Chapter 5

I scrolled through the messages expressionlessly and realized Jayden was in the group too.

[Mr. Scott kept the $200,000 a secret before, and now that he's split up with Nicole, he immediately buys himself a car.]

[Maybe I'm being cynical, but this really feels like the kind of guy who schemes to get a house and a car before marriage. Good thing Nicole didn’t actually marry him.]

Nicole did not say a single word, even though she knew the car belonged to my best friend.

I read every message without offering an explanation. Instead, I left the group.

It was not because I wanted to play the role of the misunderstood victim. It was because I knew explaining myself would accomplish nothing.

They would only say things like, “You're telling us you could’ve collected that money from the hospital and chose not to? Do you think we’re idiots?”

“If you really didn’t take that compensation, where’d you get the money to buy a car?”

“Your friend’s car? Who are you trying to fool?”

Their minds were already made up. Anything I said would only be a waste of breath.

Perhaps the notification that I had left the group made Nicole realize I was still in it, because she messaged me privately.

[Evan, please don’t take what my family said to heart. They’re just upset because they think they were cheated out of $200,000.]

I stared at the words ‘cheated out of $200,000’ and almost laughed.

Setting aside the fact that I had never received that compensation, even if I had, it would have been the money I rightfully earned by donating my blood.

Somehow, in her family’s minds, it had become money I had cheated them out of.

Without another word, I blocked Nicole.

A few moments later, Jayden actually sent me a friend request.

[Mr. Scott, what everyone said in the group wasn’t meant as a personal attack. Don’t take it too hard.]

[I’m sorry I ruined your source of income, but I really can’t stand people who use emotional manipulation. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t profit from Miss Hayes while also expecting her to marry you out of gratitude.]

I stared at Jayden’s messages, and I was left completely speechless.

Putting aside the fact that I had never profited from anything...

Did he really think marrying Nicole was some kind of prize?

Honestly, who would willingly choose to marry someone with a lifelong illness if we had not shared twelve years together?

I would not, and I refused to believe Jayden was donating blood purely out of kindness either.

I still did not know what his real motive was.

I never replied.

I turned off my phone, switched off the lights, and went to sleep.

…

I ate well. I rested well. I no longer had to waste my energy dealing with the Hayes family. Moreover, I no longer had to donate blood to Nicole.

In less than two weeks, my complexion improved dramatically. I even had enough energy to take on a new project at work.

When Miss Warren saw me, she could not help smiling. “Evan, you’re finally taking care of yourself. Look at you now! You finally look like a young man again.”

I smiled back. For the first time in years, I felt like I had come back to life.

Over the next few days, I devoted myself entirely to the project. Not only did I complete it ahead of schedule, but during the company’s creative meeting, I also proposed several new ideas.

After hearing my presentation, my department director nodded approvingly.

“Evan, you’ve been like a different person lately. You finally have some energy again. At this rate, I might just put you in charge of the new branch office project.”

I immediately nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Yates. I won’t let you down.”

Before leaving work that evening, I finished all of my own tasks and even helped several coworkers solve some difficult problems.

That would have been unimaginable before.

Back then, my body had been so depleted that simply reading through project documents for too long would leave me completely exhausted.

A project that others could finish in a week took me at least ten days, even with constant overtime.

Now, everything was different.

Not only could I finish my own work efficiently, but I even had the energy to help my coworkers and build better relationships with them.

Perhaps this was not the best way to put it, but for the first time in a very long time, I finally felt like a normal person again.