I transmigrated and got a husband and a son!
Chapter 973: Are you breaking up with me?

Chapter 973: Are you breaking up with me?

[Hours later...]

A soft moan escaped Ivy as she moved, furrowing her brows at the slight discomfort on her shoulder back. Her eyes behind her eyelids flickered before they slowly cracked open. The second she regained her consciousness, she squinted her eyes at the lights that intruded her vision. It took her a moment to get used to it, opening her eyes fully.

"Hah..." she breathed out, realizing it was the same ceiling of the ward where she fell asleep. ’It wasn’t a dream.’

What happened today truly happened; it wasn’t just a product of a hopeful dream.

’It did happen,’ she told herself once more, before raising her brows.

Turning her head to the side, her eyes instantly fell on the bed next to hers. There, lying flat on the bed, was Tiger. He had his eyes open, staring blankly at the ceiling, unmoving.

"Tiger," she called, her voice a little coarse. "Why are you... are you okay?"

Unlike her, who had changed into a hospital gown, Tiger was just wearing his pants. His body, however, was covered with layers of bandages with faint traces of blood from within. He wasn’t injured earlier, was he? Did he fight someone again?

"I’ve already had these before rescuing you," Tiger replied after a minute of silence as if he figured out her thoughts even without looking at her. "I told you. I was investigating Dane, and was caught off guard when I was confronted by one of the men he planted in the hometown he said he came from."

Ivy pressed her lips, getting the gist of his story. Before getting ambushed and eventually abducted by Dane, Ivy knew Tiger was in Dane’s hometown. She would never forget that detail because it was the very reason she ran to Dane that day and ended up getting abducted.

"So you were injured," she murmured. "And yet, you still came."

Tiger slowly turned his head to her, his face lacked expression. "These injuries... are nothing, Ivy."

"How can they be nothing when your entire torso is —"

"If they’re not nothing, then they’re something called weakness," he argued, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I can’t just tell my enemies not to attack me because I’m injured. If anything, if I let them know that I am, it’s like begging them to take advantage of it."

Tiger paused as he looked away, setting his eyes on the ceiling. "So, they’re nothing. Treat them as non-existent."

A moment of silence fell in the ward as neither of them spoke for an entire minute. Ivy simply kept her gaze fixed on his side profile while Tiger stared at the ceiling.

"I see," she breathed out, looking away from him and setting her eyes on the ceiling. "If you say they’re nothing to delude yourself or protect your pride, then I’ll pretend they don’t exist. But we all get weak at times and that’s normal. Even animals get hurt, and we’re only humans."

Silence once again followed suit, with both of them staring at the ceiling.

"Should I talk more?" she spoke again after another minute of pure silence. "It seemed your mind is in haywire. Do you want to talk about it? Or should I just talk to myself aloud? I don’t like this silence, after all."

Tiger took a few seconds to respond. "The voices in my head... they’re screaming." He let out an airy laugh, sporting a forced smile. "I feel like losing my mind."

Ivy slowly turned her head until her eyes fell on his side.

"Dragon is one thing, and Dane might be another case. But Heaven..." he trailed off, still unable to comprehend his feelings on the matter. "... I don’t know. Not to mention, you."

"Are you still worried about me?"

"I’m worried you might get hurt again."

Ivy pressed her lips into a thin line as her gaze fell on his body. "You’re also hurt," she pointed out. "Dane — Dimitri didn’t physically hurt me. All I got were little scratches and bruises from the chase. I wasn’t hurt. And even if I was, it wasn’t your fault."

"Whether or not you and I have this special relationship, I believe Dane would still do what he had done," she continued, fluttering her eyelashes up to him. "I’m someone he already sets his sadistic eyes on. I’m just glad it’s you that I shared these feelings with. If not, I don’t think I would ever be saved."

Her lips curled up into a subtle smile. "But then, I kept wondering how come Heaven and Dominic were also a part of this. I understand Dom. Dimitri was his assistant and someone he trusted. Getting betrayed by someone he trusts is something he’d surely settle on his own. But Heaven..."

"... why was she in here as well?" she asked, staring at his side, hoping for clarity. "Did she come because of me?"

"No."

"Tiger."

"It’s a long story." This time, Tiger looked at her. "But the bottom line is, it’s not your fault."

"Then whose fault was it?" she returned. "If it’s not because of me, then whose fault was it?"

"Ours."

Her breath hitched, eyes locked with his. His eyes shone with deep and inexplicable regret that wasn’t initially there. Or rather, the look in his eyes, which he was trying to suppress until she asked that question.

"Did I... did I ask the wrong question?" she asked under her breath. "Why are you giving me that look?"

Tiger didn’t answer as he slowly propped his elbow on the mattress. When he sat up, he turned his head to her vantage point again.

"No," he answered, shaking his head mildly. "You weren’t asking the wrong questions, but rather, the right ones. You’re asking questions that none of us wanted to face or admit at the moment."

A bitter smile appeared on his face, gazing down at his hands that were on his lap. "Ivy," he called quietly but clearly. "If Heaven won’t wake up, I might have to leave."

"What?" Ivy slowly pushed herself to sit up. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"No... maybe? I don’t know. I don’t want to, but just as I said, it was our fault," he explained in the same somber tone, forcing a smile as he faced her. "If she ends up a vegetable, just as they said, I don’t think I have the gall to live this life as if nothing happened. Nor do I think my love for you can triumph against the anger and turmoil within me. I don’t think I’d be complete enough to love when all I want is to kill."

Tiger slowly rose from his bed, sitting on the edge of her bed to hold her hand. "I have to settle this. Only when I do that can I move forward."