then, when he rushed to the hospital, Elise was still in the ICU. He went to see her first before rushing over to see the two babies. The doctor had asked him if he wanted to see them.

In the end, he hadn’t dared to look. He was terrified that if he did, he would never be able to forget them for the rest of his life...

But lately, he found himself constantly remembering that day. He kept asking himself: if he had gathered the courage to look at the two children back then, would he be spared from this overwhelming guilt and regret now?

There was no one to give him an answer.