C h a p t e r  F o u r

It has been a month since you last saw him. Him, as in your ex-husband. Him, as in the man you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with. Him, as in Kris Wu.

Even though a month has passed, you never moved on. You never got in a relationship with anyone even though Su Min always sets you up on blind dates. You tried, you really did try. But it was just too hard. Every single time you go on dates, you always compare those guys to him. Like what Katy Perry says, "Comparisons are easily done, once you've had a taste of perfection."

Sure, you never moved on but not once did you show people your true feelings. Not even to Su Min. That was because you constantly plastered on fake, bright smiles and people actually believed that you had moved on. In truth, you missed him. There were times whereby you would look through the contact list in your phone only to stop at his name. You’ve tried to send him a text message to ask him out for coffee, just as friends, but you never got around to sending it.

If other people knew all about this, they would definitely either think you were pathetic or take pity on you.

***

*Kringggggg!*

You looked at the caller ID on your smartphone screen and you saw ‘Mrs Wu’ on it. You furrowed before answering the phone. 'That's weird. Mrs Wu rarely calls.'

“Mrs Wu?”

“Ah, my beloved daughter!” Mrs Wu said, making your heart clenched. Even though, you and Kris were not together anymore, Mrs Wu still treated you like her own daughter.

“Yes, Mrs Wu, it’s me. Is there something wrong?” you asked, genuinely curious.

“Oh yes! Can you come over later? Er, I-I need to pass something to you. It’s…” she stopped halfway and sighed before continuing. “It’s from Kris.”

Your heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. “W-what? O-oh sure. I’ll be there in the evening. Anyway, it has been a while since I visited you.”

“Alright, thank you so much. I will see you later,” she said before the line went dead.

Your palm started to sweat and it was actually trembling. You did not know why but you felt nervous. You just hoped that whatever it was that Kris wanted you to have, it was not anything bad.

***

You bounced your feet from side to side as you stood in front of the front door of the Wu’s residence. You were grateful that Kris does not live with his parents but instead lived in the old house you and him used to live together.

You could hear footsteps coming towards you from behind the door. The door open to reveal a beautiful, petite lady. You’ve always admired Mrs Wu, just as much as you admired your own mother. Mrs Wu was classy and she does it without even trying. She engulfed you into a hug before letting you go and the both of you entered the house.

You sat at the couch in the middle of the living room, waiting for Mrs Wu to retrieve Kris’ so-called gift from the master bedroom. As Mrs Wu entered the living room, you could not help but notice the CD that she was holding in her right hand. She smiled sadly - yes sadly, but why? – at you when she saw where your attention was. She grabbed hold of your hands in between her own and looked at you with sad eyes.

She sighed, “Personally, I feel that Kris made a foolish mistake. I don’t know why he didn’t want to tell you. But, Kris had always been stubborn and I know that my words would only fall on deaf ears.”

You gulped at her words. ‘What is she talking about? What did Kris not tell me?’

“I am not supposed to give this to you now but I couldn’t bear to see the relationship between the both of you go down the drain just because of Kris' foolish decision. I know the both of you aren’t together anymore but I’m certain that once I give you the CD and you play it, you will make the right decision,” she said, and placed the CD in my palms.

Looking at it, you held the CD tightly as if it would break if you held it normally. You looked up and cannot help but notice the unshed tears in Mrs Wu’s eyes. You gulped. Now, you cannot wait but go home and play the CD.

“Mrs Wu, I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for this and it was great seeing you again,” you said, giving her a gentle smile.

“Oh, why so formal! I’m really glad you came. I’ll always treat you as a daughter of my own, never forget that,” she said softly and gave you a quick hug.

Upon leaving the Wu’s residence, you quickly drove back home. You dumped your purse on the coffee table and decided to take a quick shower. All clean and fresh, you searched for the CD in your purse and proceeded to place it in the player. The video started rolling and right in front of you was Kris Wu.

Your lips started to tremble and tears pricked your eyes. You have missed him so much and even though he was not physically there, you could not help but feel contented. You noticed how he looked slightly thinner and the eye bags under his eyes were noticeable. You bit your bottom lip, worried for his well-being. ‘Is he doing fine? What’s this video for?’

“Er, is this recording? Hello? Can you see me?” he asked no one in particular. You chuckled softly, thinking to yourself that he looked silly.

When he was sure that the video camera was recording him, he cleared his throat before continuing, “Hey, hun.” A tear rolled down you cheek as he spoke. “How are you? Good, I am sure?"

'Definitely not good.'

"Erm, well, I missed you. A lot..." he said in a whisper. It was a wonder that the video camera managed to capture his voice.

'I missed you, too. More than you can ever imagine.'

He took a deep breath and continued, "Well, I'm not doing very well. I-I..God, I don't know how to say this. Erm, well I'll just say it at one go."

He rubbed his face with his hands once and let out a breath. You chewed on your bottom lip and in a deep breath, anticipating whatever he was about to say.

"By the time you are viewing this video…” he his lips and closed his eyes. “I would have already lost my sight.”

After hearing that, it felt like as though the wind had been knocked out of you. ‘Wait, what? Lost his sight? What does that even mean? How can he even lose his sight? That’s not possible! He has perfect eyesight!’

“Don’t worry. Currently, I still have my vision. Well, obviously, if not I wouldn't be doing this video," he said with a chuckle. You did not laugh though. You did not find the situation funny at all.

"However, by the end of this year, I would become a blind man. I know right? How is that possible? Well, I thought so too when the doctor told me so. But it turned out that I have cone-rod dystrophy. It is a progressive disease that causes deterioration…”

As he continued explaining what cone-rod whatever the name was in the video, your mind started to whirl. It was making you dizzy and you tried to swallow the bile forming in your throat.

“…resulting in blindness. You must be wondering if there’s a cure to it but unfortunately there isn’t. I can only slow down the process by avoiding sunlight. There are also pills that I have to take. That’s the reason why I’ll only lose my vision by the end of this year. It's because I've been taking some measures. If I hadn't, I would be called a 'blind man' by now."

‘So, is this the reason why he started acting the way he did? Because he was turning blind? But that doesn’t make sense! The both of us could have worked together and then get through it, together.’

“I am making this video because I wanted to explain things to you. I know I’ve been a jerk to you the past few months. I..." he cleared his throat and guiltily said the next sentence, "I actually knew about me having the disease last year. I visited my eye doctor when I realised how my vision gets blurry at times and how difficult it is for me to see at night.”

‘Last year…he knew last year. He had been keeping it from me all this while.’

Everything started to click. He only started acting that way beginning of the year and then it went on and on for months until you mentioned wanting a divorce a month ago. Before that, your marriage was perfect. You were happily married to Kris for three years and they were the best few years of your life until the whole thing happened.

You heard him sigh and you looked at your television screen. Kris’ face suddenly turned serious and he was running his hair a few times. “I-I wanted to tell you at that time but I was afraid to face you. I did not want you to face this with me. I know, I should have put in more faith in you but at that time, nothing else mattered. All I know was that I was turning blind.”

You could not help but hear the slight crack in his voice as he said the word ‘blind’.

He started to play with his fingers as he spoke. “So that’s when I decided that it was best if I didn’t involve you in my life anymore. I didn’t want you to-“

You stopped playing the video. Anger coursed through you. How could he make the decision by himself? The both of you were married at that time. You had the right to know and have a say in it. Clenching your fist, you grabbed your car keys and smartphone before stomping your way to your car. As soon as you were inside the car, you sped to your old house.  

You parked the car in front of the house, not caring if you parked correctly or not, and stomped your way to the front door. You pounded your fist on the front door. You wanted to see him and you wanted to hear from the man himself.

“Yah! If it’s you again Tao, I will-“ he stopped as soon as he open the door and saw you.

His mouth open and close, not believing that you were right in front of him. You pushed past him and walked into the living room. Waiting for Kris, you tapped your feet impatiently. Kris entered the living room slowly, as if afraid of what might come his way.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked, your voice so soft, only you and him could hear.

The room was silent. Your head was throbbing and the silence was pounding in your ears. You could not take it anymore. You needed answers.

“I…I…”

“You what? Did you ever think about my own feelings regarding the situation? Obviously you didn't, you selfish bastard!” you lashed out at him.

Tears were already streaming down your cheeks and you bit your lips, preventing it from quivering. You saw guilt written all over his face. Just like in the video, he looked thinner and there were dark rings under his eyes. All you wanted to do was go up to him, pull him into a hug and reassure him that you would always be there for him. But right now, you needed answers and explanations first.

"Wu Yi Fan..." you said through gritted teeth. Kris gulped because he knew that he was in serious trouble. You only said his full name when you were really furious or disappointed.

“You are mean, you know that?” you said, your voice cracking slightly at the end.

“Why didn't you bother about my feelings? Especially when it was about something as important as this. Why? You pushed me away. And I was actually sort of prepared to forget you - to start anew alone. And then suddenly, you reeled me back with that stupid ‘7 days’ plan of yours. You doing that, you actually gave me hope. I thought that maybe you still love me and we could have not proceeded with the divorce. But obviously, you don’t anymore because we still proceeded on with the divorce! And then now, I had to find out that you’ve been suffering from that disease all along.”

“Why couldn’t you just tell me? Wasn’t I your wife? We don’t keep secrets from each other. We promised each other that we would be there for each other through thick and thin. And you know very well that I always stick to my promises. I'm disappointed that you would actually think that I would leave you or anything. All you needed was a little bit of faith and all this mess wouldn’t have happened,” you managed to choke out. Your words were slurred together because you were already crying by then and you wondered if Kris even understood whatever you just said.

Kris did not say anything and walked slowly towards you. He gently pulled you in a hug and your back. You’ve missed this and it only made you cry harder against his chest.

"I was doing this to protect you. I only want the best for you because you deserved it. And I'm definitely not the best," he said softly as he your hair.

"No, that's not true!" you said loudly as you pushed him on his chest, away from you. Your hands clenching tightly at your sides and you glared at him.

"Promise me! Promise me that you aren't hiding anything else from me," your voice ragged and pleading.

He took hold of your hand and reeled you back into his arms gently. “I-I promise. I'm sorry. Shh...I am really sorry,” he whispered to you.

***

“Kris? What was your actual purpose in being mean to me during the previous months?” you asked him as he laid his head on your lap.

You run your hand through his hair while waiting for his reply.

“I didn’t want you to suffer with me when I turned blind. I didn't want you to feel embarrassed being with a blind man. You deserve someone who will be capable enough to provide for you in the future. I'm going to be blind and hence, if you stick around with me, life isn't going to be easy for you. I'm not going to be good enough for you."

"So I decided to act cold and everything to make you not love me anymore. To make you divorce me. I succeeded doing so but at the same time, I realised that you still loved me even after what I put you through. Hence, the reason I came up with the ‘7 days’ plan. I just wanted to spend at least a few more days proper with you before I actually lose my sight, permanently,” he sighed.

After he said that, silence ensued. You were processing everything that Kris had just said and Kris was processing the fact that you were here, with him, at that moment.

“I still love you, you know? I never stopped loving you,” you said softly, breaking the silence. “Even if you were to lose your sight, or your voice or anything for that matter, I’ll still love you. Nothing’s going to stop me from loving you.”

Kris' heart burst with the warm emotion that over swept his entire being. In that moment, Kris just stared into your eyes and he realised how much of a fool he was for putting up the cold act. Because of that, he lost so much precious time. The time wasted could have been used for the both of you to spend more time together, before he permanently loses his vision.

He lifted his head from your lap and leaned forward, cupping the back of your head at the same time, before bringing it towards him. He placed a soft lingering kiss on your lips and whispered against it, “I never stopped loving you too. I love you, always.”

[A/N] Bet you guys didn't expect that! Hehe. And yes, the sickness does exist. You can go check it out! :) In the original story, I actually did kill him off and I was really tempted to kill him off again. (REALLY. TEMPTED. 'Cause somehow, I love killing my characters. Lol.) But I decided that I wasn't going to make this one too cliche. Heh. ANYWAY! I hope I didn't disappoint you guys and it cleared some doubts! :) One more chapter and then the epilogue!