.
Liu Wei was finally inside the elevator.
She watched closely as Anna pressed the button, sending them to the fifth floor.
Her body felt unbearably heavy; she drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if trying to release the weight pressing on her chest.
How could she stop her body from trembling with anxiety? Her omega was somewhere inside that hospital.
She had already noticed the enormity of the place—three vast buildings that could swallow her whole if she dared to wander alone.
Beyond the wards and medical wings, there were administrative buildings and even the faculty encompassed within its grounds.
Anna seemed to know the place with some familiarity, and that gave Liu Wei a fragile sense of reassurance.
At last, the elevator doors slid open. Anna stepped out first, and Liu Wei followed.
The floor was much quieter than the one she had been on with Qui Mei. Nurses passed by, their eyes lingering curiously on the unexpected visitors. The fifth floor was restricted—only the gravely ill and their companions had access.
A fresh wave of unease rose in Liu Wei's chest. Had something happened to the queen?
Anna led her to a door and opened it with careful reverence, allowing Liu Wei to step inside.
The first thing her eyes found—and the only thing that truly mattered—was Wang Zheng, standing tall in the middle of the room as though she had been waiting for this very moment.
Liu Wei's heart cried out to embrace her, to kiss her, to make sure she was real.
The room could have been filled with people, yet none of that mattered. All she wanted was to feel her omega's warmth against her again.
She rushed forward, and in mere heartbeats they were holding each other tight.
Her chest felt unbearably heavy, her throat tight with a burning ache. Tears threatened. Was this what loss truly felt like? She despised the sensation.
Never, in her mind, had she considered a life without Wang Zheng. For those agonizing moments, even the possibility was both terrifying and unbearable.
"Love…"
Wang Zheng heard the tremor in her voice and tightened the embrace. "I'm fine, Weiwei."
The queen loosened her hold just enough to gaze into the tear-filled eyes she adored. Liu Wei looked so close to breaking, it shattered her heart into fragments.
The young princess touched the beloved face before her, tracing its shape as though to reassure herself it was real. So beautiful. "You don't know how worried I was."
During the explosion, while she had struggled to carry Huan Yang's unconscious body, she had felt something wrong with her foot. Fueled by adrenaline, she hadn't noticed the pain until arriving at the hospital—where even touching the floor had become nearly impossible.
Because of her rank, Wang Zheng had been granted priority, surrounded by endless examinations and protocols.
She reached to caress Liu Wei's face, grateful to have her there—even in tears. Together, they would endure this.
Anna stood silent as a shadow, only revealing her presence when she gently separated them so that the queen could return to the bed.
"Your Majesty… the doctor asked you to remain at complete rest."
Heat rushed to Liu Wei's cheeks. They had been like that in front of Anna—it felt like stealing a kiss from her girlfriend while her mother was watching. Utterly mortifying.
Anna carefully helped Wang Zheng settle back onto the bed, while Liu Wei's heart twisted with anguish at seeing her like this. "Does your foot hurt badly?"
Wang Zheng had been so eager to see Liu Wei that she had even forgotten her inability to stand. She smiled faintly, almost apologetically, at Anna.
It felt strangely unnatural for her not to have Huan Yang by her side.
She exhaled a weary sigh.
"Yes… when I first arrived, I thought it was broken."
Liu Wei sat at the edge of the bed, entwining her fingers with Wang Zheng's.
They savored the closeness of their bodies, a quiet intimacy.
For the first time, Wang Zheng felt the true weight of the temporary mark.
An omega, once marked, could suffer a storm of physical and emotional effects. Until now, she had only felt the ache of longing and a restless anticipation.
But under such overwhelming stress, her thoughts circled only one truth: she needed Liu Wei near. And when she finally saw her walking through that door, it was as if life itself returned to her, her heart suddenly unburdened.
She nestled into Liu Wei's warmth—so safe, so steady.
The princess wrapped her arms tighter, soothing her with a release of pheromones.
Wang Zheng sighed softly, enveloped by the refreshing scent of mint, each breath lightening her spirit.
In a tender whisper, Liu Wei asked, just for her ears, "Do you already know what happened?"
Wang Zheng wasn't as tense as before, yet unease clung to her—it was, unmistakably, an attack.
Her hold on Liu Wei tightened. She felt like a frightened child, clinging desperately. "No… Firefighters are containing the flames and preventing further explosions, with the bomb squad already on site… But it was your cabin that blew apart."
She had been following the updates closely—first reports pointed to a gas leak, traced to Liu Wei's private quarters.
Rage and dread tangled within her. Could it be that someone truly meant to harm Liu Wei?
"Do you think…?"