Chapter 351: ANNOUNCEMENT ( - updated)
Hey everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to share something personal with you all. Over the past month, I haven’t been able to update because I collapsed and was later diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Every time I tried to sit down and write, the medications and side effects made it really hard to focus or stay consistent.
It’s been a rough patch, but I’m finally feeling a little better now. I’ll be easing back into writing and updates gradually, not rushing things, but doing my best to get back into rhythm.
Thank you so much for your patience, and constant support. Your messages and love for the story mean more to me than words can express. Please also remember to take care of your own health, mental and physical, because that’s what truly keeps us going.
With love,
Aurora
...
Her existence peeled away piece by piece, until there was only her mind suspended in endless black.
But just at this moment, a cold sensation brushed against her right hand.
Ella stilled at once.
The coldness seeped into her bones but it was not painful. Or harsh even.
Her fading consciousness lurched toward it instinctively.
She felt cold fingers wrapping around her in a firm grip.
Yet despite the piercing coldness, it settled on her like warmth.
Her mind clung to it like a drowning person grabbing their last lifeline.
And suddenly—
Ella’s eyes snapped open.
Bright light stabbed her vision.
Her lungs seized, dragging in a harsh breath as if she were surfacing after being underwater for too long.
There was a vast stretch of white around her and the smell of disinfectants lingered in the air.
A blurred silhouette hovered above her and gradually, the face became clearer in front of her.
Adrian was there.
Green lines of exhaustion were etched under his eyes. Messy black hair framed his sharp brows.
His eyes, normally icy, were bloodshot and the rims slightly swollen, as if he hadn’t rested for days.
He was right beside the bed, holding her hand in a way that felt both too firm and too careful as if he feared that she would slip away from his grip.
Ella blinked slowly, still disoriented, her gaze traveling around the stark white walls, the IV drip next to her—
Indeed, she was in a hospital room.
Her heartbeat spiked and she looked back at Adrian.
He hadn’t moved.
He was still staring at her like he hadn’t breathed until the moment her eyes opened.
She parted her lips, wanting to speak, but her throat was dry and it felt like it was scraped raw. No sound came out.
Adrian did not say a word.
He remained motionless for a moment before he simply reached out, slipped an arm behind her shoulders, and helped her sit up.
His movements were slow and steady, as if she were made of fragile porcelain.
His fingers brushed her cheek as he guided the rim of the glass to her mouth.
Ella’s lashes trembled. She met his eyes for a second, the memory of the nightmare still clawing at her chest.
But there something so unyielding about Adrian’s presence that she felt it was something solid she could anchor herself to.
She took a sip.
Then another.
Then a few slow gulps.
Her throat stung, her chest still tight, but the warmth from the water spread through her.
Adrian didn’t look away from all this time, not even once.
Even with the coldness of his touch, her body gradually warmed under it like her nervous system finally recognized him.
Ella felt her breath steadying gradually and she weakly hooked her fingers around his.
"...Adrian?"
His name barely left her lips, but his whole body reacted.
Ella could feel the tension rippling beneath the surface of his composed expression. Something unspoken hung heavy in the air.
As if he had been standing on the edge of a cliff this entire time... and only now, with her awake, he was inching back from the drop.
His gaze lowered from her lips to her eyes again, and for a moment... he simply stared.
One could understand the nature of his gaze. It was too empty. Yet...
It somehow contained the kind of suppressed emotion that could make one forget how to breathe.
"I’m fine," Ella said softly.
Those two words seemed to snap the man back into the moment.
Adrian’s pupils tightened. His expressions shifted slightly, barely noticeable but Ella caught that little change.
She lifted her hand, lightly touching the bandages wrapped around her head. They tugged a little when she moved.
The ones around her neck were even more noticeable, still aching faintly from how Jenny had tried to choke the life out of her.
The thought of Jenny made Ella freeze.
It was not her madness that fazed Ella. That was to be expected after everything Jenny went through.
All her schemes were overturned by Ella and sooner or later, she would have figured out that Ella was the one who helped Mo Jun in taking her down.
So, all her hatred did not bother Ella at all.
Instead, it was her words that reverberated in Ella’s mind repeatedly.
As Ella fell silent, the air felt still.
Right at this moment, Adrian’s fingers curled around her firmly.
Ella blinked once, twice, and exhaled, pulling herself back to reality.
"I’m fine," she repeated, her voice steadier this time. "Everything just happened so suddenly that—"
She never got to finish her words before he leaned forward and wrapped her in his arms.
His grip was strong enough to keep her mind grounded, yet the man was gentle enough to not graze a single wound.
His arms felt like a fortress and she couldn’t help but find herself calming down even further.
Her eyes closed without her realizing.
After a long moment, she spoke quietly against his shoulder, "...Adrian. About the investigation on the Yu Family..."
Adrian’s arms loosened slightly and Ella trailed off.
The man pulled back from her until he could look at her.
Ella lifted her gaze and firmly looked into his eyes.