I slowly opened my eyes. My eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and an intense wave of dizziness suddenly struck me. I closed my eyes for a moment, gathering the consciousness that had briefly drifted away, then carefully opened them again.
My initially blurry vision gradually sharpened. I looked around. The room's spotless white ceiling, the sharp smell of antiseptic, and the sounds around me slowly brought me back to reality. Judging by the atmosphere, I knew I was in a hospital.
Had I succeeded? Had I returned to my own body?
That small hope surged in my chest. My body was still weak and stiff, but I forced myself to sit up in bed. I slowly crawled forward, trying to set my feet on the cold floor. I had to find a mirror. I needed to make sure whose face would be reflected in it now.
But before I could find a mirror, the room's main door suddenly swung open from the outside. Someone stepped in wearing a neatly tailored suit.
My eyes widened. Damian!
Why was this man here? Panic struck me at once.
If Damian was here... did that mean I was still in Aster's body? Had my soul not returned to my original body?
"Who are you?" I remarked sarcastically, staring at him with undisguised hatred.
Damian stopped and looked me up and down, his contempt unmistakable. "Has your brain been damaged?"
Before I could answer, the room's door swung open again. An elegant woman and a middle-aged man entered, their faces filled with worry. Aster's mother and father.
The moment I saw Aster's parents, my body froze. I slumped down on the edge of the bed and lowered my head deeply. I didn't need to see my reflection in a mirror. I already knew the painfully cruel truth: I was still trapped inside Aster's body.
Disappointment, anger, and frustration burned in my chest until my eyes grew hot.
Why was the universe being so cruel? Why couldn't I return to my own life?
"Aster! Oh, sweetheart...." Mother immediately ran over and wrapped her arms tightly around me, sobbing. Father stood beside her, rubbing her back with grief etched across his face.
I looked at them with pity. Beneath my own despair, an immense sense of guilt suddenly weighed down on my shoulders. I had hurt their daughter's body and made these innocent parents cry in terror.
"What happened to you, Aster?" Father asked in a trembling voice. "What kind of trouble are you facing that drove you to do something so reckless?"
At his question, my eyes immediately shot toward Damian, who stood calmly in the corner of the room.
That homewrecker! He must have told Aster's parents everything.
Damian noticed my furious stare and merely curved his lips into a faint, mocking smile.
"Your mother and I have arranged for the best psychiatrist to oversee your treatment," Father continued, gripping both my shoulders. "Starting today, you must undergo treatment and get complete rest at home until you recover."
I remained silent, with no strength left to argue or make excuses.
Mother held Damian's hand and repeatedly thanked him for saving their daughter's life in time. From the way Father and Mother spoke to him, Damian seemed very close to this family and on good terms with them.
That only raised an even bigger question in my mind.
If Damian was so close to Aster's parents, why did he harbor such deep hatred for Aster? What had really happened between them?
"I should be going, Uncle, Auntie. Let Aster rest," Damian said politely, his tone completely transformed in front of Aster's parents. Before walking out, he glanced at me with a cold look.
After Damian and my parents left the room, silence settled over it once more. I lay back down on the bed and stared blankly at the plain ceiling.
Exhaustion crept through my entire soul.
Would I be trapped inside this shell forever? Was I truly destined to continue living as Aster?