Chapter 4

When I went inside, Julian was still awake.

After hearing my footsteps, he slowly peeled his eyes open. The moment he saw it was me, tears pooled in his eyes.

He grasped my hand. His grip was so weak that it felt like he might slip away at any moment. "Jesse."

I hastily tightened my grip around his hand. "I'm here. Don't worry."

He stared at me for a long time before tears trickled down his cheek. "Are you a homewrecker, Jesse?"

My whole body went rigid. I wasn't afraid of what others said about me, nor did I care how much their words hurt me.

Julian, however, was different. Had he not donated his kidney to save me back then, I would've died. Because of the complications from that surgery, he could no longer live like a normal person again.

I shook my head frantically, my throat raw and aching. "No, I'm not."

He wept even harder. "But everyone online says you're clinging to someone else's wife!"

I bent down, pressed my cheek against his hand, and kept telling him over and over that it wasn't true.

Right then, the door to the hospital room was pushed open. I turned around, and my entire body instantly tensed up.

Ian had arrived with Veronica's sister, Talia Smith, in tow.

I immediately stood up and planted myself between them and the hospital bed. "What are you doing here?"

Ian clutched a fruit basket and said softly, "I'm here to clear things up. Those comments online are too harsh. I don't want Julian to get the wrong idea."

After hearing that, Julian's eyes actually lit up. He looked at Ian, as if he was clinging to the last ray of hope. "My brother isn't a homewrecker, right, Ian?"

I looked at Ian too. For a split second, I hoped he would tell the truth, even if it was just a single sentence.

Ian nodded. "That's right. He's not."

Julian visibly relaxed.

However, the very next second, Talia scoffed. "Why are you covering for him, Ian? He's a homewrecker, isn't he?"

The room went dead silent. I whipped my head around to gape at her.

Julian was stunned as well. Talia stood at the threshold and said casually, "My sister's legally married to you, yet he still won't let her go. If he's not a homewrecker, then what is he?"

Julian blanched. He stared at Ian intently, as if he was waiting for him to deny it.

Ian, however, merely stood there. His lips were pale, and he didn't utter a single word.

At that moment, I could only watch as the light in Julian's eyes slowly shattered.

The heart monitor began to wail. His breathing became erratic, his chest heaved violently, and his face instantly turned ghastly pale.

"Julian!" I lunged forward to press the call button before turning around and shoving Ian away. "Get out! Who told you to come here?"

The fruit basket crashed to the ground, scattering fruit all over the floor.

Ian stumbled back a couple of steps, and the color drained from his face. "Listen to me. That's not what Talia meant, Jesse!"

I stared at him long and hard, my whole body shaking like a leaf. "In that case, why didn't you deny it? Why did you just stand there and watch him collapse without saying a single word?"

By the time the nurses and doctors rushed in, the hospital room was already in complete chaos.

I called for the doctor while pushing them out. "Get out. All of you, get the hell out!"

Just then, Veronica arrived. The moment the door swung open, I thought she would at least take a look at Julian.

Yet, the first thing she did upon rushing in was to support Ian. "Are you okay?"

Tears instantly welled up in his eyes, and he seized her arm. "I only came here to clear things up, but he shoved me out of the blue, Veronica."

Veronica immediately shifted her attention toward me, and her expression hardened. "Enough's enough, Jesse! Ian came to check on your brother out of the kindness of his heart. Besides, I'm pregnant. Do you have to make a scene until I get stressed out too?"

I stood beside the hospital bed, and when I heard those words, something inside me suddenly went hollow. Julian was being resuscitated, surrounded by doctors and nurses while the heart monitor blared nonstop.

Yet, she couldn't see any of it. The only thing that mattered was her and Ian's unborn child.

I looked at her, and all of a sudden, I didn't feel like uttering another word. I raised my hand and pointed toward the door, my voice so hoarse that it barely sounded like my own. "Get out. All of you, scram!"

The doctor also ordered all unauthorized personnel to leave in a stern voice. The ward finally quieted down.

After a long, desperate effort to resuscitate Julian, he was finally pulled back from death's door.

I sat beside his bed and stayed with him until well into the night before he came to. The moment his eyes fluttered open and met mine, tears spilled over.

I leaned down and held him tightly. "Let's leave."

Julian trembled softly in my arms.

I stroked his hair, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'll take you away. We'll sell our old house and leave this city behind for good."

Julian wept and nodded. "I'll leave with you, Jesse."

…

In the days that followed, I barely slept.

A week later, we finished all the procedures.

Before the plane took off, I took one last look at my phone. There were no new messages. I snapped my old SIM card in half and never looked back.

The hospital refunded the remaining treatment fees to the original account, with a simple remark. "The patient has been transferred to another hospital."

Veronica was at her wedding venue when she saw the message. She frantically dialed my number, but no one answered.