CHAPTER 149: DID I DIE TOO

Anna had been anxiously biting her nails, torn between curiosity and dread. She sat on the bed, the remote clutched tightly in her hand, debating whether to turn on the news channel where her father was set to give his press statement.

Part of her wanted to know what he would say. The other part feared she already knew.

Because deep down, she sensed it the moment that text had arrived last night.

Yes, the message. "I’m back, Anna."

The words had been brief, but they carried the weight of a storm. She didn’t need to guess twice who it was from. It could only be Kathrine.

Who else would return out of nowhere, just when everything had finally started to feel... steady?

"Perfect timing," Anna muttered under her breath, her voice dripping with irony. She tried to laugh, but it came out hollow.

Still, beneath the annoyance, a flicker of fear crept through her chest—cold and unwelcome. Her throat tightened as she glanced to her side.

Daniel lay beside her, asleep, his breathing steady and calm, utterly unaware of the turmoil brewing in her head.

Her fingers tightened around the remote.

Does that mean everything will change now?

The thought echoed in her mind, relentless and suffocating. No matter how hard she tried to silence it, the truth pressed down on her chest like a weight she couldn’t escape—Kathrine’s return could destroy everything she and Daniel had built.

Even if what they had wasn’t perfect, even if it was fragile and complicated, it was still something. And deep down, Anna had always known this day would come.

But what now? she wondered, her thoughts whispering bitterly in the quiet room. Does this mean I can finally walk out of his life?

A chill rippled through her as the realization sank in. The longer she looked at Daniel, the colder she felt—until the past came creeping back, dragging her memories with it.

She remembered that night all too clearly—the night they had finally consummated their marriage. It had been awkward, hesitant... yet somewhere within the uncertainty, Anna had felt a glimmer of hope. A hope that maybe, just maybe, things could change.

But then, Kathrine had returned.

And everything had fallen apart.

Her parents’ attention shifted instantly, their concern and affection drawn back to the prodigal daughter. Daniel grew distant—colder with each passing day. And Anna, who had already been living in the shadows, found herself sinking deeper into loneliness, trapped in a house that suddenly felt foreign again.

Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be, she told herself bitterly, her eyes fixed on Daniel’s sleeping form. Now that your lover is back...

Her chest tightened, a mix of ache and resignation twisting inside her. She wanted to look away—to pull herself out of the illusion she’d been clinging to. But she couldn’t.

Not after finding that fleeting comfort in his arms. Not after tasting what it felt like to be wanted, even if only for a moment.

And that was the cruelest part of it all—because her heart refused to understand what her mind already knew.

Daniel was never truly hers.

Sadness washed over her, heavy and unrelenting. Anna set the remote aside, her curiosity fading as quickly as her hope. Whatever Hugo had to say no longer mattered. She sank back against the bed, turning toward Daniel, who was still fast asleep beside her.

For a moment, she simply watched him, her heart aching with an ache she could no longer name.

Anna had loved Daniel—truly, deeply, hopelessly. From the very beginning of their marriage, she had poured every bit of herself into him. She had tried to understand him, to reach him, to earn even a fraction of the affection he once reserved for someone else.

But no matter what she did, nothing ever seemed to work. Her love, her patience, her quiet sacrifices—they all disappeared into the void of his indifference.

And now, just when she had finally convinced herself to let go... he had started to change.

Now he touched her gently, looked at her differently, spoke words that made her heart flutter when she’d thought it had long gone numb.

"You’re confusing me, Daniel," she whispered, her voice trembling as her eyes traced the sharp lines of his face—the strong jaw, the faint crease between his brows, the softness that only appeared when he slept.

He was everything she’d ever wanted—and everything she shouldn’t still want.

Daniel was the only man she had ever loved, the man she had once dreamed of spending her life with. But now, that dream felt like a distant, unreachable wish—something beautiful she was never meant to have.

’You weren’t supposed to look after me, she thought bitterly, her chest tightening. You were supposed to stay cold, indifferent...’

Her gaze softened despite herself.

’But you didn’t. And that’s what hurts the most.’

A shaky breath escaped her lips as tears burned the corners of her eyes. ’How will I ever get over you,’ she wondered, ’when you’re finally becoming everything I wished for only when it’s already too late?’

Meanwhile, Daniel, unaware of Anna’s turmoil, slept soundly until the darkness of another nightmare seized him.

He jolted awake, gasping for air.

A cold sweat clung to his skin as he sat upright, his chest rising and falling in uneven rhythm. His entire body trembled, every muscle coiled tight as the remnants of the dream clawed at him, leaving behind a haunting chill he couldn’t shake.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. The fear was raw—so real it felt as though it had followed him out of his sleep.

Then, a gentle touch anchored him back to reality.

His eyes darted to the side.

’Anna.’

She was lying next to him, her face peaceful, her breathing soft and steady.

The sight of her was enough to quiet the storm inside him. The panic that had gripped his chest began to ease, melting away as his gaze lingered on her. It was as if her presence alone had the power to silence his demons.

Before he could stop himself, his hands moved on their own. He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her tremblingly, almost desperately, pulling her close until her body rested against his chest.

He could feel her warmth, the gentle rhythm of her heartbeat syncing with his. The faint sound of her breathing filled the silence—steady, grounding, real.

And in that moment, Daniel realized something he’d been denying for far too long.

She was his calm. His anchor. The one thing that reminded him he was still alive.

"Don’t leave me, Anna," he whispered, his voice barely audible, breaking around the edges. "Never."

He pressed a soft kiss against the crown of her head, holding her tighter as if afraid she might slip away if he loosened his grip.

His gaze drifted upward to the ceiling, eyes wide and distant as the fragments of his nightmare replayed in his mind.

A graveyard. His name carved into stone. Anna’s voice screaming somewhere he couldn’t reach.

A hollow chill crept down his spine.

’Did I... die too?’ he thought, the question echoing in the hollow of his chest as his fingers unconsciously tightened around her.