Chapter 4

When I regained consciousness, I was lying on the hospital bed in the emergency department ward.

I had an IV drip connected to my hand.

There was a young doctor, Jason Dunne, standing next to my hospital bed, and he had a deep frown on his face.

“You’re having a really high fever, and you’re having symptoms of an acute gastric perforation. Why did you say you didn’t want to receive treatment anymore?”

He scribbled on his notepad and spoke harshly.

“If it weren’t for our department head, who recognized you and paid your medical bill first, you would have already ended up in the emergency room now.”

I looked at the white ceiling. My brain still felt slow.

After a long while, I asked softly.

“Thank you, doctor. I’ll pay the money back.”

“Where’s your family member?”

“I don’t have any.”

“Not even friends? Someone needs to be here to take care of you today. What if your condition worsens at night? Someone will need to sign the consent form for you.”

I shut my dry eyes and felt tears coming up.

“I’m alone.”

Jason sighed and said nothing more. He turned around and left the ward.

My phone was running out of battery.

I picked it up from the table to have a look. The last message was from Claudia three hours ago.

[Edward, the crisis has been averted after I put in the money. It must be hard on you these few days. I’ll buy you the bracelet you’ve always wanted once I’m back in South City.]

She probably thought that as long as she made it up to me with gifts, I would stay and continue to be grateful.

I did not answer her.

Instead, I sent my best friend, Wren Johnson, a text message.

[Wren, can you lend me some money? Once I get my salary, I’ll pay you back.]

She immediately replied.

[Edward, how much do you need? I’ll transfer it to you now.]

I calculated the price of the flight ticket and the short-term living expenses I would need.

After a while, I received a notification of the fund transfer.

[You don’t have to pay me back immediately. Take care of yourself. Did Claudia bully you?]

I stared at that sentence for a really long time before answering.

[Thank you.]

The next morning, I was discharged.

There was nothing much for me to pack.

A few sets of clothes, my past work, as well as my personal documents.

As for the tuxedo, wedding favors, and the wedding gifts in the corner, I did not touch any of them.

I had just zipped my suitcase when I heard someone unlocking the door.

“Edward, I’m back!”

Claudia sounded relieved, as if she had just gotten back from a tiring journey.

She put on her indoor slippers and walked toward me.

She looked refreshed, and she did not look like she had been pulling all-nighters to deal with a crisis.

“I’m sorry, Edward. These past few days must have been tough on you. Look at what I brought you! Your favorite sea salt macarons.”

She passed me a paper bag and waited for my immediate smile.

However, I did not take it. I simply looked at her.

“How was the snow in North City? Was it nice?”

Claudia’s smile froze. Very soon, she regained her composure.

“It wasn’t nice at all. It was way too cold! The wind felt extremely painful against my skin. South City is so much nicer.”

She took off her jacket and continued to talk as though nothing had happened.

“Did you manage to explain everything to our relatives? I thought about it, and I think that the 8th of next month would be a good day. Let’s do our wedding then. We can have a bigger wedding to make it up to you.”

As she spoke, she walked over and tried to hug me.

I looked away and dodged her attempt.

Her arms froze mid-air as her expression sank.

“Edward, are you still mad?

“I told you that the company almost went bankrupt. I was forced to do that. I’ll return your money. I’ve already apologized to you, what more do you want from me?”

To her, she did not owe me anything.

She felt that I should be grateful that she had taken time out of her busy schedule to buy me a box of desserts.

I looked at her brazen expression.

Our seven-year relationship felt like a joke.

“I’m not mad.”

I stood up and still sounded calm.

Claudia let out a sigh of relief. She thought her words had worked.

“That’s great. I know you’re an understanding man. You won’t be as unreasonable as the other men out there.”

She rubbed her temple and yawned.

“I’m too tired, so I’m going to take a shower. You should sort out the list of invitees again tomorrow. Remember to call every single one of them to invite them personally.

“Put on a good attitude, don’t let other people think that we’re rude.”

She turned toward the bathroom.

Before she shut the door, she recalled something and turned to me.

“Oh, by the way, my cash flow has been really tight recently, so I can only pay the three hundred thousand dollars back to you a few months later. You can just use the credit card for now.”

Then, she slammed the door.

I could hear her showering.

I stood in the empty living room and stared at the box of sea salt macarons on the table.

The box was a little dented. It seemed like she had bought it in a hurry at the airport and simply stuffed it into her suitcase.

I took off my engagement ring and placed it next to the box of macarons alongside my house key.

My phone screen lit up.

It was a flight reminder from the airline.

I looked at the house I had lived in for the past three years one last time before walking toward the exit.

The door slowly closed behind me.

The locking sound was soft, but it was a symbol of the end of my seven-year relationship.

This time, I would no longer go back.