All Chapters of Sunshine and The Beast: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Althea“Morning.”I doubted myself if I already woken up or was it the dream that was getting a little bit too realistic, but the scent of coffee and toast was way too good. It’s just I didn’t expect to hear Matthias greet me the time I stepped out from the bed.Should I call it our bed now?I walked to the kitchen as he put a glass of coffee with two egg toast on a plate. “Mrs. Lare asked for a day off because of her grandson's birthday.”Was it because I haven’t regained my full consciousness, or his cooking seemed quite delicious? I didn’t even know he could cook. “Thanks.” He nodded slightly and sat himself on the other side of the table, facing me. Judging by his look, he already took a bath. Maybe I should've too. His scent was still on me. Not that it was bad, it’s just … well, it wasn’t like I wanted to smell him all over my body forever.We sat there without any conversation going. He was busy with his food, while I had mine. The room was quiet, but that silence felt diffe

Matthias“Missing your wife already?”I tried not to throw my iPad to Ren’s head and let him put the wine I’ve requested before on the tray table. “You told her before you went, right?” I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to tell me that. Of course I did.”It wasn’t my first time going on a business trip abroad.As a network security company with clients all over the world, I often had to fly to various countries. However, this was clearly the first time I traveled with the status of being someone's husband. This time, I had to tell someone that I needed to go.I thought there would not be any different. Whether she said yes or no, I still needed to go.But it did. It felt different. I was hundreds of feet in the air, and someone below was waiting for me. “Just don’t die, okay? I don’t want to be a widow so soon, at least not in a few days.”That sounded better for me than to hear her giving a melodrama show like when a man had to leave his woman. “You better stay alive while I’m away

AltheaI wasn’t sure if anyone would have the same opinion about this, but for me the bathroom was the ideal place to craft my ideas.Weird? Yeah, maybe. Other people might have had better places, more sophisticated spaces perhaps—offices stacked with all the right tools, rows upon rows of books lined up like soldiers, and artificial intelligence systems ready to spit out concepts or brilliant ideas at the push of a button. But me? I didn’t need any of that.For some reason, my best ideas came when I was standing under the shower, the hot water cascading down my back, creating a rhythm that seemed to sync perfectly with the gears turning in my head. There, with nothing but the sound of water hitting tile, my mind would spin, reevaluating my plans, picking apart every little detail to see what could be improved and what should be completely removed from the plan.And I needed that clarity now more than ever. Just two days left. Forty-eight hours before The Art Palette would be ready to

MatthiasWas it normal to feel like you were everywhere and nowhere at the same time?I wasn’t sure where I was now. The more I tried to piece together the fragments of memories in my head, the stabbing sensation and the vice-like grip around my skull made it feel like my head was about to shatter.Or maybe it already had? I couldn’t say. I didn’t quite remember. I was certain I had just gotten into the car after leaving the hotel. The business meeting had wrapped up, and Ren and I were discussing what time we could catch a flight back to New York. I hadn’t been paying much attention to the road, my focus entirely on my phone, reading through some articles that had just been released about the launch of The Art Palette from Erbeauty—the latest work from Althea.I had felt like I was about to do something earlier. I couldn’t remember exactly what, though. But before I could do anything, the car entered a tunnel, and that was the last time I saw light.Was I still inside that tunnel now

AltheaMatthias had been hospitalized for three days (I counted it since the day he finally woke up), and I could see the small signs of improvement each day. His movements were becoming less stiff, his voice less hoarse, though his face still held the shadow of pain. It wasn’t the worst injury he could have suffered, but I knew it was enough to put him in a place where he couldn’t escape. He was used to being strong, independent—things had been so different for him just days ago, and now here he was, relying on me in ways that I hadn’t expected. To be honest, I’ve never taken care of anybody in the hospital for this long. Even Granny. She would always tell the nurse to tell me to go home, and she never stayed in the hospital for more than two nights.“I’ll die anyway. I rather pay for a fancy funeral than donate to the hospital.”On the first day after he was conscious, Matthias told me to go to a hotel nearby, which I declined whole heartedly. I’d stay with him, even if that meant