Chapter 2

“Dominic.”

I tried to call out his name with a raspy voice.

“It’s been seven years. Your debt has been repaid.

“Stop forcing yourself to pretend you love me. I can’t bear it anymore.”

A terrifying quiet descended upon the hospital room.

The very next second, Sabine burst into heavy sobs.

Her hand was still clutching mine, yet her body sank onto her knees, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

“I’m so sorry, Elaine. It’s all my fault. I kept clinging to Dominic. I’ve wronged you, and I’ve wronged your father…

“I’ll leave tomorrow. No… I’ll get out of your sight today. I promise I’ll never show my face in front of you again…”

Dominic’s face was now a dark storm.

He slammed the bowl of soup onto the stand.

Exerting himself as if completely numb to his injuries, he scooped Sabine up into his arms.

I caught sight of Sabine’s knees, wrapped in thick layers of gauze that were already seeped through with a faint trace of blood.

Sabine pounded her fists against him relentlessly, her face distorted in distress.

“Put me down! Have you lost your mind?

“Elaine is right there! Please, would you stop…”

Dominic took the blows, refusing to loosen his grip.

He turned around, his voice icy cold as he spoke.

“Sabine spent half an hour on her knees searching for us. You can see what that did to her hands and knees.”

He looked at me, his tone softening slightly.

“I’ll get her wounds checked now. I’ll have someone come clean up the soup.

“As for the rest… I’ll explain it all later.”

A full hour passed before Dominic returned.

He cut straight to the point.

“All of this is my fault. Sabine has nothing to do with it.

“I was the one who fell in love with her first, and I was the one who refused to give up.”

Bitterness overwhelmed my heart.

Just half an hour ago, Sabine had said the exact same thing.

Sure enough, when two people were in love, they would do anything to protect one another.

I learned the lesson firsthand, not with a slight price.

“Everything I said before still stands. I’ll give you the wedding, and we’ll have a child.

“Sabine will go abroad after we get married. It’ll be just the two of us from then on.”

Dominic’s voice grew increasingly lacking in conviction as he spoke.

The expression on his face and the look in his eyes were brimming with an agonizing pain that cut right through me.

“Elaine, I know I owe you a debt I can’t repay in a lifetime.

“But for this lifetime… I’ll try my best.”

I knew his heart was being torn to pieces.

I was also acutely aware of why he had compromised so quickly.

After he carried Sabine out, driven by some unknown urge, I dragged my pain-racked body out of bed and followed them as if possessed.

Once inside the treatment room, while Dominic was checking her knees, Sabine snatched a blade used for dressing wounds from the side tray and pressed it against her throat.

“Listen, if you don’t want to watch me die right in front of your eyes, promise you’ll let me leave after the wedding.

“We won’t be seeing each other again. If you ever dare come looking for me, I will slit my wrists.”

The doctors were all struck with fear, shouting at her to put the blade down.

Dominic’s mind went blank for a second.

His towering figure sank to the floor.

“Fine, you have my word.”

I saw him shed tears.

Seven years ago, when I tried to hurl myself off the cliff to join my father, he had cried too.

But for a totally different reason.

Back then, it was out of a heavy conscience, the terrifying thought of another human life sacrificed.

But now in front of Sabine, he was terrified that the woman he loved would vanish from his world forever.

I didn’t let my eyes betray my agonizing heartbreak.

Instead, I pulled my lips into a bland, detached smile.

“Sure.”

My tears spilled over anyway. I couldn’t stop them.

The look in Dominic’s eyes shifted.

He instinctively raised a hand to wipe the tears away, only to freeze mid-motion for a long while.

He turned his back to me at last, his voice raspy.

Perhaps it was meant to comfort me, though I couldn’t tell for sure.

“Before Sabine came into my life, I did have feelings for you.

“Since we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together, I’ll learn to love you.”