One by one, they filed out, leaving Zhou Yuxi alone in the dim room with only the steady beeping of Mu Yunchen's monitors for company.
The door clicked softly shut behind them, and Zhou Yuxi finally released the breath she'd been holding.
She turned fully toward Mu Yunchen, taking his hand in both of hers. The weight of everything, the violence, the exhaustion, the fear, pressed down on her shoulders, but here, in this quiet moment, she could finally breathe.
"I'm here," she whispered to him, bringing his hand to her cheek. "I came for you. I crossed the ocean, just like I promised. And I'm not leaving. Not until you wake up. Not until you come back to me."
The monitors beeped their steady rhythm. His chest rose and fell with mechanical precision. But he was alive. He was breathing. His heart was beating.
And that was enough.
Zhou Yuxi leaned forward, resting her forehead against their joined hands, and closed her eyes.
