On their ride back to Peach Estates, Ye Jie was lost in thoughts as he kept gazing outside the window pane.

  Xu Mey, on the other hand, was fidgeting in her seat because of his silence and solemn expression. She suddenly felt scared thinking if Ye Jie didn’t approve her way of doing stuff then what? What if he realized that he married the wrong girl? He didn’t care that I had a lot of baggage but what if he felt like my other side is fierce? What if he decided to leave me?

  The last thought made her breath hitch and her heart shook violently. A few months ago, he was no-one in her life. He was just a stranger who agreed to marry her even knowing her true intentions.

  But now…… Everything had changed in the past months. He became someone she couldn’t possibly imagine to even live without. He was like the oxygen in his life now. The thought of losing him made her uneasy.

  With much struggle, Xu Mey turned her eyes to look at Ye Jie’s side profile. His brows were knitted together as he still had his eyes on the outside world.

  "Ah-Jie!" She called out softly with a bit hesitancy in her voice.

  "Mmm……" Ye Jie answered absentmindedly and it scared Xu Mey even more than before.

  Xu Mey chewed her bottom lip and stayed quiet. She suddenly realized that she had nothing to say. Or perhaps, she had too much to say? Whatever it was, she knew that she had no courage to say anything for sure.

  There was barely any distance between them on the back seat and yet, she felt like they were miles apart. And this distance and silence were unbearable for Xu Mey. For the first time in her life, she realized how terrifying silence could be. Normally, the silence between them was always comforting as if giving each other support through their presence but right now, this silence was building a barrier between them.

  "Ar-Are you upset with me?" Xu Mey managed to ask after much contemplation.

  Ye Jie turned his head to look at Xu Mey’s face which was distorted with anxiousness. He silently gazed at her face for a long while. As the silence thickened, Xu Mey felt even more uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze.

  Just when she thought he wouldn’t say anything, she heard his voice, "Yes, I’m very upset with you."

  Those words were like a blow straight to Xu Mey’s heart as it quivered and not the way it does when he touches her or kisses her. It was the bad kind of quiver like her whole world was falling apart before her eyes.

  "And do you know why I’m upset?" Ye Jie asked looking into her eyes.

  Xu Mey lowered her eyes avoiding his gaze as she answered, "I know. You’re disappointed. You must have never thought that you got yourself such a devilish kind of wife. It must have been an eye-opener for you and you must be thinking why you even love me?"

  Ye Jie rolled his eyes at her and had the urge to give an open-handed slap on the back of her head but since it’d hurt him more, he decided not to do so. Instead, he pinched her nose and said, "Have you lost your mind? How many times have I told you to not run your stupid brain at the speed of lightning? But no, you just have to assume stuff all on your own. Half of your worries are created by your negative mind. So, can you stop thinking?"

  Xu Mey felt the anger in his tone but it was more like he was chiding her for doing something wrong. As if scolding her with a right. His right! She lifted her eyes and looked at his narrowed eyes.

  "Are you not disappointed?" she asked in a low voice acting sheepishly.

  "I am disappointed…… Actually, more than just disappointed." Xu Mey’s face fell but he continued, "But, not with the fact that you did all that. I’m upset because you idiotically moved ahead knowing the psychotic nature of that scheming witch of a sister of yours. What if you’d have gotten hurt?"

  Xu Mey kept looking into his brown eyes filled with worry as she was in disbelief. ’Eh? He was mad for that reason? But aren’t I fine?’ she thought to herself and grinned goofily.

  "You were right there. How could I get hurt when I knew that you’re right beside me?" Ye Jie couldn’t decide whether she was telling the truth or just being cheeky but he knew that those words surely warmed his heart. Now that was different that he wasn’t planning on letting her see that his heart has melted.

  ’Ugh! Jie, you fool! Are you again falling for her? How can you not even hold yourself? She’s in the wrong this time. Don’t you dare fall into her love trap and definitely not in the beauty trap!’ Ye Jie’s conscience nagged him making him determined not to back down.

  Earlier, when Xu Liqing picked up that vase, he was scared out of his wits. And when the vase was just about to hit Xu Mey, he felt like his world was ending. His breathing completely stopped until he held Xu Mey in his arms to know that she was safe and sound. She acted recklessly and he was letting this go. Not this time!

  "And what if I wasn’t there? Were you planning on being even more reckless? Or maybe you thought you’re the superwoman? How can a vase hurt you, right?" He was rarely sarcastic with people. Or more like he had only been sarcastic with Ru before. One of the reasons for that was because Ru never took his sarcastic remarks to heart. But today, he felt like it was necessary to remind his wife that she wasn’t alone now.

  She was not just his wife. She was his life now. The life that gave him the reason to live for. He always tells her to take care of herself but she always acts recklessly without caring for the fact that her slight frown was enough to drive him crazy much less a wound.