Dual Obsession

The sea breeze, heavy with salt and fishiness, whipped at my face, stinging my eyes. I stood at the cliff's edge, and behind me was Leo Chaplin's breath—warm, yet it made my entire body freeze. He is the unchallenged godfather of Country X, my nominal husband, and the man I once risked my life to love. An explosion a year ago tore him into two. The main personality, Leo, truly pampered me like no other; But the alternate personality, Yuri, had eyes only for his first love, Heidi Jordan, and despised me utterly. To hold on to the Leo who loved me, I bore every cruelty Yuri inflicted upon me. Looking back now, it's all just a self-deluding joke. "Joyce, Heidi has fallen; go save her." Leo's voice came from behind me. My heart skipped a beat as I followed his gaze downward—by the rocks beneath the cliff, Heidi was curled up, softly whining, her performance so vivid it was almost real. But I instantly snapped back to reality: Leo suffers from severe acrophobia, and he smokes; his fingertips always carry a faint scent of tobacco, yet right now, all that lingered at my nose was the salty sea breeze. This is Yuri now, pretending to be Leo. I turned around, gazing at the face I once loved to my very core; my heart felt as if gripped tightly by a hand, aching so fiercely that even breathing was a struggle. "You are not Leo." My voice trembled, yet the resolve in my words was unmistakable. The mask on Yuri's face shattered instantly: "So what if you've seen through it? Heidi is in danger. You have to save her." He stepped forward, his tone sharp and commanding. I looked at him and suddenly laughed, tears streaming down as I did: "Leo would never let me risk my life to save another woman." Yuri's eyes darkened, and he grabbed my wrist: "Do you dare refuse to go?" The sharp pain in my wrist was nothing compared to even a fraction of the pain in my heart. I looked into his eyes, seeing the tension he felt for Heidi, then thought of my own long endurance; my heart turned utterly cold. I suddenly broke free from him and stepped back—half my body was already hanging over the cliff. "Joyce, are you insane?" At last, a flicker of panic flashed in Yuri's eyes. "I'm not insane." I looked at him, my tone terrifyingly calm, "Leo is gone, and nothing in this world is worth my lingering anymore." After speaking, I fell backward without hesitation. When I woke again, I was lying in an unfamiliar bedroom, wrapped in a soft quilt. "You're awake?" A familiar voice called out. I turned my head and saw Joseph Sheen. He was my childhood friend, one of the few in this world who truly cared for me. "You saved me." My voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping. Joseph nodded and handed me a cup of warm water. "Drink some water first—you've been unconscious for a whole day and night." "Leo... has he come looking for me?" The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to slap myself. At this point, I'm still fixated on the person who hurt me. Joseph looked at me with a complicated gaze. "He sent people everywhere to find you. By now, he must be wracked with regret." At that moment, the ward door was pushed open. Heidi, dressed in a white dress, linked arms with Leo and walked in like a conqueror. When Leo saw I was awake, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes as he hurried over. "Joyce, you're finally awake. Are you alright?" I shifted aside, avoiding his touch, my eyes cold enough to freeze. "Don't touch me." Heidi clung coquettishly to Leo's arms, glancing at me with a provocative smirk. "Joyce, you're so reckless. How could you jump into the sea over something so trivial? Fortunately, you're alright; otherwise, Leo would've been heartbroken." "Trivial?" I stared at her, the chill in my voice sharp enough to freeze. "Heidi, wasn't it you all who conspired to drive me to death?" Heidi's face paled as she hid behind Leo. "Leo, I didn't..." Leo frowned and looked at me. "Joyce, Heidi is not that kind of person. Please don't misunderstand her." Once again, no matter what happens, he always sides with Heidi. I was completely broken. I looked at Joseph and whispered, "Joseph, please arrange it for me. I want to leave here." Joseph nodded. "Alright, I'll help you."