His desperation

Sam walked toward us, his shoulders slumped, eyes filled with pain. A couple, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, approached him first, followed by my parents and Knox’s.

Mrs. Smith, barely holding back her tears, asked in a trembling voice, “How are they? How is my daughter?”

Sam glanced around before his gaze landed on me. He took a deep breath and said, “Knox is safe. His left arm and two ribs are fractured. He will wake up soon. But—”

A tense silence filled the air as Sam turned to Mrs. Smith. “Sarah is badly injured. She may take longer to walk, but there’s a high chance she will recover, so don’t lose hope. However—”

Mrs. Smith’s sobs cut him off. She broke down, clutching her husband. Though I felt relieved that Knox was safe, an ache settled in my chest for the girl he was supposed to marry.

“However?” Mr. Smith, who had been trying to stay strong, asked, his voice firm yet shaken.

Sam exhaled heavily. “Due to the extent of her injuries, she won’t be able to have children.”

A collective gasp echoed through the room. It was as if the weight of those words crushed them. Shouldn’t they be grateful she was alive? Still, for those who dream of having children, this must be devastating.

I clenched my jaw and quietly stepped away from the scene. Suddenly, everything felt different—the normalcy I had embraced seemed unfamiliar.

“Let’s handle the reporters and the cops.” With Mirah, I left the hospital, offering only a brief statement about Knox and his fiancée. I didn’t know much, but to divert attention from them, I had to lie about their condition.

Later, I learned from the police that they had retrieved footage from the dash cam inside the car. The video showed Sarah unbuckling her seatbelt out of nowhere just as Knox was making a U-turn.

That explained why Knox had only suffered a few fractures while she was severely injured.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith couldn’t deny that Sarah had a bad habit of unbuckling her seatbelt whenever they neared home.

After handling everything while the entire family was grieving, I arranged for their meals and then headed home.

If this had been any other day, I would have stormed into Knox’s room and stayed by his side. But as I stood outside, I realized that my place in his life was fading into the background.

There were people who wouldn’t have approved of it.

The Next Day,

I barely got any sleep. The memory of me telling him that my work was more important than him kept replaying in my head. My focus was entirely on my phone—what if they called me? What if something happened? What if he woke up while I was asleep?

I had always been strong, but when it came to him, I faltered.

“Boss!” Mirah’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Are you sleeping?”

“No, just got out of the shower,” I replied, drying my hair.

Mirah walked in, carrying bags from my favorite café. “Let’s go, Boss. It’s time for their breakfast.”

At the Hospital,

As soon as I reached the reception area, my mother and sister, Anna, spotted me. My mother walked toward me, exhaustion evident on her face.

“Knox is awake. He’s distressed. You should go see him.”

My chest tightened. He was awake. I nodded quietly and made my way to the elevator, but my mother spoke again. Her voice was gentle, yet there was something unsettling about it.

“Be a little kinder, Violet. No matter what, Knox is your best friend. He needs you now more than ever.”

There was an edge to her tone, but all I could do was nod before stepping into the elevator. Mirah stayed behind, discussing meal distribution with my mother.

When I arrived on the seventh floor, I spotted Mrs. Smith standing outside the ICU. She looked at me with a broken smile.

“Violet Riverwood, right?”

I nodded. “Hello.” My gaze drifted toward Sarah, lying unconscious, surrounded by machines and wires.

“Your brother said she might take a few weeks to wake up. The wedding will likely be called off.”

I looked at her before glancing at Sarah again. “A wedding can happen anytime. The important thing is that she’s alive.” A wave of sadness washed over me. I knew I had been jealous of her, but seeing her like this made me feel pathetic. She should have been with Knox, shopping and preparing for her wedding. Fate was truly cruel.

“Knox is awake. You should go see him,” Mrs. Smith said, then hesitated. “And—we owe you an apology.”

“For what?” I asked, confused.

“For keeping Knox away from you.” She sighed. “Sarah went through a traumatic experience with her ex-boyfriend and his best friend. We didn’t want her past to resurface.”

“I see.” I tried to sound indifferent, but I couldn’t. Because for a whole year, they had kept Knox—my emotional anchor—away from me.

“I’ll go see him,” I said.

She gave me a sad smile and nodded.

As I walked toward the VIP ward, I saw Mrs. Silverfang and Grandma Silverfang talking to a nurse.

“Aunt, Grandma,” I called out before glancing at Knox’s room. “How is he?”

Aunt Silverfang rubbed her forehead. “He woke up. He’s struggling after learning about Sarah’s condition.”

A pang of sadness hit me. The fact that he loved her so much hurt. But I was grateful he was okay.

“Can I talk to him?”

Aunt Silverfang nodded. “He’s been asking for you. He said he needs you the most right now.”

Her words made my chest tighten. Knox needed me. That was enough for me to momentarily forget that he had stayed away from me for a year to make his fiancée happy.

How much did he love her?

The moment I stepped inside, he proved just how much he loved Sarah—he was willing to go to any extent for her.

“Violet.” His voice was shaky, desperate. He tried to move his hand but failed.

My eyes welled up when I spotted him lying on the bed, covered with bandages. It felt like a nightmare before my eyes. Sadness and heartbreak crept under my skin. I wished to hide him inside me my heart forever thank he would never go through that.

However, his slow yet desperate voice pulled me out to the reality. Knox looked at me, his gaze weak.

“Please,” he said slowly. “You told me that I could ask for anything as a wedding gift.”

“We can talk about it later,” I said, not wanting him to strain himself. “You don’t have to—”

“No.” He cut me off, taking a deep breath. “I promised her. I promised to give her a child. I wanted to see her have a baby.”

I stilled.

“Please help us, Violet. This is the only gift I want from you. Please.”

My eyes widened—not because of his request, but because Knox had always been clear about not wanting children. He had said he’d rather stay single than have a child.

Yet now, he was desperate to have one with her.

A sharp pain pierced my chest. The promises, the traditions we had shared—suddenly, they meant nothing. The only person who had held onto them was me.

“How can I help you?” I asked quietly, staring at the man who had changed.

“Be the surrogate,” he said, his voice slow and painful.

Surrogate? His words crashed down on me like a ton of bricks. He wanted me to be a Surrogate for Sarah and him?

“I beg you,” he pleaded, his chest rising “I don’t want to see her sad. She wanted a child, Violet. And you’re the only one I trust.”