Rufus’ POV:


    Crystal gradually stopped breathing in my arms. I held onto her lifeless body in disbelief, unable to move a muscle. I could vaguely hear Murray’s voice echoing in my ears, saying, “Crystal’s gone…”


    At that moment, I felt like I had gone mad from the overwhelming pain in my heart.


    I wanted to pick up Crystal and rush to the nearest doctor, but I couldn’t stand up no matter how hard I tried. Even though her body was rmingly limp, I couldn’t believe that my beautiful, lively Crystal was gone


    Her hands hung feebly by her sides, and no matter how hard I cried for her to wake up, there was no response. She was like a ragdoll, trapped in eternal sleep.


    “Crystal, wake up. Talk to me. Didn’t you say that you wanted to see the cherry blossoms with me this year? They’re going to bloom in a few days. Can’t you wait a little longer?” I trembled uncontrobly, and the sadness from the depths of my soul made it so difficult to even breathe.


    “You said I’m the hope of the


    werewolf race, I’m both a father and a son, and a lot of people depend on me.


    But I just want to be your husband and be with you for the rest of my life. Why do you push me away again and again? And now, you’vepletely abandoned me!”


    Crystal’s heart stopped beating, and so did mine.


    There was nothing I could do but stare stupidly at the lifeless Crystal in my


    arms.


    I could vaguely hear he sound of hurried footsteps approaching, followed by a loud bang as the door was kicked open. Arron’s small figure appeared at the doorway, with Laura behind him. Before even seeing us, she asked, “Rufus, are you there? Where’s Crystal? Arron insisted on seeing her—”


    Laura paused midsentence when she saw us. She looked at Crystal, who was lying limply in my arms, and asked in a trembling voice, “Rufus, what’s going on?


    What happened to Crystal?”


    I didn’t say anything. I just held Crystal tightly, trying to preserve thest of her Mommy


    “Rufus, what the hell is going on?” Laura asked shakily. Adults naturally weren’t as naive as children, so she couldn’t believe that Crystal was just sleeping. But oh, how I wished I had Arron’s innocence at this moment. If only I could believe that Crystal was just asleep…


    Murray sighed heavily. “Crystal is gone.”


    “‘Gone? What do you mean, ‘gone’?” Laura turned pale at Murray’s words. She looked at me in a daze and asked,


    “Crystal… is dead? How’s that possible? What


    happened?”


    The word “dead” brought me back to reality. I pressed my cheek against Crystal’s cold face and started muttering hysterically, “Crystal’s not dead. She’s just asleep. Yes, of course. She’s not dead.”N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    Laura walked over quickly and ced her hand in front of Crystal’s nose to see if she was breathing. The next second, she copsed to the floor, disbelief written all over her face. “How did this happen? How did she die?” Arron seemed to understand something and imitated what his grandmother did.


    He stretched out his tiny fingers in front of Crystal’s nose, and after a while, he burst into tears. “Mommy’s not breathing! She’s asleep, right? Why isn’t she breathing?”


    My vision suddenly became blurry, whether from tears or exhaustion, I couldn’t tell. I could no longer see clearly and could only make out blurry outlines as I’ gently touched Arron’s soft head. “Yes, your mommy’s just sleeping. She’ll wake up soon.