It was obvious this wasn't the first time this happened. There were times that Yang Qinru would forget him; sometimes she would be aggressive and yell at him, but the most often she would cry while hugging Xie Jingyi and call another name.
They felt that the both of them was pitiful.
After everyone left, Yang Qinru began shouting at him again.
Yang Qinru looked at him with pure hatred in her eyes. "You got what you want?" she laughed. "Me? Your wife?"
"Qinru." He looked at her in worry, but she cut him off.
"Don't call me that! Don't speak to me! Don't even look at me!" she shouted, her hands flying to cover her ears as though his very voice was poison.
"Please," Xie Jingyi tried again, his voice breaking. "Don't be like this. You're hurting yourself."
She froze momentarily, her tone shifting to one of cold despair. "Hurting myself? You should have killed me, Xie Jingyi. It would've been kinder than this life you've trapped me in."
"How can I kill you?" he whispered, his voice heavy with guilt.
"You can't kill me,"she sneered. "But you killed him. And now you're here, playing the loving husband as though that absolves you of what you've done."
Her words stung more than any physical blow could.
Xie Jingyi reached out, desperate to console her, but she slapped his hand away.
"You killed him, Xie Jingyi," she hissed, her body trembling with fury. "How dare you? You took him from me, the only person who mattered. You took my soul and left me with nothing."
Xie Jingyi's eyes showed bitterness. Are they going to argue about this again? It has always been like this, but the feeling is still the same as the first time.
Tears streamed down her face as she began pounding her fists weakly against his chest. He stood there, unflinching, letting her release her pain.
"You promised me!" she sobbed. "I told you I'd marry you, that I'd give up everything, just don't touch him. But you broke that promise. You destroyed everything!"
"I thought…" His voice faltered, his eyes reflecting his agony. "I thought I could give you a better life. I thought if I loved you enough, it would be enough."
Her laugh was sharp and bitter. "A better life? Do you think I loved him for what he could give me? I loved him because he was him. Because he made me feel alive in a way you never could."
Yang Qinru slapped his hand. "Do you plan on making me miserable to the very end?"
Xie Jingyi's breath hitched. "Do you hate me so much, Qinru? Am I truly so unworthy of your love?"
Her eyes burned with fury as she glared at him. "You don't get it, do you? I don't hate you because you're unworthy. I hate you because you took away the one thing I lived for. You destroyed my world and expect me to love you for it?"
"I did it to protect you," he argued, his voice trembling. "He was dangerous, Qinru. He would've hurt you—maybe even killed you."
"Then let him!" she screamed, her voice breaking. "" would've died happy by his side rather than live this hollow existence with you."
Xie Jingyi's hands tightened into fists. Her words felt like knives cutting deep into his heart, but he couldn't let her spiral further. "What about your brother?" he asked, trying to ground her. "Yang Yichen worries about you. Do you care so little for the family that still loves you?"
"Family?" she mocked, her laughter laced with madness. "Where was he when I needed him? When I was drowning in despair, was he there? No! The only one who stood by me was Xingxing. And you took him away!"
Her words hung in the air like a curse. Her tears fell freely now, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. "I begged you, Jingyi. I begged you not to take him from me. And you ignored me. You broke me."
Yang Qinru let out a hoarse laugh. "You want me heart, you want my love? Then, I'll make sure that my love is something you won't be able get in this lifetime! Xie Jingyi I'll live my whole life hating you!"
Her words were final, a verdict he couldn't escape.
When Xie Jingyi finally left the room two hours later, his steps were heavy, his heart burdened with the weight of her hatred.
He had hoped, foolishly, that time would heal her wounds, but it seemed the scars only grew deeper with each passing day.
Alone in the quiet of her room, Yang Qinru sat on the edge of her bed, her gaze falling on a photo album that rested on the table. She opened it, her fingers trembling as she flipped through its pages.
There he was—Xingxing. His smile, his eyes, his presence radiating through the captured moments. Her tears fell onto the glossy photos as memories of his death flooded her mind.
She put down the album but she knocked down the vase, seeing the shattered glass on the floor.
Her life had been shattered just like that vase, broken beyond repair. For three years, she had endured the endless cycle of therapy, medication, and confinement.
And now, she had nothing left to give.
Yang Qinru wouldn't mind if she perished now and follow him on the afterlife.
It would be better than being imprisoned in this hospital, never too see the world again.
Her days and nights remained remained same.
After another year of enduring such life, Yang Qinru finally got what she had been waiting for three years-- Death.
She died from her overdose pills.
That night, Yang Qinru made her final decision. The pills were cold and bitter on her tongue, but they promised the peace she had craved for so long.
By morning, she was gone.
The nurses found her lifeless body, the photo album clutched tightly in her arms.
Her face was peaceful, as though she had finally reunited with the one she loved.
Xie Jingyi arrived moments later, his world collapsing as he realized she was truly gone.
In her death, she had left behind a void he could never fill—a punishment he would carry for the rest of his life.