On the morning of our first wedding anniversary, I awoke to soft sunlight streaming through the curtains—and a blue velvet jewelry box resting beside my pillow. Zhou Yuchen had already gotten up, though the sheets were still warm where he'd been lying.
Inside the box was a pair of sapphire earrings—two perfect teardrops, crafted from the remaining fragments of the Stone of Destiny.
"Do you like them?"
His voice came from the doorway. He was carrying a breakfast tray, the sleeves of his crisp white shirt rolled up to reveal his strong forearms.
"They're beautiful." I held one earring up to the light. Inside the gemstone, it was as if a swirling galaxy had been captured. "Why the surprise gift?"
He set the tray down, sat beside me, and gently stroked my belly. "To commemorate yesterday's check-up."
My cheeks flushed. We had only just confirmed my pregnancy, and yet he had prepared a gift overnight. Ever since my morning sickness began three months ago, he'd become hyper-attentive—he even had his office renovated with eco-friendly, chemical-free materials.
"Are you heading to the studio today?" he asked as he helped me put the earrings on, his fingers brushing my earlobes.
"Yes. The Nirvana collection is going on display in Paris—I need to finalize the selection." I took a bite of the toast he'd made. Perfectly crisp, as always. "How's the acquisition going?"
"Nearly there," he said, pouring me a glass of lemon water. "But there's been a complication at the Myanmar mine. Lin Yurou thinks we should go in person."
I frowned. Since Lin Yurou became humanitarian director at the Su family's Myanmar site, the working conditions had improved significantly. But taking a long flight in early pregnancy…
Reading my concern, Zhou Yuchen squeezed my hand. "Don't worry. I'll send Chen Mo ahead first to assess the situation."
I smiled at the mention of Chen Mo. Once a mysterious figure in Yuchen's life, she had now become a trusted family member and the head of our jewelry appraisal division. She had a quiet grace that made people feel instantly at ease.
"Oh, by the way," Yuchen added, "Your mom's coming by today."
"Which mom?" I teased. Ever since our wedding, both my mother and his adoptive mother had been in an unofficial competition to see who could spoil me more.
"Your mom," he chuckled, kissing my forehead. "She found an old design draft and wants to show it to you."
Warmth bloomed in my heart. Since my mother's return six months ago, she had been determined to make up for lost time. Her memory was still inconsistent—a lingering effect of years imprisoned by the Lu family—but her passion for jewelry design had never wavered.
At the studio, the centerpiece of the Nirvana collection gleamed inside a bulletproof glass case. Redesigned using the Stone of Destiny, the brooch had become a sensation in the international jewelry world.
"Ms. Su, Paris wants ten more limited editions." My assistant, Tao, handed over an order form. "They're offering a 30% premium."
I shook my head. "Tell them there's only one true Nirvana. But..." I pointed to a new design sketch. "We can offer them this new series."
The new collection was called Rebirth and Bloom, inspired by the little life growing inside me. As I made some final adjustments, a sudden sharp pain pierced my earlobe. The sapphire earrings had grown hot. Alarmed, I removed them and set them on the table—
—and then it happened.
The earrings and the Nirvana brooch began to glow in unison. A blue halo spread across the room like rippling water.
"Oh my God…" Tao took a step back.
I instinctively shielded my belly. But instead of fear, I felt warmth. In the light, faint visions emerged: a baby's smiling face, my mother as a young woman, and… a sterile white room I didn't recognize.
"Sophia!" My mother rushed in, carrying an old wooden box. "Quick, combine the stones!"
Snapping out of my daze, I unlocked the display case, removed the Nirvana brooch, and detached its core stone. My mother added another sapphire—a small piece she'd kept hidden since the day she returned.
As the three stones touched, the light intensified. The studio filled with deep azure waves, and the visions sharpened:
—A woman who looked like me, strapped to a hospital bed in a white room.—A wooden cabin in the remote mountains of Myanmar, guarded by armed men.—My young mother whispering to someone: "Remember the coordinates. Sixteen degrees north latitude…"
"Are these... memories?" I asked in disbelief.
"Not only that," my mother replied, her hands trembling. "The Stone of Destiny doesn't just store the past. It can sense the present."
Zhou Yuchen burst into the studio, breathless. His face was pale. "That white room—I've seen it in my dreams!"
My mother took a deep breath and opened the false bottom of the wooden box. Inside was a faded map, with three red circles drawn around a central point—northern Myanmar.
"Lu Zhentian didn't only imprison me," she said, her finger tracing the map. "There were more than twenty designers used in experiments. Your twin sister is still there."
My knees gave out. Zhou Yuchen caught me just in time.
Twin sister?
"I had to separate you to protect you," my mother sobbed. "Your father took you. Your sister… she was entrusted to Chen Mo's sister. But the Lu family took her."
Zhou Yuchen was already on the phone. "Chen Mo, check sixteen degrees north immediately. Yes—now."
The next 48 hours felt like a blur. With the Stone of Destiny's clues and Chen Mo's network in Myanmar, we located a hidden medical facility. When the rescue team stormed the site, they found over twenty kidnapped designers.
And among them—
"Su… Sophia?" She reached out weakly, her wrists marked with needle scars. "Mom said… you'd come…"
Tears streamed down my face. The Stone of Destiny hadn't just led us to family—it had unearthed the pain my mother had buried for decades.
On the flight home, my sister—who asked us to call her "Xiaoyu," the nickname Chen Mo's sister had given her—rested her head on my shoulder. Across from us, Zhou Yuchen monitored her medical data, his expression grim. Since learning that Xiaoyu had been part of drug trials, he hadn't let down his guard for a second.
"She'll be okay," I whispered. "We've got the best team on it."
He nodded and reached out to touch my belly. "Our daughter's going to be surrounded by love."
Yes, I thought. She will grow up in a whole family—parents, grandmother, an aunt to dote on her, and another to tell her fantastical stories.
Six months later, our daughter was born beneath a canopy of wisteria blooms. My mother named her Xinglan—"Star Orchid," in honor of the stars and the legacy hidden in her own name, Lan.
At Xinglan's one-month celebration, we hosted a grand family gathering in the Zhou estate garden. The three Stones of Destiny were placed on a crystal pedestal, glittering under the sun.
"Are you sure about this?" Zhou Yuchen asked, his arm wrapped around my waist. "They're priceless."
Cradled in my arms, Xinglan reached for the flecks of blue light dancing in the air. She'd always been mesmerized by them.
"I'm sure," I said. "Their mission is complete."
With friends and family watching, my mother, Chen Mo, and I placed the three stones into a specially prepared furnace. Under intense heat, they melted into liquid and were cast into a new mold—a teardrop-shaped pendant with swirling nebula patterns inside.
"The first piece of the Eternal series," I said, placing the pendant around Xinglan's neck. "It will protect you, as it once protected me."
The pendant pulsed faintly with light, rising and falling with her breath. My mother told me it was because the stone recognized its heir—responding to the blood that connected us all.
After the banquet, Zhou Yuchen and I stood in the garden, watching the last of the wisteria shadows curl across the grass. Xinglan slept soundly in his arms, her tiny hand clutching the pendant.
"Do you regret it?" I asked softly. "Stopping my father from signing that contract… everything that followed?"
"No," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my hair. "I never loved the goddess of vengeance. I love the designer who turned curses into blessings."
In the distance, my mother and Xiaoyu laughed beneath the pavilion. Chen Mo was teaching Lin Yurou how to read gem clarity, and my father chatted with Yuchen's brother about business.
And in my husband's arms, our daughter slept—safe, loved, whole.
In that moment, I understood: the greatest gift of rebirth wasn't revenge. It was the chance to choose again—to choose love, to choose healing, to forge something eternal from pain.