Chapter 3

I'd barely been out of the hospital for four hours when Jennie's caretaker, Livia Hodge, called me.

She spoke in a low, hushed tone. "Joshua, Jennie's vitals dropped again. Dr. Riley suggests that the family come in and be prepared for the worst."

I immediately drove back to the hospital. Kristen called me twice on the way there, but I never picked up.

When I arrived at the ICU, Livia told me that Jennie had been stabilized again for the moment. However, a new round of tests was required next Thursday, and I had to pay the fees upfront for them to schedule it.

I sat on the hospital bench and checked the balance in my bank account.

It was far from enough.

Just then, Kristen appeared out of the blue and paid everything for me.

"I've paid for your sister's tests for next Thursday," she told me.

I looked up at her as she turned around to meet my eyes. She said, "I don't care if you hate me, but I am the one who saved your sister's life. You're never leaving me."

I felt my energy drained from my body at once.

"You've already married another man, Kristen. And now, you're still threatening me with Jennie's life so that I'd never leave you?"

She walked up to me and crouched down to hug me.

"Joshua, you do know that you've been coming to the hospital more often than going home ever since your sister got into the accident, don't you? I came home to an empty household every single day. But Leroy was the one who kept me company after that."

I stared back at her.

"So, you chose him instead."

"Yes. I'll admit that I was hesitant about it at first," she said. "But he still accompanied me through thick and thin and never asked me for anything. In the end, the choice was a no-brainer.

"Leroy has also been the one helping out at the company over the years, from finances to executive tasks. He did all these for me, so I thought that I had to pay him back somehow."

I looked past her shoulder at the ICU door. Jennie was in the room behind that door, and her ventilator was still beeping regularly.

Kristen continued, "Even if he didn't contribute to anything majorly, he still put in a lot of hard work. He's done a lot for the company, so I decided to give him the title instead."

I was the one who had accompanied her for seven years. When her first startup failed, I sat on the curbside with her as we ate plain buns. When her proposal was rejected 17 times in a row, I helped her edit and rewrite her presentation deck.

But because I wasn't able to keep her company every day ever since Jennie's accident, she openly decided to let another man take my place instead. At the time when I needed her the most, she chose to give her care and attention to another man instead.

I said slowly but clearly, "You say that he never asked you for anything, Kristen, but he's literally asking you to choose him by staying by your side. You just don't want to admit it."

I then tried to shove her away. However, she suddenly grabbed the back of my head and pressed her lips hard against mine.

The moment her lips touched mine, I bit them hard, and she grunted as blood trickled into her mouth from the bite. Yet, she refused to let go and deepened the kiss even more.

A very long time later, she finally let go and looked at me.

"Your sister has a checkup next Thursday. If you sign the papers now, she will undergo the test. If you don't, then I will have wasted three months' worth of her bills. Think about it carefully.

"If you stay, I will immediately gather all the top specialists in the country to treat her."

I sneered.

"Tell me, Kristen. Why are you gathering all the top specialists for Jennie? Is it because you truly want to save her, or is it because you're using it to control me and force me to stay?"

She stared back into my eyes.

"Both."

Eventually, I gave in.

I pushed the ICU door open and looked at Jennie lying in her hospital bed, the breathing tubes connected to her mouth as her chest rose and fell rhythmically.

I sat down by her bed and held her hand tightly.

It had been three years, and she had never opened her eyes even once.

I couldn't sleep that night. I knew that I had to stay with Kristen at least until Jennie's checkup next Thursday.