Chapter 6 Seven Days Left

Now that I was back with Lexi, she had become the source of my pain.

I broke down. "You keep saying he's my lifesaver. How is he my lifesaver? You said you kept him around to be my stand-in, but the last time he had barely changed into my clothes, you changed your mind and made him change back.

"What has he ever done for me to deserve being called my lifesaver?"

Lexi frowned. "Having him stand in for you could save your life when it really matters. You can't expect him to sacrifice himself over every little thing, can you? His life matters, too.

"Do you really have to make him die sooner before you'll be happy? Ryder, when did you become so selfish and cruel?"

Faced with such blatant favoritism, there was nothing left for me to say.

I was useless. I'd not only been abandoned in love, but I could not even protect my mother's keepsake.

I reached for the shattered pieces of the jade pendant.

"Mom, I have nothing left."

Lexi noticed something was wrong and called out, "Ryder, what are you talking about? You still have me. I'll have someone fix the pendant right away."

I ignored her. I simply grabbed one of the pieces and clenched it tightly in my fist.

She cried out, "What are you doing? You'll cut your hand!"

I laughed through my tears. Then, everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

…

When I woke up again, I was in the hospital.

The doctor looked at me with pity. "Your emotional distress has made your wound worse. You only have seven days left."

Before the words had even settled, Lexi's voice came from the doorway. "What do you mean, seven days?"

I did not want to tell her the truth. "The doctor said I'll be able to leave the hospital in seven days."

Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. At least we won't have to postpone the wedding."

The doctor quietly left, leaving Lexi and me alone in the room.

Lexi gently tucked the blanket around me. "I already had someone send your jade pendant out for repair. They're working around the clock on it. They'll be able to restore it completely.

"As for what happened yesterday, Lachlan shouldn't have touched your things. You scared him, and he accidentally broke your mother's keepsake, but I punished him severely for it. He's not allowed to leave the house all day today."

I let out a cold laugh and turned away.

My mother's keepsake had been destroyed, and Lexi's idea of a severe punishment for Lachlan was not letting him leave the house for one day.

What a severe punishment.

Seeing me like that, Lexi pulled a beautifully wrapped gift box from her bag. "Guess what this is?"

She opened the box. Inside was a dazzling pair of diamond rings.

She held them out to me.

"But you have to promise me one thing. Stop picking fights with Lachlan over everything from now on. I treat him well because I need him to protect you when the time comes. I'm doing all of this for you."

Just like before, she excitedly painted a picture of our future together, but this time, I could not feel happy about it anymore.

I turned to Lexi. "Lexi, let's break up. We don't have to get married."

Lexi froze. For once, she patiently tried to explain.

"Why are you still jealous? There's nothing going on between Lachlan and me. When Lachlan heard we were getting married, he even volunteered to stand in for you during the rehearsal so nothing would go wrong.

"He's gone this far for you. What could you possibly still be worried about?"

I wanted to say something. But then I remembered that I would not even live to see the wedding, so I might as well let Lexi do whatever she wanted.