Chapter 1422: The Calm After the Storm
Night had fallen once again over Herriond. The city glittered beneath a blanket of darkness, its streets lined with twinkling lights and towering high-rises that reached for the heavens like silent sentinels.
The atmosphere seemed calm, almost serene—an illusion of peace that belied the turmoil quietly unfolding within the walls of Cestine Palace. Even most of the palace staff, going about their nightly duties, remained blissfully unaware of the crisis brewing in its heart.
On the ground floor of the palace, hidden away in the sterile hush of the intensive care unit, the soft rhythmic beeping of monitoring machines filled the air. A faint antiseptic scent lingered as fluorescent lights cast a pale glow across the room.
On one of the hospital beds lay a young woman, her face slightly pale, her breathing steady but fragile. Beside her, a man sat silently in a chair, his tall frame hunched forward as he held her hand gently in his own. His beautiful onyx eyes were fixed on her sleeping face, the depths of his gaze heavy with worry and unspoken stress.
Moments stretched in silence until, at last, her eyelashes fluttered faintly. With a quiet groan, her lids parted, and her eyes blinked against the sharp brightness above. She frowned, disoriented, her mind struggling to piece together fragments of memory.
A soft voice broke the stillness, warm yet laced with deep concern.
"Lory... are you okay?"
Slowly, she turned her head toward the sound and was met with a pair of familiar onyx eyes staring down at her with a tenderness that made her chest tighten."Do you feel any pain anywhere?" he asked carefully.
"Xin...?" Her voice was hoarse, confusion knitting her brows. But as seconds passed, a flood of memory surged through her mind, sharp and overwhelming. Her eyes flew wide.
"Luc! Where is Luc?!" she cried, panic clawing at her chest as she tried to push herself up.
But Zhao Li Xin’s hand was quick and steady, pressing gently against her shoulder to hold her in place.