The morning sunlight spilled through the curtains like soft honey, bathing the room in golden warmth. The faint scent of coffee and steamed milk drifted from the kitchen, blending with the sound of distant birds outside.
Jiaxuan stirred gently, her eyelids fluttering open. The first thing she saw was a pair of wide, sleepy eyes staring right at her.
Yichen.
He lay beside her, his tiny hands resting on her arm as if to make sure she hadn't gone anywhere during the night. His lashes were still wet from dried tears, and his face slightly puffy, his lips parted as he breathed softly made her heart swell.
She brushed her fingers against his cheek. "You didn't leave Mama's side, did you?" she whispered with a faint, bittersweet smile.
The little boy stirred, his small fingers clutching her sleeve tighter. When he realized she was awake, he immediately sat up, hugging her neck.
"Mama!" he said in a muffled voice, pressing his face into her chest.
Jiaxuan froze for a moment, her heart softening. "I'm here, sweetheart."
When they went down for breakfast, Yichen refused to let go of her hand. Even when she tried to feed him, he clung to her arm, his toy car resting on her lap instead of his own. The maids exchanged quiet glances but said nothing.
Huo Shenzhi watched the scene silently from across the table. His expression gave nothing away, but his eyes lingered on them a moment longer than usual.
After breakfast, Jiaxuan decided to take a walk to the backyard. The morning breeze was fresh, carrying the scent of damp soil and dew-kissed leaves. The small garden behind the Huo mansion was her sanctuary a place she could breathe without pretending.
She knelt down in the flowerbed, gently pressing soil around the roots of a rose sapling. Her hands were dirty, her hair slightly messy from the wind, but her heart felt calmer. For once, she wasn't thinking about her father, the looming threats, or the unspoken pain between her and Shenzhi'.
Just the earth. The flowers. The quiet.
Until.....
"Mama!"
The sharp cry sliced through the air like lightning.
Jiaxuan's heart lurched. She dropped the small shovel in her hand and turned sharply toward the sound.
Yichen.
Her son was on the ground, his toy car beside him, tears welling up in his big eyes. He was crying so hard that his voice cracked. She rushed to him, the hem of her dress brushing the dirt.
"Yichen!" she called, breathless, her heart pounding. "What happened? Did you hurt yourself?"
She knelt beside him, trying to check his knees, his arms, his little palms but before she could, he threw himself against her, wrapping his tiny arms around her neck, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mama…!" he wailed, his voice breaking with each word.
She froze, stunned by how tightly he clung to her. His little body trembled like a frightened kitten.
"Shh… hey, hey… it's okay," she murmured, pulling him close, running her hand through his soft hair. "Did you fall? Show Mama where it hurts."
But he only shook his head, pressing his face deeper into her shoulder, crying even harder.
She sighed softly, hugging him back, her chin resting against his hair.
"Yichen… Mama's here, okay? You don't have to cry like that."
When she tried to stand, he screamed louder, gripping her neck as though terrified she'd vanish the moment she moved. His small fingers dug into her blouse, trembling.
"Alright, alright! I won't go anywhere."
She gave up, sitting back on the ground with him in her lap. His cries quieted little by little, replaced by soft hiccups. She patted his back gently, whispering, "You're such a little crybaby, Yichen."
His wet lashes lifted slightly as he looked at her. "Mama boy," he mumbled in a small, teary voice.
Jiaxuan blinked, surprised. "…What did you say?"
He sniffled, rubbing his nose on her sleeve. "Yichen is Mama's boy."
A soft laugh slipped from her lips, one that trembled at the edges. Her eyes glistened with warmth and sorrow all at once.
"Of course you are," she whispered, kissing his forehead. "You're my little boy. My only boy."
He clung tighter, his small voice muffled against her chest. "Don't leave again, Mama. Don't make Yichen cry anymore."
Her breath caught. She wanted to tell him that she'd never meant to make him cry that she had just lost herself for a moment but the words got stuck in her throat. Instead, she just held him closer, feeling the tiny heartbeat against her own.
The world around them blurred the sunlight, the garden, the house. There was only her son, clinging to her as though she were the only thing keeping him safe.
And maybe, in that moment, she was.
From the veranda, Huo Shenzhi watched them quietly. He had come out when he heard the scream, but seeing them now mother and son wrapped in that tender, fragile moment he couldn't bring himself to interrupt.
Jiaxuan was whispering something softly, her hand moving gently over Yichen's back, her eyes shimmering in the sunlight. The sight pierced him in a way he couldn't explain.
For all her chaos, all her mistakes, this woman… loved their son more than anything else.
The afternoon had slipped into a soft, golden haze. The sun hung low, pouring its warmth over the garden where Jiaxuan sat with Yichen still clinging to her chest. His tiny arms were looped tightly around her neck, his head nestled beneath her chin. After crying so long and so hard, the little boy's breathing had slowed, evening out into the deep, uneven rhythm of sleep.
His toy car, forgotten, rested by her foot.
Jiaxuan's shoulder ached, but she didn't dare move. She just sat there, listening to his small breaths and the faint rustling of leaves around them. The scent of soil still lingered on her hands, mixing with the faint sweetness of Yichen's hair.
From a distance, she saw Huo Shenzhi walking toward them. His tall figure cut a calm shadow across the grass. He said nothing as he approached, only glancing once at the small boy in her arms, then at her.
"He finally slept," she whispered softly, careful not to wake the child.
Shenzhi' crouched down beside her, his movements steady and quiet. His gaze lingered briefly on her face — the fatigue beneath her eyes, the slight redness around her nose. She looked exhausted.
"Give him to me," he said simply, voice low.
She hesitated, almost instinctively clutching Yichen tighter. But when her shoulder throbbed, she sighed and gently let him go.
Shenzhi' slipped his arms beneath their son's small body with practiced ease, lifting him against his chest as though he weighed nothing at all. Yichen stirred faintly, a soft murmur escaping his lips .. "Mama…" but then settled again, pressing his cheek to his father's shoulder.
Jiaxuan winced slightly, rolling her shoulder once he was gone from her arms. "My shoulder's sore," she murmured, half to herself.
Shenzhi glanced at her briefly, unreadable.
"Thank you," she said quietly, almost awkwardly. It wasn't much just two small words but they carried sincerity.
He only muttered a low, noncommittal "Hmm," before walking off toward the house, his steady footsteps fading through the hallway.
She watched his back disappear inside, a faint sigh slipping past her lips. There were moments rare, fleeting ones when she almost forgot the tension between them. Moments when he reminded her of the man she'd fallen in love with once upon a time.
After a while, she followed him in, her steps slow. By the time she reached the stairs, he had already laid Yichen in bed. The boy was sleeping soundly, his tiny fists clutching his toy again. The quilt covered him up to his chest.
Shenzhi stood by the bedside for a moment, looking down at his son. His usual expression cold and restrained — softened briefly, just barely enough for Jiaxuan to notice. Then he turned and quietly stepped out of the room.
She stood by the doorway, whispering, "He must have cried himself to exhaustion."
He nodded slightly, already rolling his sleeves down, heading toward the foyer.
"Are you going out?" she asked, noticing the car keys in his hand.
"Work," he replied curtly. "I won't be long."
Something in her chest tightened. She hesitated, biting her lip before calling out, "Wait."
He stopped, turning his head slightly.
"Can you.." she started, her voice dropping to a shy murmur, "..can you get me a pack of sanitary pads from the store on your way back? My period's due soon and… I just realized I don't have any."
For a second, silence filled the air. The request was small, domestic, even intimate ... but something about saying it to him made her feel strangely awkward. She looked away, brushing imaginary dirt from her sleeve.
But before she could explain further, the front door clicked open.
And then shut.
He was gone.
She blinked, momentarily frozen. "He didn't even… answer?" she muttered, exasperated.
Her first instinct was to chase after him, to call him back, maybe even shout his name down the driveway. Her feet had already taken two quick steps forward when..
"Mama!"
The scream tore through the silence upstairs, sharp and frightened.
Jiaxuan froze. Her heart dropped instantly to her stomach.
"Mamaaa!" Yichen's voice rose higher, more desperate, echoing down the stairwell.
Without thinking, she turned and bolted back up the stairs, her pulse racing. "Yichen?!"
Her hands trembled as she flung open his bedroom door. The sight that met her nearly broke her.
Yichen was sitting up in bed, tears streaming down his face, his tiny fists rubbing his eyes raw. The blanket was thrown off the bed, his toy on the floor. He was screaming her name over and over like a chant, his small voice shaking with terror.
She rushed to him, heart pounding. "Sweetheart! Mama's here!"
The moment he saw her, he let out a loud sob and threw himself forward into her arms. His little body trembled violently as though he'd just woken from a nightmare.
"I'm here, Yichen. I'm here," she whispered, wrapping him tight against her chest. "Mama's right here. Don't cry, baby. It's alright."
He buried his face into her neck, his tears soaking her collar. Between sobs, his voice came out broken "Mama left… I thought… I thought Mama left again…"
Her breath hitched.
Her hand stroked his hair, her voice shaking now. "I would never leave you. Never. You hear me?"
The room was silent except for the sound of his small, ragged breathing. She rocked him gently, back and forth, whispering the same words again and again until his sobs faded into hiccups.
By the time he finally calmed down, his little hands still clung to her blouse. He refused to let go, even as sleep slowly crept back into his eyes.
Jiaxuan looked down at him , her heart both breaking and mending at the same time.
She kissed the top of his head. "You silly boy… Mama was just downstairs."
But in that moment, she understood.
To him, every second she wasn't by his side felt like forever. Because he had miss her and that frightened him more than anything else in the world.