Chapter 7

"You know full well." With that said, Sylvie left with Joshua.

Only Hayden was left to ponder. He recalled their few meetings over the past four years countless times, but still could not figure anything out.

He did not want to spend too much energy on such trivial matters, and he was too lazy to think about it any further.

In the days that followed, Sylvie hired a caregiver to care for him. She would come by from time to time but would not talk much. She would sit for a while and then leave.

Hayden was happy to take it easy and focus on recovering.

Occasionally, when he went to the examination room and passed by the adjacent ward, he always saw her chatting and laughing with Joshua.

She would bring him the chicken soup Sally had prepared, slowly cooling it down and handing it to him.

She worried he might get bored in the hospital, so she played chess with him, watched movies with him, and reminisced about old times.

She patiently responded to every word he said and fulfiled all his requests.

Hayden watched quietly. For a moment, he thought he saw the old Amelia again.

When he was hospitalized with a fracture, Amelia was always by his side, taking good care of him.

He had always thought Sylvie and Amelia were so different, except in their appearance.

However, in that moment, he realized they looked the same when they were in love.

It was just that Amelia loved him, while Sylvie loved Joshua.

He finally understood that you could not force someone to love you.

Hayden returned to his hospital room, lost in thought, and spent the night dreaming.

In the dream, Amelia arrived at the marriage registration office alive and married him. He married her as she wore a gorgeous white dress, with blessings all around them.

When the emcee took the microphone and asked him if he would marry Amelia, he shed tears and said, "I do."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dream suddenly collapsed.

He woke up from his illusion and immediately saw Sylvie's complicated expression. "What did you dream about? Why are you crying like this?"

Hayden raised his hand and touched his face, feeling the warmth of his hand. He closed his eyes, his chest heaving. It took him a long time to calm down and answer her in a hoarse whisper. "I dreamed that I married the person I love most."

He murmured, eyes closed, not seeing Sylvie's shocked eyes.

She did not know that she was not the bride in his dream.

On the day he was discharged from the hospital, Sylvie drove there to pick Hayden up.

Halfway through the drive, he realized they were not heading home and casually asked where they were going.

A flicker crossed Sylvie's eyes as she replied vaguely, "You'll see when we get there."

Hayden did not press for an answer.

Half an hour later, he found himself sitting in a jewelry store, his eyes widening as a clerk presented a pair of dazzling wedding rings. The huge diamond ring left him speechless.

It took him a long moment to recover before he finally asked Sylvie a question. "Why are you buying such expensive wedding rings?"

"The wedding is in three days. Don't we need rings?" Her tone remained as cold as ever, yet her words caught Hayden off guard.

'Isn't she planning to call off the wedding? If she isn't even going to show up, why bother with wedding rings?' Hayden thought.

Though he could not fathom what she was thinking, he found himself truly captivated by the rings.

However, he wanted to give them to Amelia instead.

"These must have cost a fortune. How much were they? I'll transfer the money to you."

Sylvie's previously composed expression darkened instantly.

She stared at him for a long time before she forced out through gritted teeth, "They're just wedding rings. I can afford them."