"I had plans," he said, voice low and teasing, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. "Very specific plans. They involved significantly fewer explosions, fewer hospital rooms, and a lot more of you in that wedding dress before it became… well, what it became."
"I'm sorry I ruined your plans."
"You saved my life," Mu Yunchen said, and his voice went serious, the playfulness draining away like water, eyes locking on hers with fierce intensity that made her breath catch. "You drove that bomb away from me. Away from everyone. You could have died, and you did it anyway to make sure I survived."
"I told you," Zhou Yuxi said quietly, thumb stroking his knuckles in slow, soothing circles, matching the rhythm of his heartbeat on the monitor. "I could have disarmed it. In my previous life, I've handled devices far more complex than that. But you were too close, and I couldn't risk the time it would take. So I—"
