ra tossed and turned, her mind racing with thoughts that wouldn''t let her sleep. She couldn''t tell if what had just happened was a dream or reality.


    As evening settled in, Megan walked into her hospital room. Megan looked pale, like she''d lost too much blood. When she sat by ra''s bedside, her fingers were trembling.


    Worried, ra quickly got out of bed. "What''s wrong? Is your wound bothering you?"


    Megan shook her head slowly, her face visibly drained of color.


    "ra, I''m getting discharged," she said, her voice hoarse, as if she''d been crying a lot.


    ra''s heart clenched. "Is everything okay at home?" She didn''t know much about Megan''s family situation.


    "No, I''m just really tired. I need to go home and sleep. I can''t rest here in the hospital," Megan replied.


    "Alright, let me take you home," ra offered.


    "No need, I just want to be alone," Megan insisted, looking so downcast that she almost stumbled as she stood up.


    ra could tell Megan didn''t want to talk about it, so she didn''t push further. After Megan left, ra felt the urge to head home too. Megan''s visit had distracted her, and she hadn''t thought about Dn since.


    But once she got in the car, ra nced at her phone and realized it was on silent. There were loads of messages from Z.


    [What are you up to?]


    [Why aren''t you picking up?]


    [I''ming to get you, where are you?]


    [It''s been three hours, are you mad at me?]


    ...


    There were over twenty messages in total. ra was too exhausted to read them all and drove straight home.


    At home, she copsed into bed. Half-asleep, she felt someone gently wiping sweat from her forehead. This time, it wasn''t just in her head. A warm hand held hers, and the warmth seeped into her heart.


    “Z?” she murmured, reaching for her phone to check the time, but a spoon was brought to her lips instead, along with his voice.


    "Have some soup," he said.


    She rxed, realizing she''d been carefully cleaned up. She''d sweated through her sleep, and even her pajamas had been changed. Any lingering annoyance melted away. She sipped the soup and noticed the aroma wafting from the kitchen.


    "Did you make this?" she asked.


    His fingers twitched slightly. "I''m not very good at it."


    The savory scent in the air had a strange undertone, suggesting he''d tried several times before getting it right.


    ra finished the soup, feeling a lot better. "What do you usually eat when you''re on your own?"


    "I just eat whatever''s cooked. As long as the meat''s done, I''ll eat it," he shrugged, not seeming to care about taste at all.


    After saying that, he seemed to realize he might have spoken out of turn. "I didn''t mean to."


    "Mean to what?"


    "Mean to say that," he rified, not wanting her to think he was fishing for sympathy.


    ra''s heart ached a bit. He must have sensed her recent distance, and now he was treading carefully.


    His hand still held hers, and she couldn''t help but give it a squeeze. "What time is it now?"


    "Eight o''clock," he replied.


    She scooted over and patted the space next to her. "Come on up here and sleep with me."


    The curtains were drawn, and the room was dark. He always seemed to appear in the shadows, as if, like he said, he couldn''t face the light.


    Z was about to join her when the doorbell rang, followed by Simon''s voice.


    Simon had nned to bring ra dinner at the hospital, only to find out she''d been discharged.


    "ra, I brought you dinner. ra, open up!"


    ra''s head throbbed. She wanted Z to answer the door, but remembering his circumstances, she slowly got up, giving him a quick, reassuring nce.