"Shuyin," he said gently, his hand coming up to cup her face. "I don't see you as a birthing machine. I never have. That's not why I married you."
"Then why bring up having two kids?" Her eyes were sharp now, defensive. "What was that about if not...."
"Fear," Lu Yuze admitted quietly. "Pure, selfish fear. I watched you nearly die this morning. Watched blood pour from your mouth, watched you slip away, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. My first wife died and left me Yuyan, a piece of herself that lives on. And I realized that if something happens to you, if I lose you..." His voice cracked slightly. "I'd have nothing left of you. No child to remember you by. You'd just be... gone. Completely."
Shuyin's expression softened slightly, some of the defensiveness melting away.
"But that was selfish of me," Lu Yuze continued. "I wasn't thinking about you, about what you want. I was only thinking about my own fear of losing you."
