Chapter 4

As I left the office, my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

It was the hospital.

“Mr. Amell, your father started vomiting blood during treatment today. He’s been taken to the ER. We’re doing everything we can to save him.”

My heart lurched. I ran into the street through the pouring rain and frantically flagged down a taxi.

Between the slippery roads and heavy traffic, it took me almost an hour to reach the hospital.

Mom was sobbing uncontrollably outside the ER.

“Miller, the doctor says he can’t wait any longer. Your dad needs a lung transplant right away, or he won’t survive!”

My hands shook as I called the doctor in charge of organ allocation.

He sounded puzzled. “You didn’t know? Ms. Holden arranged for the donor lung to go to one of Mr. McGraw’s relatives last week.”

I went numb.

It was simply unbelievable that Rebecca had given my father’s donor lung to someone else. I had paid five hundred thousand and spent a year on the waiting list for it.

I called her and demanded an explanation.

She fell silent for a moment.

“Kirk’s uncle has emphysema. He’s elderly, so I let him have the donor lung. Your dad’s condition is stable anyway. He can wait.”

I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. Tears streamed down my face.

I could hear Kirk’s muffled sobs in the background.

Her voice grew impatient. “You made a scene today, then just walked out. Kirk keeps blaming himself. He cried so hard that he’s about to pass out. Are you happy now?

“Miller, come back here and apologize to him right now—”

I hung up.

Whatever love I still had for her was gone.

Just then, the red light above the ER doors went out.

The doctor came out. He removed his mask and shook his head.

“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”

Mom let out an anguished cry and passed out.

“Mom!” I lunged forward to catch her.

I stood frozen outside the emergency room for a long time. Everything around me seemed distant and unreal.

Then, the doctor came out again.

“She suffered a severe brain hemorrhage brought on by the shock. We couldn’t save her.”

“Dad… Mom…”

Something inside me snapped. I collapsed to the floor and broke down. It felt like part of me had died with them.

In just one day, I had lost the two people closest to me.

Standing lost and helpless in the morgue, I could only turn to Rebecca for help.

It was Kirk’s son, Lenny McGraw, who answered.

“You jerk! Stop calling. Rebecca’s helping my dad get to sleep. I won’t let you take her away!”

He hung up.

I called Kirk instead. It rang for a long time before he answered.

His voice was thick with tears.

“Miller, you’re able to make good money. You’d be fine on your own. But I wouldn’t be. I have Lenny to think about too. I’ve never asked you for anything. Just this once, will you please let me have Rebecca?”

In the background, I could hear Rebecca gently comforting him.

I hung up. I had no strength left.

With guidance from the funeral home staff, I had my parents’ bodies taken to the crematorium.

Their ashes would not be ready for collection until the next day.

I returned to the hotel. Their clothes lay neatly folded on the bed. I could almost feel their warmth in the fabric.

I clutched the clothes to my chest and sobbed until I passed out from exhaustion.

The next day, I returned to the home I used to share with Rebecca. In the parking lot, I got into the car she had bought me for our upcoming wedding.

The driver’s seat had been adjusted. The screen showed Kirk’s saved settings.

When I started the engine, a children’s learning program began playing automatically.

I could not hold it in any longer. I dropped my forehead against the steering wheel and sobbed.

The first time I sat in this car, Rebecca had painstakingly adjusted the seat for me. She had downloaded soothing music my therapist had recommended.

During the six months away, all of that had been obliterated.

Presently, everything was set up for Kirk and Lenny.

Instinctively, I clutched the ultrasound photo against my chest.

When I was twenty-four, Rebecca and I had been expecting a baby.

Our business was just getting off the ground. We had neither the time nor the energy to raise a child.

After we decided to end the pregnancy, she clung to me and made me a promise in a hoarse voice.

“Miller, just give me a little more time. When we have a baby someday, I promise they’ll be the happiest child in the world.”

I had waited eight years.

Wiping the tears from my face, I thought, ‘Rebecca, I’m done waiting for you. We’re over!’

I went back to the master bedroom to pack my things.

As I gathered my IDs in the study, I accidentally bumped the computer tower.

The screen lit up to display a screenshot.

It showed a message Kirk had sent Rebecca on January 24, which was six months earlier. It was the day his divorce was finalized.

[I made a mistake. Is there still a chance for us?]

Ten minutes later, Rebecca sent him a reply.

[I’ll always be here for you.]

I laughed bitterly. Tears ran down my face.

Ten years…

Rebecca was still pining for Kirk, the man who had rejected her to marry an heiress.

It all felt like a joke.

What about me? What had I been to her?

That was the moment I let go of her for good.

I wheeled my suitcase out of the house where I no longer belonged.