Allison continued to explore the rest of the house with a small smile on her face, already looking so much better compared to her weakened state back when she was at the hospital. It was as though being at home — well, technically, it was Matthew’s home, but this was where she was going to be staying in the meantime — lifted her mood considerably and made her feel alive. Allison walked slowly towards the backyard, feeling awed at the sight of the gardens. It looked well-maintained and beautiful, with a variety of flowers and shrubs all over the surroundings. The sun shone on them so brightly that they looked a little ethereal. She could even spot a few cherry blossom trees by the side which stood out among the rest, a few of their petals dancing gracefully along with the wind. Unfortunately, even though she wanted to go and touch the flowers, she wasn’t allowed to do any gardening or any kind of thing that would make dirt, pollen, and other things stick on her skin since she was stil

Matthew bought her a telescope in the end, and after that, both of them would look at the stars every night before Allison went to bed, hoping to see a shooting star. Even though they failed to see one every time, it didn’t matter since they enjoyed this simple time together so much.“Do you want to do something new?” Matthew asked her one day.“Something new?” Allison repeated, sounding puzzled.“Yeah. I mean, it feels like we’re doing the same things every day. We should put some variety into it.”“It’s fine, I do enjoy these things.” Allison thought about it for a moment. “Though I do admit that it feels repetitive sometimes.”Matthew nodded. “Let’s add some more activities so you can have fun. What do you think about a movie night?”“Sounds good.”“There’s a game console here, too. You can play games if you want.”“Oh?”“I… I do play games sometimes,” Matthew admitted sheepishly. “Lily doesn’t, but she likes to watch me play instead.”Allison laughed. “Remember when we used to pla

“No!”Matthew was startled at her sudden shout. "Wha — no? Why?” he asked incredulously.“Just… no!” Allison said with wide eyes, her expression filled with panic and anxiety. “I don’t want you to do it. Just forget about it. I told you that I’m fine!”Matthew was stunned at her drastic change of behavior. For a split second, he recalled her angry and hysterical self two months ago, back when she kept refusing his help. It was as though they went back to square one.“There’s nothing of value there,” Allison continued on, forcing her tone to be calm. “I don’t need anything from my apartment, so you don’t have to bring my things from there.”“But what about your clothes? Your personal possessions?”Allison shut her eyes. “Buy me new ones. I’ll pay you back for them once I get better.”Matthew blinked in surprise and confusion. “Lise, you don’t need to pay me… I’m just confused about why you don’t want me to go there.”“I don’t want to be reminded of memories back when I suffered there i

After breakfast, Matthew informed Allison that he needed to take care of company matters for the day and was going to be too busy in his study to look after her. He promised that he would finish things up quickly and not sleep too late.He then called for the private home care team so they could watch over Allison in his stead. Though she was hesitant at first, she knew that she had been taking up too much of his time and affecting his work, so she agreed not to disturb him. She was tired anyway, and she would probably just take a nap after lunch.“I’ll have your snacks and your meals sent to you in your room, so you don’t have to wait for me, okay?” Matthew told her as he helped her to bed.“I’m fine,” Allison assured. “I can handle being by myself for one day. Besides, I know that I’ve been keeping you from fulfilling your obligations at work. Go ahead and don’t worry about me.”Matthew nodded with a small smile on his face. “All right. I’ll make sure to finish as soon as possible.”

Matthew felt like he was stabbed right in the heart by this revelation.If this was indeed the truth... then how could Allison hide this from him? Was she hiding their daughter somewhere?Why didn’t she tell him?‘Then again...’ Matthew thought to himself bitterly. ‘She usually doesn’t say anything to me, anyway.’He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm himself down. He shakily set down the photo, unable to look at it for a second longer.If this baby was indeed his daughter...He didn’t even know what to think anymore. He felt like a thread that was being pulled at both ends so strongly that one light touch would instantly make him snap.‘Why?’‘Why, Allison...?’Matthew hurriedly wiped away the tears that prickled at the corners of his eyes, already overcome with emotion.Just the thought of him having a daughter with Allison was filling him up with both happiness and despair. He couldn’t believe that Allison would just cruelly keep this from him and make an effort in orde