Chapter 73 Dumpling

Chapter 73 Dumpling
Chapter 73: Dumpling

Dianna.

Light stretched endlessly around me, soft and golden, bathing everything in warmth that did not burn my eyes. The air felt cool against my skin despite the sunlight, carrying the scent of flowers and fresh rain at the same time. Somewhere nearby, water flowed quietly, calm enough to sound almost soothing.

For a long moment, I simply stood there confused.

I slowly looked around me and realized I was standing in the middle of a wide open field covered in white flowers. They swayed gently beneath the breeze, endless beneath the golden sky that seemed brighter than any sunset I had ever seen before.

Everything looked unreal.

Beautiful in a way that made my chest ache.

I looked down at myself and realized that the pain in my body was gone.

My back no longer hurt. My chest no longer felt heavy. Even the exhaustion that had clung to me for months had disappeared completely.

I raised a trembling hand to my stomach instinctively.

Still there.

Relief quietly settled inside me.

Then slowly, realization crept in.

“…Where am I?”

My own voice sounded distant somehow, softer against the endless quiet surrounding me.

No one answered.

I took a slow step forward, then another, my bare feet brushing against soft grass as the flowers moved around me gently.

In the distance, I could see clear water reflecting the golden sky above it. It looked endless.

A strange feeling slowly tightened in my chest.

Because despite how beautiful everything was...something about this place frightened me.

I swallowed hard and looked around again, suddenly searching for something I could not explain.

And then—

“Dianna.”

I froze instantly.

The voice was warm, gentle, and achingly familiar.

My breath caught sharply as I turned around.

And there he was.

My father stood several steps behind me, dressed in simple white clothes that moved softly with the wind. The sunlight behind him made everything around him glow faintly, but I could still see him clearly.

The same kind eyes.

The same gentle smile.

Exactly the way I remembered him.

For a moment, my mind went completely blank.

“…Dad?”

My voice broke the second I said it.

His smile softened further.

“There you are,” he said quietly.

The tears came immediately.

I did not even realize I was crying until my vision blurred completely. My chest tightened painfully while I stared at him, unable to move at first because a part of me still could not believe what I was seeing.

He looked real and alive.

I took one shaky step forward.

Then another.

And suddenly I was running.

“Dad–!”

The moment I reached him, his arms wrapped around me immediately, warm and familiar and painfully gentle.

That was when I broke completely.

I buried my face against him and cried harder than I had in years.

“I missed you…” I sobbed helplessly. “I missed you so much…”

His hand moved slowly through my hair the same way he used to when I was little.

“I know,” he murmured softly. “I know, sweetheart.”

That nickname shattered something inside me.

All these years, I thought I had already accepted his death. I thought time had already dulled the pain enough for me to carry it properly.

But standing here now, hearing his voice again, feeling him hold me again...

I realized I never truly moved on.

Slowly, he pulled back just enough to look at me properly.

And the moment his eyes lowered toward my stomach, his expression softened even more.

“You’re going to be a mother,” he said quietly.

My hand instinctively moved over my stomach again.

A weak laugh escaped me through tears.

“…I am.”

His eyes lifted back to mine, full of warmth.

“You look happy.”

The words caught me off guard.

Because happiness was not the first thing I would have used to describe myself these past few months.

Fear.

Guilt.

Loneliness.

Those were the things I knew best.

But somehow…

When Theodore looked at me and touched my belly...

For the first time in a long while...

I did feel happy.

The realization made my chest tighten.

“I was scared,” I admitted quietly.

My father listened patiently.

“I thought Theodore would hate me once he learned the truth,” I continued softly. “I thought our child would become another mistake people would suffer for.”

His expression saddened slightly at my words.

Then he reached up and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“Dianna,” he said carefully, “you have spent too much of your life blaming yourself for things you never caused.”

I lowered my gaze.

“But my mother...”

“Your mother made her own choices,” he interrupted gently. “Those choices were never yours to carry.”

My throat tightened painfully.

“You were only a child,” he continued softly. “None of this was your burden.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

Because deep down, I realized how badly I wanted to believe him.

“I’m tired,” I whispered honestly.

His eyes softened immediately.

“I know.”

The breeze moved around us quietly while silence settled between us again. But it was not uncomfortable.

Everything here felt warm and safe.

Peaceful enough that it slowly tempted me to stay.

As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, my father suddenly cupped my face gently.

“You cannot stay here yet,” he said softly.

My chest tightened immediately.

“…What?”

His smile turned sad around the edges.

“There are still people waiting for you.”

Then faintly, very faintly...

I heard a voice.

“…wake up…”

Is that...Theodore?

My breath caught instantly.

The voice sounded distant, almost swallowed by the wind itself, but I recognized it immediately.

My father smiled softly at my reaction.

“He loves you very much.”

Fresh tears filled my eyes.

“I know,” I whispered.

Theodore’s voice came again, more desperate this time.

“Please wake up…”

My chest ached so suddenly that I pressed a hand against it.

I could hear him.

Even here, I could still hear him.

Slowly, I looked back at my father.

“I don’t want to leave yet,” I admitted quietly.

His eyes filled with understanding.

“I know,” he said softly. “But… he needs you.”

I looked at him in confusion, unable to fully understand the sudden change in his expression.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

His gaze drifted somewhere past me for a moment, as though he could already see something I could not.

“Theodore is standing at the edge of something dangerous,” he said carefully. “And if no one pulls him back now, he will cross a line he can never return from.”

My chest tightened immediately.

A strange sense of dread slowly crept into me.

“He's changed…” my father spoke softly.

The wind moved quietly around us while silence settled between us once more.

“Back then,” my father said quietly, “there was no one there to save me from my own mistakes.”

My brows slowly furrowed.

“But Theodore still has a chance,” he continued. “And that chance is you.”

My throat tightened painfully.

“You need to wake up, Dianna,” he said gently. “You need to bring him back before he loses himself completely.”

I stared at him silently while emotions twisted painfully inside my chest.

Because suddenly, I understood why I was here.

Why I met him.

This was not simply goodbye.

“Save him,” my father whispered softly while cupping my cheek one last time. “Before he becomes someone he can no longer return from.”

Tears blurred my vision again.

Then slowly, the world around me began to fade.

The golden light dimmed.

The wind weakened.

And the last thing I saw before everything disappeared was my father smiling at me gently.

“I love you, dumpling.”