After the Divorce, the Heiress Omega Regretted It - Chapter 17

After leaving the hospital, Luo Yunye drove home absentmindedly and nearly ran a red light on the way.

The car screeched to a halt right in the middle of the intersection. Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of traffic and pedestrians, she suddenly felt completely lost.

She couldn’t go forward, couldn’t reverse, and couldn’t even turn left or right. All she could do was stay put and wait for the next green light.

The red light turned green soon enough, but Luo Yunye had no idea when the metaphorical green light in her heart would ever come.

When she finally pulled up in front of the Qin residence, a staff member came to open the car door. She handed them the keys and made her way upstairs like a soul lost in a daze.

The moment she reached the second floor and saw the door to Qin Yiwan’s room wide open, her heart skipped a beat. She rushed over in a panic, only to find Dr. Xu Nuo doing a routine check-up on her. It was only then that the tight knot in her chest slowly began to loosen.

Seeing her return, Dr. Xu smiled and approached her, showing her the chart he’d just updated. “Miss Qin’s brain activity is picking up nicely. All her vitals are stable, and the damage to her brain has fully healed.”

“She’s gradually regaining consciousness. What she needs now is companionship—someone to talk to her and help her reconnect with the world. That kind of stimulation will help her wake up sooner.”

“I understand,” Luo Yunye replied. “I’ll stay with her.”

Her eyes rested on Qin Yiwan’s peaceful face, but there wasn’t much joy in them. Instead, a quiet sorrow lingered.

Dr. Xu noticed her subdued reaction and reined in his own smile. “Did something happen, Madam? You don’t seem very happy.”

“I ran into something a bit… complicated.” Luo Yunye gave him a polite smile. “Dr. Xu, have you ever been caught between two impossible choices while trying to save someone?”

“Like what?”

“Like… if someone you care about falls ill, and performing surgery could risk their life, but not doing it might turn them into a stranger. What would you do?”

Dr. Xu thought for a moment. “That’s a tough one. But if it’s not a life-threatening condition, I’d probably avoid surgery. Losing someone entirely is worse than growing distant. As long as they’re still alive, there’s always a chance to reconnect and become close again.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Luo Yunye said with a small smile.

After Dr. Xu left, she sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Qin Yiwan’s hair. She leaned in until their foreheads touched and whispered, “A’Wan, I hope you’re the one who wakes up.”

******

To prevent muscle atrophy from prolonged bed rest, a professional masseuse had been caring for Qin Yiwan regularly. But today, Luo Yunye took it upon herself to do the massage, partly to distract herself from spiraling into sadness.

She found a tutorial online and followed along, massaging Qin Yiwan’s limbs while softly singing to her.

Luo Yunye had always loved to sing, and thanks to the original host’s naturally beautiful voice, her singing was full of emotion. As she sang, she felt a little of her gloom begin to lift.

After the massage, she wiped down Qin Yiwan’s body with a warm towel. Blushing, she mumbled an explanation, “I’m not trying to take advantage of you or anything. If I don’t clean you up, you’ll feel gross and uncomfortable when you wake up. You’d probably hate how you smell, right?”

Qin Yiwan’s fingers were long and delicate. Since no one had trimmed her nails for some time, they’d grown quite long. Luo Yunye gently wiped each finger clean, admiring the translucent sheen of her nails.

Suddenly struck by an idea, she smiled. “Later I’ll give you a manicure. You’ll look stunning.”

Once everything was tidied up, Luo Yunye collapsed onto the sofa with a long stretch and sighed. “Taking care of a patient is no joke.”

After a short rest, she noticed the nice weather outside and got up to draw back the curtains a little, letting the sunlight spill onto the bed and warm Qin Yiwan’s skin.

She glanced at her phone, and five minutes later, she promptly closed the curtains again to keep the light from shining directly on Qin Yiwan. Only a soft glow remained on the floor.

“A’ Wan,” she said softly, “the gardenias in the yard are blooming beautifully. Can you smell them?”

Ever since learning that Qin Yiwan loved gardenias, Luo Yunye had asked Butler Lin to plant them all around the courtyard. That way, no matter the time of day, as long as the windows were open, their fragrance would drift inside.

At first, she did all this out of pity. But gradually, it grew into something else—tenderness, affection, love, and a deep desire to protect her.

Though only a short time had passed in the real world, in the dreamlike days they shared, it felt like years. So much so that sometimes, Luo Yunye couldn’t even tell what was real anymore.

When she ate in the room, she would pretend Qin Yiwan was there too—serving her food, describing each dish and its flavor. At night, she told her bedtime stories—sometimes childish fairy tales, sometimes ridiculous CEO romances. And when the stories got exciting, she’d even imitate the voices of the male and female leads, acting them out vividly.

Through all her day-and-night companionship and her endless talking and singing, Qin Yiwan’s consciousness slowly began to awaken. Bit by bit, she could hear voices again. She could smell the gardenias. She could even catch the scent of food wafting through the air.

But her heart remained unmoved. Toward Luo Yunye—this son-in-law in name only—she felt no warmth. No matter what Luo Yunye said or did, she didn’t stir emotionally.

Then one day, she heard footsteps—footsteps she recognized in an instant.

Qin Rushuang.

She had always been sensitive to Qin Rushuang’s presence.

The footsteps stopped by the bed, and she heard that cold, detached voice.

“Yunye, have you thought about what we discussed before—about continuing the Qin family line?”

The moment she heard that, tension spiked through her. She felt like a lamb laid out on the chopping block: angry and helpless. If Luo Yunye decided to mark her and get her pregnant, she wouldn’t be able to resist. She would just have to endure the humiliation.

Luo Yunye saw the readings on the monitor fluctuate wildly. Clearly, Qin Yiwan had a strong reaction to Qin Rushuang’s words.

She grasped Qin Yiwan’s hand, silently comforting her, then calmly replied, “Mom, Dr. Xu said A’Wan is already showing signs of waking up. I think we should wait until she’s conscious before making any decisions about children.”

Qin Rushuang looked at her, then at the monitor’s spiking lines. Her expression became complicated.

“Are you sure about this? You and Wan’er barely have any emotional connection. Once she wakes up, she might not even agree to have a child with you.”

She spoke as if she were Luo Yunye’s real mother.

Suddenly, Luo Yunye understood why the original Qin Yiwan had always been so emotionally distant—she took after her mother.

But even so, Luo Yunye had no intention of taking advantage of someone who couldn’t fight back.

She refused to become that kind of person.

“If A’Wan wakes up and doesn’t want to have a child with me, that’s her choice,” Luo Yunye said calmly. “She has the right to choose.”

Qin Rushuang was visibly surprised. She hadn’t expected this in-law—someone she initially saw as an outsider—to be so attentive to Qin Yiwan, let alone show her this level of respect. There was no attempt to take advantage of her daughter’s condition or exploit the Qin family’s power.

This kind of honesty and restraint made Qin Rushuang regard her in a new light. And as she reflected on her own role as a mother, a pang of guilt struck her—realizing that even a stranger showed more concern for her daughter than she ever had.

“Then we’ll wait until Wan’er wakes up.”

Her footsteps gradually faded down the hallway. Qin Yiwan felt Luo Yunye’s hand gently brush her forehead, followed by a soft whisper near her ear: “A’Wan, don’t worry about what Qin Rushuang said. Until you agree, I won’t touch you.”

At first, she had assumed this “in-law” was just someone Qin Rushuang had chosen to torment her—a puppet planted to mock her even in a coma. But this person… wasn’t quite as she had imagined.

Qin Yiwan didn’t let herself believe in Luo Yunye just because of a few kind words. But from that moment on, she started paying attention.

Day by day, she noticed that Luo Yunye was indeed taking care of her with genuine care—never once showing frustration or impatience.

She seemed born with a kind of cheerful energy, always speaking in a lighthearted, upbeat tone as she shared the day’s events. Things that Qin Yiwan would’ve found dull or meaningless somehow became amusing when described through Luo Yunye’s lens.

That warmth reminded her of someone—her old friend, Gu Qianyue.

Gu Qianyue had grown up surrounded by love. She was brave in love and bold in life, always curious about the world and generous with her smiles. Being around her made life feel lighter. She radiated joy like the sun.

Back when she first slipped into her coma, Gu Qianyue came to visit once… but never returned after that.

Qin Yiwan told herself it didn’t matter. She wasn’t someone who clung to emotions.

But the truth was, she wasn’t entirely heartless either.

And the realization that a close friend never came back after she became a “vegetable” still stung. She couldn’t pretend it didn’t.

Then there was Luo Yunyi.

That girl used to follow her around like a little tail—clingy and persistent. Over time, Qin Yiwan got used to her presence. Given that they had a marriage contract, she had tacitly accepted her as her fiancée.

But after her accident, Luo Yunyi never showed up once. Instead, her sister took her place and married into the Qin family.

How laughable.

Qin Yiwan felt ridiculous—telling herself not to care about these people, yet still aching because of how easily they abandoned her.

Especially that day… the day Qin Rushuang gave up on her.

She still remembered it vividly. Qin Rushuang had stood by her bed and, in the coldest, most indifferent tone, said, “I’ve chosen a daughter-in-law for you. She’ll bear you a child and take over the Qin family in your place.”

After all these years, Qin Yiwan thought she’d already stopped caring. That whatever Qin Rushuang said or did could no longer touch her.

But she’d forgotten—pain makes people vulnerable.

Her body hadn’t yet healed. And the lingering pain only accelerated her emotional collapse.

In that moment, the emotional shield she had so stubbornly held up for over a decade… completely shattered with just one sentence.

It was like a storm had broken loose inside her, drowning her in darkness with no light, no exit. She felt herself sinking.

She was sick of being discarded again and again. For the first time, she gave up on herself.

She was so tired. All she wanted was to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Qin Yiwan truly believed she would never want to wake up again. There was no one, no thing left in the world to hold her back.

But even though she wanted to die, her consciousness refused to give in. She couldn’t kill the part of herself that still existed. And in that endless black void, the only one suffering was her.

Time passed.

Eventually, the sorrow faded, and in its place came a deep, burning resentment.

Why had Qin Rushuang held a grudge against her for so many years, when she had done nothing wrong?

Why had she worked so hard to become someone worthy, only to have it all destroyed in one stupid car accident?

All those bitter questions came to a head after a dream in which Qin Rushuang slapped her.

Why should she be the one abandoned by everyone?

In that moment, a single thought took root in her heart.

She wanted to live—not for anyone else, but for herself.