For a long moment, neither of them moved. They just held on.
Then, his voice broke through the silence.
"I told you—your body belongs to me, and my body belongs to you," she said, voice cracking. "If it's death, we should face it together. So why did you run off all by yourself?!"
Zhao Yan blinked.
Then a pained smile tugged at his lips.
He looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I'm sorry," he said, voice raw. "I'm so sorry, Jing'er…"
She shook her head, fresh tears falling.
"I looked everywhere for you," she whispered. "I asked everyone—but you weren't there. No one knew. They all thought you were… gone."
His hand reached up, gently wiping the tears from her cheek with his thumb.
"I'm here now," he said.
And she collapsed into him again, burying herself in the truth of those words.
...
Night had settled over the hills.
