Chapter 5

When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying in a hospital bed.

The smell of disinfectant was pungent, but it made me feel at ease for some reason.

A man was lying by my bedside, sleeping soundly as the sun shone on his face.

I moved my body carefully, but he still woke up immediately, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Seeing me awake, he said in surprise, "You're awake!"

I had an awful sore throat, and he immediately poured me a glass of water.

The guy scratched his head with a bright smile. "I'm your new upstairs neighbor. My name is Liam Young."

I thanked him. If he had not saved me, I probably would have died.

Liam had an honest smile. He scratched his head again and said sheepishly, "Thank goodness my supervisor didn't ask me to work overtime. I always take the stairs when I get home early."

Then, my phone rang. It was Shawn calling. He had called me many times while I was unconscious. I instinctively answered.

Shawn's voice came from the other end of the line. "Sonia, what games are you playing this time? There's a limit to throwing a tantrum. Don’t you know that today is our engagement day? You're embarrassing me by doing this!"

Britney softly comforted him, "Sonia, could you put aside whatever you're doing for now?"

My heart ached uncontrollably when I listened to Shawn's indifferent and ruthless words. I held my chest and listened to Shawn's accusations.

He blamed me for never considering the bigger picture and not being as considerate as Britney.

Shawn said, "I'll give you ten minutes. If you don't come over, you're no longer my fiancée. I never want to see you ever again.”

I laughed bitterly and replied indifferently, "Shawn, I'm in the hospital. I can't go over to you."

Shawn paused slightly on the other end of the line before answering coldly, "Sonia, you're using such a dirty trick to gain my attention. You really disgust me!"

I was stunned before laughing helplessly.

Shawn had always been this stubborn. He thought I was pretending. Even if I died in front of him, he would coldly remark that I was a good actress.

Our love had died at some point. I now knew that he no longer loved me, so I no longer wanted him.

I hung up and texted him: [Shawn, let's break up. You and Britney are the perfect pair. I'm stepping down. I wish you two happily ever after.]

He replied: [Fine! I hope you don’t regret this.]

That afternoon, I saw the news that Shawn and Britney were engaged and finally understood what he meant by, ‘I hope you don’t regret this.’ Watching them embrace each other affectionately, I felt bitter.

Britney also published a new post on her social media. She was wearing a white gown as she stood next to Shawn. The two of them were the perfect match, and their eyes were filled with love.

Britney captioned the post: [After chasing you for years, I can finally walk down the aisle with you. Even if it's just a dream, I can die without regrets now.]

Then, I saw Shawn's reply: [Silly girl! I'll always be here for you.]

When I saw Shawn's reply, my breath instantly grew erratic.

Over the following days, Britney's social media was filled with posts about her and Shawn's travels. The Shawn in the photos was a side of him I had never seen before.

It turned out Shawn could make time for other people—his world was not just about work. The key point was that I was not one of those special people to him.

My heart gradually grew numb. I knew it was time for me to leave.