The sea outside the window was endless — silver waves stretching into the horizon, soft sunlight spilling through pale curtains. Xu Ling stirred from sleep, her hand instinctively resting over her belly, where two small lives fluttered gently within her. It had been months since the river, months since the world she once knew had vanished beneath the water's current.
The scent of ocean air and jasmine filled the quiet guest room. This was not the capital, nor the countryside she'd once called home — it was the Wang estate in Hua City, a coastal country known for its disciplined nobility and quiet power.
When she had first awoken, she'd thought she was dead. The waves, the unfamiliar ceiling, and the tall man sitting beside her bed — Wang Zheng — had felt like fragments of a dream.
Now, he was her reality.
---
"Good morning, Miss Xu," came a soft voice from the door. It was Aunt Mei, the housekeeper in her sixties, kind-eyed and brisk in her movements. "The doctor will come by in an hour to check on you and the babies. Young Master Wang has already left for work, but he said he'll return before lunch."
Xu Ling smiled faintly, her voice barely above a whisper. "He worries too much."
Aunt Mei chuckled, setting down a tray of congee, steamed buns, and warm milk. "You've been here for months, and he hasn't stopped worrying once. That man could scare a thunderstorm into turning gentle."
Xu Ling's lips curved faintly — a soft, wistful smile. Wang Zheng had saved her, but he had done more than that. He had given her silence, time, and safety — things she'd never known she needed.
He never asked about her past. Never questioned the faint scars, the fear that sometimes flickered across her face, or the way she looked out the window at night as though searching for something lost.
Instead, he built her a world of peace.
---
That afternoon, she was invited downstairs for the first time in weeks. The Wang Family wanted to meet her properly.
The house was vast — high ceilings, white stone pillars, and sprawling gardens filled with plum trees.
As she descended the staircase, her heart raced — not from fear, but the unfamiliar warmth that greeted her.
At the bottom of the stairs stood Madam Wang, Wang Zheng's grandmother, a regal woman with snow-white hair tied neatly and eyes that sparkled with humor. Beside her was Old General Wang, the family patriarch — a retired commander whose stern expression softened the moment he saw Xu Ling's fragile figure.
"So this is the girl," Madam Wang said, studying her with a smile. "No wonder Zheng stopped smiling for years and suddenly started sending me flowers every week."
Xu Ling flushed, bowing politely. "Madam Wang, I—"
"Oh, don't call me that. Grandma Wang is fine," she interrupted gently. "You look pale. Sit, sit — you shouldn't stand too long."
From that moment, Xu Ling was no longer treated as a guest. She was treated like family.
---
Evenings in the Wang estate were calm and golden. The servants — Old Chen, the gardener, Mei Lan, the young maid who loved gossip, and Chef Tao, who had cooked for the family since Wang Zheng was a boy — had already grown fond of her.
They whispered about how gentle she was, how her unborn twins must be blessed to have such a mother.
But Xu Ling knew peace like this was temporary — a soft bubble in a storm. Sometimes, she would dream of a man with cold eyes and a voice that could make her heart tremble — Li Wei, the one who had broken her world without knowing it.
She would wake in tears, whispering his name under her breath.
And each time, Wang Zheng would appear silently at her door, his gaze calm but filled with something unspoken.
"Nightmares?" he would ask quietly.
She'd nod, unable to speak.
"Then rest," he'd say softly. "Whatever you lost, you'll find again — in a better way."
---
Far away, across the sea, the Lu Family stirred.
At a glittering banquet in the capital, Aunt Mei of the Lu Family raised her glass and announced that Li Wei must choose a bride. The room was filled with whispers, daughters in silk dresses, and smiles that didn't reach the eyes.
Li Wei's expression was unreadable. The world saw a composed tycoon, but inside, guilt was eating him alive. The news had reached him — Xu Ling's disappearance, the scandal, the photo, the river.
He had sent men to search every province, but she had vanished — as though the world itself refused to give her back.
And in that crowded ballroom, surrounded by women and false laughter, he felt an ache he couldn't name.
Unbeknownst to him, the woman he had destroyed was alive — carrying his children in another man's world.
And fate… was only beginning to weave its cruel threads.