Chapter 2

Not long after I hung up, someone pushed open the door to the ward.

Gary walked in with a cup of warm water in his hand.

He held it out to me.

“Cindy is asleep.

“Your surgery is in ten minutes. Drink this and keep your strength up.”

I did not take it.

He looked at my pale face. His voice bordered on impatience.

“Diana, what exactly do you want from me?

“I gave Cindy the antidote because she has a heart condition. Her condition was more critical than yours at that time.

“Only one person could’ve used the stretcher and satellite phone. Of course, I had to prioritize her.”

I looked at him and asked quietly, “Then, why didn’t you stay with me?”

Gary frowned.

“The rescue team was already nearby.

“If I’d stayed, I would’ve only gotten in the way. Cindy, on the other hand, needed to get down the mountain immediately.”

“So, you thought I wasn’t going to die?” I asked so softly that even I could barely hear myself.

He fell silent for a second before looking away.

“The doctors just said you’re in good physical condition.”

I nodded.

“I see.”

Slowly, I turned my gaze away and stared at the fluorescent light overhead.

Gary finally seemed to realize that something was wrong.

He reached out as if to touch my hair, but I shifted away.

His hand stopped in midair, and his expression darkened.

“Diana, don’t ask for a divorce over one leg.

“You’re not thinking clearly right now. I can understand that.

“When you wake up, you’ll realize that everything I did was to save a life.”

I said nothing, not bothering to explain myself to him.

I did not divorce him because of losing a leg.

The reason I divorced him was that I finally saw the truth. He never considered me someone who needed saving.

From beginning to end, I had been the one suffering.

Yet to him, one tear from Cindy was enough to make her the victim of some terrible injustice.

Even after I lost a leg, all I was to him was a woman who had lost control of her emotions.

I remembered the first year of our marriage.

During our first year, I was hospitalized with appendicitis.

Before the surgery, I had been in so much pain that my face had gone pale. Gary was out of town attending an academic conference.

I called him more than a dozen times, but he did not answer a single one.

When he finally called me back, the first thing he said was, “Diana, can you stop causing trouble whenever I’m busy?”

I signed the surgical consent form by myself and walked into the operating room alone.

After the surgery, the anesthesia had not worn off, but my fever climbed to 102°F. The nurse asked when my family would be coming.

I told her, “My husband is busy with work. He’s not coming.”

Back then, I still made excuses for him.

It was not until this day that I finally understood.

If someone truly cared about you, they would rush over to you no matter how busy they were.

It was not that he did not have the time.

He simply chose not to make time for me.