The Confession – Part 1
Monday, continued …
After returning to their suite, Hou Yi carefully helped Anna back into bed before moving the chair aside so she could rest more comfortably.
She settled beneath the covers, and he followed soon after, drawing closer and leaning in to kiss her. The moment was quiet, but filled with everything they had not yet said to each other.
As he began to pull away, Anna reached up instinctively and drew him back. The second kiss lingered longer, deeper, until both of them had to pause just to breathe.
For Anna, that simple closeness felt like a small piece of something she had been missing for far too long.
Even though she knew they needed to take things slowly — for her health, for everything they were still navigating — she also knew that she could not keep holding back what had been building inside her.
Not saying it anymore was hurting her.
And if she stayed silent now, she would regret it.
She placed her hand lightly on his arm, stopping him from moving away.
“Yi… we need to talk about something,” she said quietly. “I’ve been putting it off for a while.”
Those words immediately filled Hou Yi with unease.
For a brief moment, his thoughts went to the worst possible outcome — that she might want to end everything between them. The idea alone tightened something painfully in his chest.
He took a steady breath before turning back to her.
“Yes, Anna?”
“Yi, I…” she began, but her voice faded.
He could see how nervous she was. That alone gave him a small sense of hope, though he forced himself not to expect too much. He leaned forward and kissed her gently, as if trying to give her the reassurance she needed.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said softly. “Just tell me.”
His voice, his calm, the way he looked at her — it gave Anna the courage she needed.
This was it.
She couldn’t keep avoiding it.
After one more steady breath, she spoke.
“Yi… please don’t feel like you have to say anything in return. But I need to tell you this. I’m… deeply in love with you.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and fragile at the same time.
“I never planned it,” she continued quietly. “And I know you probably never expected it from me. But I can’t keep going without being honest about how I feel.”
For a moment, Hou Yi simply stared at her.
He wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly.
But when he looked into her eyes, there was no doubt.
She meant every word.
His wife… was in love with him.
It was something he had never dared to expect. He had already accepted whatever kind of life fate had given them, even if it meant loving her quietly without ever hearing those words in return.
And yet now…
Everything had changed.
He saw her waiting, uncertain, bracing for his response.
Whatever advice he had been given before no longer mattered.
This moment was theirs.
“Sweetheart…” he said, his voice softer than before, but filled with emotion. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
He paused briefly, searching for the right words.
“The moment I first saw you at ANX, I knew my life had changed. I didn’t expect anything… but somehow fate brought you into my world. I thought that was already more than I could ask for.”
He looked at her more deeply.
“But hearing you say this… it makes everything complete.”
Then he leaned in and kissed her again, gently at first, then with growing certainty.
“I love you,” he whispered between each breath.
That was all it took.
Whatever hesitation Anna had left disappeared.
“I love you,” she whispered back, again and again, her voice breaking slightly as emotion finally caught up with her.
And for the first time, neither of them held anything back.