Emily found herself disoriented, unsure of her location. Suddenly, a dense fog of blood obscured her vision, vast swaths of it advancing towards her. The suffocating sensation intensified as she struggled to breathe, gasping for air amid the crimson mist. Yet, within this eerie atmosphere, a familiar male voice cut through the murk.
"Emily..."
"Emily..."
The voices echoed like desperate cries on the brink of demise.
"Who are you? Where are you?" Emily hissed, her words resonating through the blood-laden haze. However, there was no response. Her heart clenched, as though a knife had been ruthlessly twisted at its core.
Suddenly, a huge pain came from her heart.
And the pain soon engulfed her entire body...
Emily abruptly opened her eyes, realizing it was merely a nightmare.
This recurring dream had haunted her for over ten consecutive nights. Each time, the voice calling her name belonged to Derek. Perhaps, it was the result of their prolonged separation and her intense longing for him.
Emily ran her fingers through her sweaty hair, trying to shake off the residual unease. Glancing at the calendar, she noted that today marked the sixteenth day of Derek's business trip. The uncertainty of his return added to her restlessness.
She sat up, intending to go to the bathroom for a shower when she suddenly realized that there was a man's figure standing on the balcony...
The night was as dark as ink. Sporadic moonlight fell on the balcony, casting a slender silhouette of a man.
Emily lifted the quilt and gently got out of bed, holding a dagger hidden in the drawer. She approached the man on the balcony step by step...
And then!
She violently pulled open the balcony door, quickly stepped forward, and single-handedly restrained the man's arm. The dagger crossed the man's neck the next moment. He was forced to turn his face, and the moonlight revealed his features, both clear and blurred...
"Derek, how did you end up on the balcony?" Emily hastily released him, casually throwing the dagger on the balcony's coffee table.
She surveyed the man through the faint moonlight.
His features looked grim in the moonlight, his eyebrows cold, emitting a chilly aura. Just like when they first met.
No, the cold aura was even stronger now.
Emily looked at him and asked, "Why did you suddenly come back? Have you resolved all the issues with the foreign companies?"
The man just looked down at her, suddenly stepping forward and cupping her face. "What did you just call me?"
"Derek..." Emily felt embarrassed as the words left her mouth.
A few days before the wedding, Derek insisted she call him her honey.
She had promised to change her way to address him after the wedding, thinking she could muddle through. But she didn't expect this man to remember...
She coughed and said, "Alright, honey."
Her ears and the side of her face turned red in the moonlight, displaying the delicacy and shyness of a young girl.
The man's gaze darkened even more; his hands rested on the woman's shoulders, kneading them lightly or heavily. He spoke in a low voice, "Have you ever heard of a saying?"
"What?" Emily looked at the man in front of her.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so Emily, it’s time for us to..."
As soon as she heard that, Emily knew what he was trying to do.
She was about to open her mouth when she suddenly froze. Why did Derek's voice just now sound weird?
She frowned, "Your voice..."
"The climate abroad is so dry that my voice is a bit hoarse." The man's hand traveled down from her shoulder and wrapped directly around her waist.
And then, a hard slap on her buttocks.
Emily's heart suddenly rose with an extremely uncomfortable feeling. She and Derek had been together for some time, but this man would never treat her so roughly.
The action of patting her arm with force always made her feel a little humiliated. She pushed down the discomfort in her heart.
But the man got closer and closer, directly pressed her on the bed, his lips lingering on her neck. A strange scent came. Emily violently pushed the man away. She rolled over to the right side of the bed and turned on the light with a snap!
The moment the light was turned on, the man covered his face.
Emily's brow furrowed, her sharp gaze swept over, and when the man covered his face, for some reason, she felt very strange. It was as if the original Derek had suddenly disappeared.
"The lights are too harsh, you turn them off first," the man said in a low voice as he blocked most of his face.
Emily crawled over from the corner of the bed, pursed her lips and said, "You'll get used to it if you slowly open your eyes." She raised her hand and forcefully pull the man’s hand down.
What unfolded in front of her eyes was an extremely familiar face, his habitually wrinkled eyebrows, his high nose, the thin lips he had kissed her with.
"Emily, what are you looking at me like that for?" The man stared at her, his voice muffled as he opened his mouth to ask.
Emily pushed down all sorts of weird thoughts in her mind. She pulled the quilt over her to cover herself up: "It's four in the morning. It’s time to sleep."
She raised her hand to switch off the light and buried her head under the covers.
The man sat on the other side of the bed, and his face instantly darken, resembling an evil spirit emerging from hell.
He raised his arm and tapped the quilt twice, saying, "You go to sleep first; I'm going to take a shower."
He entered the bathroom, closed the door with a backward swing, and then flicked a lighter to ignite a cigarette.
Derek never smoked, so from now on, he would have to sneak away to smoke...
Gimson gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar face in the mirror, slowly curling the corners of his mouth into an evil and gloomy smile.
"Derek, I told you, what belongs to me, I'll reclaim in equal measure." He stared at the mirror, emphasizing each word, "And now, it's time for you to experience what I've endured for the past twenty years or so. Whether you live or die, it's up to you."
"From this day forward, I am Derek."
Gimson extinguished his cigarette and flushed it down the toilet.