Chapter 7

When Elara woke up in the hospital, she felt as if she had been run over by a truck.

Every part of her body ached, and it felt like something sharp was jutting out through her ribs.

Furthermore, she found that her abdomen was wrapped in thick layers of bandages.

The strange, harsh pain left behind a rather ominous feeling.

“You’re awake?”

It was Orion who called out. He stood next to her with a distant look in his eyes.

After a brief silence, he spoke, “Cyrene has an important meeting in a couple of days. She can’t afford to miss that meeting because she’s a key member.”

Elara stayed silent. She looked as lifeless as a puppet without strings.

A part of her wanted to tell Orion that he should stop making such pathetic excuses for Cyrene.

She had spent the better part of her life with him, long enough to see through how heartless he was.

“By the way,” Orion paused before continuing, “Cyrene's kidneys were damaged, so I had the doctors take one of your kidneys and transplant it into her.”

This finally drew a reaction out of Elara. She shot a look at Orion.

Her eyes were filled with a mixture of shock, pain, and a depthless sorrow.

If Cyrene was the one responsible for an accident, why did she have to be the one to lose her kidney?

How could Orion be so blinded by his love for Cyrene?

She suddenly burst out laughing.

She laughed at how foolish she had been in her past life. How could she have wasted her best years on such a cruel man?

Orion felt uneasy at the way she laughed so senselessly.

He fixed a cold look at her before stating dismissively, “Take care of yourself and try to get discharged as soon as possible. Our family needs you, and the children need you too.”

When Elara finally spoke, her voice came out unrecognizably hoarse, “Orion…”

She didn’t need him anymore.

Before she could even say so, a nurse entered the room and interrupted them.

“Mr. Orion, Miss Cyrene is complaining about her wounds aching…”

Upon hearing this, Orion immediately turned and left.

All Elara could see was the imposing outline of his back fading into the distance.

...

Ever since that day, Orion never visited Elara again.

Yet, Elara would catch stories about him from the nurses from time to time.

“Mr. Orion is such a dear to Miss Cyrene! He brings their children around every day and has even taken to working remotely in the hospital!”

“Did you know she was his first love? They were the campus couple in college and were in a long-distance relationship for a while! At the time, he would fly four hours every day just to have dinner with her.”

“That explains it! She was the one meant for him the entire time while Miss Elara is just a substitute…”

Upon hearing this, Elara's heart, which had already been shattered into countless pieces, remained unaffected.

On the final day of the divorce waiting period, she was discharged early. She went straight to the government office to complete the divorce proceedings.

As soon as she received the divorce decree, she felt not the sharp pain she had expected, but a hollow emptiness instead.

Then, she had someone deliver a copy of the divorce decree to Orion’s home before heading to the airport herself.

Before the plane took off, she deleted all of Orion's contacts.

After it was done, all the accumulated pain inside her dissipated as if blown away by the wind. Even her breathing turned lighter.

In her past life, Orion had always been the absent husband. He was never there to witness any of the joys and sorrows of her life.

Therefore, she was going to be the absent one in this life instead. She was going to vanish from his world entirely.

...

It was only a couple of days later when the doctor told Orion about Elara’s early discharge.

It was only then that it occurred to him that it may have been cruel to have Elara’s kidney transplanted into Cyrene. He proceeded to buy a necklace in an attempt to comfort her.

Upon getting home, the children carelessly tossed their coats on the couch before excitedly running upstairs.

“Mommy, I want cookies and cake!”

“Chocolate cake only!”

What greeted them was a deafening wave of silence.

An uncanny feeling came upon Orion. He turned to the butler to enquire, “Where’s the Madam?”

The butler shook his head before handing him a package. “The Madam hasn't been home for the last few days, but we received this from her. It’s for you.”

Orion took the package with a frown.

Then, the butler continued, “Your wedding anniversary with the Madam was three days ago. This must be a gift she prepared for you.”

Upon hearing this, Orion's frown eased slightly, and his worries lessened as well.

Elara might have her moments, but she had some self-control.

Even after everything she had been through, she still took time to prepare a gift for him on their anniversary.

With that, he took the scissors the butler offered him and slowly began cutting open the package.