I would rather you had lied to me

Sam had long anticipated that anything happening to him would be magnified and then become serious.

He just hadn't expected that upon hearing the news, Zoe would react so violently.

She grabbed Sam's throat as if she had lost her sanity in an instant, swinging from the extreme of desire to the extreme of anger and resentment.

However, Sam didn't seem to struggle fiercely.

Because he had sensed something beforehand, he simply chose not to resist at that moment.

He let Zoe grip his throat, watching as she exerted more force, her hands on his neck, veins bulging as if her rage at that moment was to strangle him.

Sam's cheeks turned an obvious red, but he just stared into her eyes.

He could hold on, and it was necessary to do so.

To persist without doing anything, his hands not moving at all, as if he had given up the desire to live at that moment.

Until...