Inferno Hearts | Xu Minghao

53. Broken Angel

•°. *࿐

"From now on, you'll sense my presence in the falling raindrops."

The morning light bathed the window, casting a radiant display as the sun's rays triumphantly heralded the dawn.

Minghao's eyelids fluttered open, the throbbing pulse of a relentless headache greeting his awakening. The pain coursed through every fiber of his being, making even the simple act of parting his eyelids a laborious ordeal.

As he gradually blinked his eyes open, he found himself staring at the bedside table. Across the floor and the table lay a chaotic sea of discarded garments, some of them clearly belonging to a woman, as he was wearing just a pair of boxers.

He frowned, realizing that the only memory he could recall from yesterday was the situation with Nabi, and nothing more.

As he sensed someone's breath close behind him and subtle movements, he froze. Swiftly, he pushed himself up from the pillow, his gaze locking onto the figure in the bed beside him, despite the overwhelming headache that threatened to send him spinning.

He couldn't believe his eyes. There, beside him, lay Lia, naked, sleeping soundly, her presence a puzzling enigma, as he couldn't summon even the faintest recollection of the events of the previous night. His mind swirled with confusion, his throbbing headache intensifying as he tried to make sense of the inexplicable scene before him.

He buried his head in his big hands, an overwhelming urge to unleash a primal scream surging through him. Inside his tortured mind, a barrage of self-directed insults and reproaches raged, a relentless assault on his own sense of self.

Acting on instinct, he sprang to his feet and hastened to his closet, swiftly searching a set of clothes.

While his fingers fumbled through the closet for his clothes, a subtle tremor coursed through his hands, a physical echo of the persistent headache gnawing at his temples. His thoughts surged like a relentless river, refusing to be dammed, and he found himself leaning heavily against the closet door, its cool surface offering a slight solace.

A deep sigh escaped his lips, carrying with it the weight of his uncertainty and confusion, as he grappled with the inexplicable presence of Lia beside him and the unsettling void that shrouded his memory of the previous night.

"What had I fucking done last night?" He muttered to himself, his frustration mounting as he grappled with the agonizing betrayal of his own mind.

For a few fleeting moments, he remained seated in that position, his back pressed against the closet door, a sense of desperation washing over him as he strained every fiber of his being to recollect the events of the previous night.

But all his efforts proved futile. Rising from his seat, he moved swiftly to retrieve a pair of sweatpants and a plain shirt, wearing them without hesitation.

As he swung the closet door open, he was met with Lia, who had awakened and was now gazing in his direction with a smile. His composure shattered upon seeing her.

"Good morning, Minghao," she greeted warmly. "Why didn't you stay in bed for a little longer?"  she asked as she noticed him standing there, visibly unsettled in front of the closet.

"Lia, what happened last night?" he asked her directly, his curiosity and inner turmoil driving him to seek answers. His racing thoughts offered him no peace, and whatever happened between them the previous night weighed heavily on his conscience.