Evening Wind Over a Starship

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I married Gideon Foster three years ago, and he gave me the cold shoulder for nine hundred and ninety-nine days.

To please his new lover, he personally beat me half to death with a salt-soaked whip.

Everyone thought I died in that brutal attack. He knelt at my grave in repentance for three years.

Then came the day I removed my mask at my book signing in London. He rushed up, eyes red, arms open. But the man beside me smiled and pulled me close.

"Let me introduce you. This is my wife. And you are?"

Lydia POV

Three years into my marriage, on the 999th day of the cold war between Gideon and me, I received a call from the hospital.

"Mrs. Foster, your prenatal checkup scheduled for this week has been arranged for Friday afternoon. Please remember to arrange your time in advance. You're already two months pregnant. Your last checkup was very healthy. Have you experienced any discomfort recently?"

My heart lurched. Even my breathing felt painful.

I opened my mouth, about to say something, when another voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hang up quickly, you called the wrong number!"

"I didn't call the wrong number. This is Mrs. Foster's phone!"

"Oh my, this Mrs. Foster is not that Mrs. Foster!"

"What do you mean?"

The girl who called me was clearly confused.

The next second, the call was disconnected.

My chest felt tight, a dull ache slowly spreading through my chest.

Counting the days, the child Gideon and I lost was also conceived around this time three years ago.

On Friday, I went to the hospital emergency room for severe abdominal pain.

The rolling screen in the hospital lobby continuously displayed intimate photos of Gideon with another woman, Sophia Mitchell.

In the photos, Gideon looked at her with such tenderness it made my eyes burn.

"To celebrate Mrs. Foster, the wife of our hospital's largest shareholder, being pregnant, all patient expenses at our hospital this month will be covered by Mr. Foster."

"Mr. Foster is so good to his wife."

"That's nothing. Did you hear? Mr. Foster is also investing ten billion to establish a school here, saying it will be named after his future child!"

I held the test results, slightly dazed.

Suddenly, several security guards walked over.

"Sorry everyone, Mr. Foster is bringing his wife to the hospital for a prenatal checkup. This passage is temporarily closed to the public. Please take an alternate route."

The crowd stirred, and I was accidentally pushed and fell to the ground.

I struggled to get up, but was stepped on several times by people behind me and pushed down again.

"Out of the way! What are you doing, coming here to play the victim?"

The security guard's baton pressed against my shoulder.

"Stop pretending, get up quickly! Get lost! If you delay Mr. Foster and his wife's business in a moment, can you afford to compensate?"

"She's probably using her looks, waiting here to catch Mr. Foster's attention. Does she even know her place?"

People around were pointing and gossiping at me.

"Girls these days have no shame. She's just trying to ruin someone else's marriage!"

Someone took advantage of the chaos to push me hard again. My arm hit the ground, and the skin on my elbow was torn open in a long strip.

I gasped in pain. Looking up, the exclusive VIP elevator door on one side opened.

Gideon walked out with a gentle expression, holding her in his arms.

Sophia's cheeks were flushed with shy redness as she cooed.

"There are so many people. Put me down quickly. I can walk by myself."

Gideon refused without hesitation.

"How can that be okay? Didn't the doctor just say you need to be careful now?"

"That's all because of you. I'm already pregnant, and last night you still couldn't help yourself, insisting on..."

"That's because you're too tempting."

The two were saying explicit sweet nothings. Looking up, Gideon saw me on the ground, and his expression changed drastically.

Although I had already tried very hard to minimize my presence.

But in the next second, Gideon's icy voice still poured down on me like a basin of cold water.

"What are you doing here?"

I clutched the test results in my hand tightly. Just as I was about to speak, Sophia beside him spoke up first.

"She must also be here for a checkup, right? She should take good care of her body and try to get pregnant soon!"

My fingers stiffened slightly. The convulsing pain in my heart covered the pain in my arm.

Gideon also, because of her words, instantly looked at me with a hundred times more disgust and loathing.

He walked past holding Sophia, his foot crushing hard over my delicate fingers.

He didn't even look at me once, leaving only an extremely cold remark.

"She's not worthy!"

Lydia POV

The two walked away. The crowd dispersed.

It took me quite a while to struggle up from the ground in embarrassment.

The sympathetic and pitying looks from people around me shattered my heart, which had been as hard as stone.

I stared blankly in the direction where Gideon and Sophia left, and memories that had been torn apart came flying back at me like a boomerang.

No one remembered anymore how deeply Gideon loved me three years ago.

Although our marriage was arranged, it was also love at first sight.

On the night of our engagement, Gideon set off the grandest fireworks show for me across the entire city.

In the fireworks show, there were patterns he personally designed, depicting the happiness of our remaining eighty years of life, from a family of two to being surrounded by children and grandchildren in old age.

Just because I casually mentioned that yellow roses were my favorite flowers, Gideon had people plant large fields of yellow roses throughout the city.

No matter where I went, at home or out, everywhere I looked there were flowers he specially planted for me.

He even bought me 365 stars, naming each one after the letters he wrote for me.

Gideon said.

"Lydia, from now on, you are my one and only. I will spoil you into the happiest woman in the world."

And he truly did it.

In the first six months after marriage, thanks to the romance and love he gave me, those were the happiest times of my life.

Only a car accident six months after our marriage completely changed the trajectory of our lives.

I was already more than three months pregnant at that time, with my belly slightly swollen.

In that car, there were three people but four lives. In the end, only I survived

Gideon, who rushed to the scene after receiving the call, seemed crazy at that moment.

His bloodshot eyes were savage. It broke my heart to see him like that.

He shouted at me.

"Lydia, you killed my mother! You also killed our child!"

He said.

"What exactly did you do? Why was Preston in your car? Where were you two going?"

He questioned me over and over again.

"Lydia, have all your feelings for me been fake all this time? You've been unable to forget him, still harboring feelings for him, right? For your lover, you killed my mother and my child!"

My mind was in a fog. I felt helpless.

I touched my flat belly and replayed the accident in my mind. The violent impact. The blood. The way it poured down my legs.

I couldn't control it.

I didn't know how to explain Preston's presence in the car that day to Gideon either.

It was only then that I learned Preston was Linda Foster's illegitimate son, Gideon's mother. Linda had begged me not to reveal his identity.

So I couldn't speak up.

But my prolonged silence was interpreted by Gideon as confirmation.

When the doctor said I had injured my uterus and could never bear children again in this lifetime, Gideon became extremely calm.

He said.

"Lydia, this is what you owe me. You'll spend your entire life atoning for this."

It was from that moment that we began a cold war that lasted three years.

He openly flaunted other women outside.

Around that time, explicit photos of him with other women would appear on my phone.

I'd occasionally find sexy lingerie left in the corners of the house, clearly worn by someone else.

Even my car wasn't spared. Opening the door, I'd often be hit by a pungent smell.

I would always find several torn condom wrappers in Gideon's coat pockets.

I knew this was Gideon's silent declaration of war against me.

Just as Gideon said, this was what I owed him.

Only now, he already had a child with another woman.

I felt that what I owed him should be paid off soon.

On the way home, I made an important decision.

Lydia POV

I went to have my identity wiped from the system.

In one month, this identity of mine would disappear from the entire world. Everything about me would cease to exist.

I would wait until Sophia was three months pregnant, until the baby in her belly was stable, then I would change my identity and leave here to start my new life.

I returned home. Every servant looked at me strangely.

I vaguely guessed what had happened in my heart. Walking in, I saw all my clothes thrown at the bedroom door like garbage.

Gideon had his arm around Sophia's still-slender waist, saying matter-of-factly.

"Sophia is pregnant. I'm not comfortable with her living outside alone."

"The master bedroom is spacious with plenty of sunlight, which is good for pregnant women. So you move out!"

I choked up, barely managing to get a word out.

"Okay."

After all, in a month, this would be Sophia's home anyway.

But Sophia asked with a smile.

"Lydia, you're not angry, are you?"

I lowered my head and said.

"No."

Gideon's expression suddenly changed. He pushed me hard, then kicked my clothes on the ground. His voice was frighteningly cold.

"Take your trash and get out!"

Immediately the door slammed shut.

Then I heard them kissing inside, Sophia's soft moans drifting out.

I just tried hard to control my numb nerves, looking at the scattered clothes on the ground.

They still had messy footprints on them.

I silently organized my things like picking up garbage.

On the other side, the butler kept bringing several people to deliver countless shopping bags for Sophia.

"These are all the latest seasonal items from the mall. Mr. Foster had us send them according to your measurements."

Gideon couldn't wait to move the entire mall home for Sophia.

There were people wearing gloves specially organizing these expensive clothes and jewelry for her.

"Gideon, you don't need to spend so much money. In a few months, my belly will get bigger and I won't be able to wear these anyway."

Sophia pouted, clinging sweetly to Gideon's arm.

"These are nothing. Sophia, you're carrying my child. Even if you want the stars and moon, I'll find a way to give them to you."

"Gideon, you're so good to me."

Separated by a wall, the more I didn't want to hear, the more their voices drilled into my ears uncontrollably.

I sat on the edge of the bed in a daze. Suddenly a roar from Gideon came from the villa.

"Lydia!"

"Lydia, where are you!"

I immediately opened the door and walked out. Shirtless, Gideon opened the master bedroom door, his eyes coldly fixed on me.

"We're out of condoms at home. You go out and buy some!"

"Get the most expensive ones, the ultra-thin kind!"

My brain went blank for a moment. I didn't react.

What?

"Can't you understand? What are you standing there for?"

"I..."

I hesitated, then tentatively said,

"But she's pregnant, isn't she? You can't do it now, right?"

Gideon's eyes instantly carried a hint of deeper meaning, as if he was sizing me up.

He raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Lydia, do you care very much?"

"Are you worried about her, or are you actually feeling sad too?"

Gideon stared directly into my eyes.

I understood what he meant and immediately explained.

"It's better to be careful during the first three months of pregnancy."

The air was briefly quiet for a few seconds before Gideon shouted at me again.

"I said go buy them, so go buy them! Get out!"

The sound of the door slamming made me shiver involuntarily.

Half an hour later, I handed the box of condoms I bought back to Gideon.

But Gideon wasn't planning to let me off so easily. He found a random excuse to make me stand outside the door.

Inside the door were continuous moans. Outside the door was me, standing there like being pressed on a chopping board and slowly sliced apart.

I stood until the sky darkened. My two legs were already stiff and numb before Gideon opened the door.

"Clean up inside. The sheets and the clothes all need to be hand-washed."

Gideon instructed me.

Sophia's neck was covered with purple-blue marks, her face still flushed with redness as she looked at me shyly.

"Lydia, the servants have rough hands. I'm afraid they'll ruin the clothes. I can only trouble you. You won't be angry, will you?"

I didn't speak.

Gideon snorted.

"She has no right to be angry."

After saying that, he picked up Sophia, and the two sweetly entered the bathroom.

Looking at the mess the bed, the carpet, the bay window all marked with traces of intimacy I dug my nails into my palm.

I tried to drown the ache in my chest with physical pain, but my heart still throbbed, and I didn't know how to make it stop.

I could only move like a ghost, mechanically stripping the sheets and gathering the clothes to wash.

I tried hard to force myself not to recall, but the scene from three years ago of Gideon holding my hand like a treasure kept replaying in my mind.

He said then.

"Lydia, I will never let these hands do any housework again. I'll spoil you until the whole world envies you."

But now, he was making me wash another woman's underwear.

Perhaps the promises made when deeply in love were real, but the coldness after falling out of love was also real.

Lydia POV

The next few days, I was busy with various procedures for canceling my identity.

I left early and returned late every day, trying my best to avoid the two of them.

But this evening, when I returned, the dining room was brightly lit.

Gideon and Sophia sat properly at the dining table, as if deliberately waiting for me.

"You're finally back. I specially made a table full of dishes today, waiting to eat with you."

Sophia had her signature smile on her face, soft and delicate.

I spoke. "I already ate outside. You two go ahead and eat."

But Gideon suddenly slammed the table hard, his voice full of anger.

"Sit down! Sophia is pregnant and has been busy all afternoon. Are you going to waste her thoughtfulness like this?"

"But I'm really not hungry."

The atmosphere immediately became tense. Gideon walked over and tightly gripped my neck.

A strong sense of suffocation came over me. I looked at this magnified face before my eyes, my vision gradually blurring.

The man's bone-chillingly cold voice rang in my ear, carrying undisguised disgust.

"Not hungry, huh? Fine, then don't eat for three days. Let's see if you get hungry or not."

"Lock her in her room. Without my permission, no one is allowed to let her out!"

Gideon pushed me to the ground. Immediately after, the butler brought people to lock me in the room.

I sat in a daze for quite a while. I didn't know when tears started falling, soaking my clothes. The damp fabric clung tightly to my chest, feeling somewhat uncomfortably restrictive.

It's okay. Just three days.

After three days, it would only be a few more days until I left.

I fell into a drowsy sleep, but suddenly a noisy commotion woke me up.

"Oh no, there's a fire."

"Sophia, don't be afraid. Nothing will happen. I'll take you out!"

I turned on the light. A pungent smell of smoke drilled in through the door crack.

My heart stopped for an instant. I immediately realized this wasn't a dream-there really was a fire.

"Gideon, I think I twisted my ankle. It hurts so much. I can't walk."

Outside the door, Sophia's soft, delicate voice with a hint of crying drilled into my ears.

"It's okay, Sophia. I'll carry you."

"But the fire is getting bigger and bigger."

"It doesn't matter. I will definitely save you. You're still carrying our child in your belly. Nothing will happen, Sophia."

Gideon so decisively, so determinedly carried her to escape.

The thick smoke choked my tears, making them fall continuously.

Gideon, who once regarded me as his life, now when facing danger, had only another woman in his eyes and heart.

He didn't even remember my existence at all.

The entire villa was in chaos. Everyone was fleeing for their lives. Locked up, I was completely forgotten here.

I tried to forcefully turn the doorknob, but the lock was locked from outside. There was no movement at all.

The security window was also welded shut. I couldn't push it open at all.

Watching the fire outside getting bigger and bigger, I felt the temperature of the surrounding air rising with it. The fear in my heart gradually spread.

Despair crept into my heart. Perhaps I would die here today.

I sighed softly. Maybe this was for the best.

If I died, perhaps Gideon wouldn't hate me anymore. What I owed him could be completely repaid.

The room was already filled with thick fog. My head swelled terribly.

The strength in my body grew weaker and weaker until I finally collapsed on the ground.

My consciousness faded.

Gideon, I hope we never meet again in the next life.

No love, no entanglement.

Lydia POV

Hospital room.

In a blur of consciousness, I seemed to hear Gideon's anxious voice, hoarse.

"What's going on? Didn't you say the examination showed no problems? Why hasn't she woken up yet?"

The doctor carefully tried to calm the irritated Gideon.

"Mr. Foster, please don't worry. She should wake up soon."

"Soon. I don't know how you define 'soon'? She's been unconscious for a day and a night! I don't care what methods you use, get her to wake up as soon as possible!"

"Yes, Mr. Foster."

My head ached terribly. I slowly opened my eyes, looking at Gideon getting angry outside, and moved my fingers.

It seemed I wasn't dead yet.

It seemed Sophia must also have been injured. Otherwise, Gideon wouldn't be this nervous and angry.

"Ma'am, you're awake!"

A nurse immediately ran over.

A string of medical staff followed, running in to examine me.

Gideon outside the door met my gaze. He first frowned, then immediately showed an expression of disgust.

"Lydia, you owe me two lives. Did you think you could just die and escape? Even Satan won't take you!"

Gideon then turned and strode away, unwilling to even look at me one more time.

I stared blankly, lowering my eyelids. I felt like my heart had been violently hollowed out, hurting so much I had no feeling left.

The doctor told me it was firefighters who arrived in time and rescued me.

I had only inhaled a large amount of smoke into my lungs. Fortunately, they rescued me in time, and there were no problems with my body.

In the afternoon, after completing the discharge procedures alone, I bought a bouquet of bellflowers at a flower shop and took a taxi to the cemetery.

I wanted to see Linda Foster one last time before leaving here, and Preston too.

I placed the bellflowers in front of Linda Foster's grave, looking at the familiar photo on the tombstone. A sense of loss welled up in my heart.

"Gideon now has a woman he loves deeply again. They even have a child. I'm leaving."

"I'll come back to see you when I have the chance in the future. I'm sorry."

After saying this, I walked to Preston's grave.

I had just reached out to brush the dust off Preston's portrait when I felt a sharp gaze bore into my back.

I turned my head and met Gideon's sharp eyes. Sophia clung to Gideon's arm.

Gideon's eyes at this moment looked murderous. He stared at me and roared.

"Lydia! Just how much do you like him!"

"He's been dead for three years, and you still can't forget him?"

My breath caught in my throat, unable to go up or down.

A nerve in my brain was stretched very tight.

"I..."

I didn't know how to explain.

"Lydia, you're really devoted!"

Gideon's tone was full of mockery.

After a moment, he spoke again in an extremely cold voice.

"I'll have someone move this bastard's grave far away right now. How dare he be buried so close to my mother! My mother must have no peace! Someone, dig up the grave!"

My eyes widened. Horror instantly crawled over every inch of my skin.

I grabbed Gideon's arm, pleading.

"You can't. Gideon, you can't."

Gideon stared into my eyes. The resentment in his expression grew thicker. He disgustedly shook me off forcefully.

"Can't? If he's so important to you, then why didn't you die with him?"

Every word in his sentence was like a sharp knife, stabbing viciously into my heart.

I finally couldn't control myself. Tears fell like broken beads.

I kept shaking my head.

No, Linda Foster would definitely want to be buried with Preston too.

Sophia on the side raised her slender eyes, saying lazily.

"You look really sad. If you're willing to kneel down and lick the dust off my shoes clean, I can consider begging Gideon to spare your childhood friend."

My tears froze in my eyes. My knees trembled slightly.

Gideon on the side had only coldness in his eyes.

I hesitated, slowly kneeling on the ground. My knees knocked against the cold, hard ground, painfully sore.

Sophia sneered, triumphantly moving her foot closer to me.

A strong sense of humiliation surged into my heart.

Just as I was about to touch her shoe, I suddenly felt a sweet liquid surge up in my chest.

Immediately after, I uncontrollably vomited a mouthful of fresh blood and fainted on the ground.

Blood splattered on Sophia's shoes and pants. She angrily jumped up.

"Gideon, these shoes were a birthday gift from you. This bitch got them dirty. What should I do?"

"Don't be angry. I'll buy you ten more pairs when we get back."

Gideon didn't even glance at me lying unconscious on the ground. He gently picked up Sophia and walked out.

Only his cold mockery remained in my ears.

"Stop pretending! It's disgusting!"

Lydia POV

A kind-hearted passerby sent me to the hospital.

After diagnosis, the doctor said it was excessive worry and not eating properly that caused gastric bleeding. I needed to rest well.

The hospital tried to contact Gideon several times for me, but when they called, the phone was either hung up directly or they were scolded.

"How much did she pay you to act out this drama with her?"

"Don't bother me anymore! It would be best if she died!"

I could hear Gideon's irritated tone very clearly.

I took back the phone the nurse handed her and helplessly curved my lips.

Over these three years, I knew better than anyone that Gideon hated me to death.

He had long wished I would just die.

Perhaps if I died, both Gideon and I could be free.

I opened my social media app and immediately saw that Sophia had posted several updates showing off their relationship.

Accompanied by various happy photos of her and Gideon from different angles.

"My favorite man is so good to me, booking an entire floor of the mall just for me."

"My husband knows I like sweets, so he personally made me a cake."

"How can my husband be so handsome? I can never get tired of looking at him. I'm already starting to look forward to what our son will look like. He'll definitely be as handsome as his father."

My chest felt tight, unbearably so.

I knew I shouldn't hope for anything. I had clearly prepared myself mentally, but when I saw these things, I still couldn't help feeling heartbroken.

I put down my phone, forcing myself not to think about anything related to Gideon.

Anyway, it wouldn't be long before I left.

Before going to sleep.

I suddenly received a call from Gideon.

I instinctively held my breath and answered.

"Lydia, what the hell are you up to? I advise you not to be impulsive!"

"Where did you take Sophia? If you have a problem, come at me. Don't touch her, okay?"

Gideon's accusations hit my eardrums.

I frowned, hesitating.

"What do you mean? I'm at the hospital. Sophia's situation has nothing to do with me."

"You're still pretending? Lydia, when exactly did you become like this? You killed my mother, and I still let you sit properly in the position of Mrs. Foster. What more are you dissatisfied with? Don't you like Preston? What did Sophia do to you that you have to go after her?"

I gently rubbed my temple.

I understood now. Gideon didn't believe me.

No matter what I said, Gideon firmly believed I was behind it.

I took a deep breath.

"Sorry, Gideon. I have nothing to say. But I advise you, if something really happened to Sophia, you should go find her as soon as possible instead of wasting time on me!"

After saying that, I hung up directly.

Gideon kept calling stubbornly. I simply turned off my phone.

Half an hour later, Gideon came to the hospital aggressively.

"Lydia! How long are you going to keep up this act? I'm giving you one last chance. Where did you hide Sophia? If you dare touch her, I'll make your life a living hell."

Gideon's fierce tone didn't seem fake.

I turned over and lay down with my back to Gideon.

I didn't want to say anything more. No matter what I said, Gideon wouldn't believe it.

"Lydia!"

But Gideon grabbed my wrist even more angrily.

I still had an IV drip in my hand. Gideon used too much force, and the blood at the needle immediately flowed back.

Soon, the entire IV bottle turned a shocking pink color.

Only then did Gideon awkwardly let go of me.

"I said it has nothing to do with me. I didn't do it. You're wasting your time here."

"Lydia, I'll say it again. If you dare harm her in the slightest, I'll kick you out of the Foster family immediately!"

Gideon's phone rang at the right time.

"Mr. Foster, we've found Miss Mitchell's whereabouts."

"Good, I'll come right away!"

Gideon hung up the phone and looked at me with even more coldness in his eyes.

"I'll go save Sophia first. Today's matter won't end so easily. Lydia, you will pay for everything you've done!"

He turned and left.

My tears fell the moment he closed the door.

My hand was badly swollen, but the pain couldn't match the stabbing pain in my heart.

The Gideon who ignored me for three years never hurt me like this. This Gideon this one who was so sure I was guilty cut deeper than any cold shoulder ever could.

I endured the discomfort and browsed airline websites.

I wanted to leave here as soon as I was discharged from the hospital.

I couldn't wait anymore. I didn't want to see Gideon's icy, emotionless eyes ever again.