Immortal Mortals

Retaliation.

Having just finished washing her body and hair, he dressed her lightly in a night robe and as he was pulling the blanket up to cover her, she suddenly began to cry in her sleep.  Snatching at his hand, she brought it up to her face and held it tightly against her cheek  "Jie doesn't love me anymore." she whimpered against him.  

Hoping to gain some kind of understanding, Jie quickly jumped on her exclamation before he lost her again.  "Why would you think that Ai?" he asked her gently as he sat down beside her and gathered her up into his arms to hold her against him.

Still whimpering softly, she mumbled low, before sighing deeply.  "He loves someone else." she said low as she tried to push him away, but he held onto her even tighter as she she once again lost herself to slumber.

For a long time he sat there with her in his arms, just looking down at her beautiful restful face thinking of their life together, what he had put her through for her to come to that conclusion and the realization that he too had hurt her, but to have gone to such extremes to make a point seemed so outrageous, he couldn't comprehend it. Why on earth would she think he was seeing someone else, he thought to himself, it made absolutely no sense to him, did she not know that he loved her?

Then sighing deeply, he lowered his head and kissed her lips very softly, when she suddenly rose up and tried to hit him. "I"m married, don't you dare touch me." she screamed out, before falling back down to whimper lightly against his chest, her small hands still clenched and weakly fighting the thin air in front of her as she yet again fell heavily back to sleep, but not before taking his hand once again and holding hand against her cheek and sighing his name softly to herself.  

"I love you Ai." he told her softly as she once again whispered his name while opening his hand so she could lay her soft cheeks against him, his name once again escaping her lips as she smiled softly to herself.

Smiling for the first time in months, Jie looked down at his wife with so much love and ready to forgive her for everything, he held her tightly, lay his head back against the bed post behind him, and finally fell into the deepest of sleep he had ever had with her firmly in his grasp.

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Ai slowly opened her eyes to the bright glare of the morning sun that was streaming through the window.  Closing them again, she allowed her mind to fully waken and acclimatize itself to being sober once more.  Her head was pounding and her throat was so dry, she could barely swallow, but the memory of the past 5 days slowly began to come back to her.  Opening her eyes again, she looked up to allow the sunlit room to fully bring her mind into the present, when she suddenly her heart sank when she realized she was back home in her own bed.  Had Jie found her? she wondered to herself.  

Moving her head lightly to sit up, she instantly realized she was being held.  "You're finally awake." Jies voice drifted down from above her, though the tone was one she had never heard before, but he did sound relieved.  "You've slept for 3 days Ai." he gently chided her, but continued to hold onto her tightly.

Having only the faintest of memory of returning home, she could barely comprehend that she had even managed it, considering how much she had drunk, and going by the headache and dry throat, it must have been a lot.  Turning her head slightly, then upwards, she saw him looking down at her.  Searching his face, she tried to read the expressions flitting though his eyes, across his brow and the almost smile on his lips.  

"Water." she croaked out, shocking herself at how rasping her voice sounded, while lowering her eyes from his sudden intense glare.  

Lifting her forward, Jie rose before turning to look down at her.  "I will fetch you a glass of water, but then we are going to talk." he said ignoring the sullen look she was now giving him.