Thirty Days to End Our Doomed Love

The red light outside the emergency room had been on for three hours with no sign of change.

Dad had heart bypass surgery the year before last. He had told me clearly that Jasper Eaton wasn't a good man, but I had stubbornly insisted on believing that Jasper loved me.

Now, that certainty felt like a slap to the face—so hard it left me suffocating with pain.

My mother, Dolores Norton, was crying beside me.

"What do we do? If your father doesn't make it, I—"

"He will." I cut her off, trying to convince myself as much as her. "Dad will be fine."

But my voice was trembling. I had never been this scared in my life.

Just then, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was a video sent by Wendy Klein.

In the video, a disheveled Jasper rushed into a hotel room and confronted her.

"Why did you come back?"

Wendy said nothing, but Jasper was the first to lose control, his eyes reddening.

"You left without a second thought back then, so what gives you the right to show up now and turn my life upside down? Wendy, how can you be so selfish?"

I walked into the quiet stairwell and watched the video in silence. The man losing control on the screen felt like a complete stranger.

My best friend, Eleanor Burch, had told me more than once that Jasper was far too calm with me.

But I would just brush it off and argue back, "Men at the top of the pyramid like him don't wear their hearts on their sleeves. I can accept that this is just how he is."

However, it now hit me with startling clarity that he could lose control, tremble, weep, and beg with utter humility. Only none of it was ever for me, his wife; it was all for Wendy.

I closed my eyes and forced down the wrenching pain in my chest, then kept watching.

In the video, Wendy said nothing in response to Jasper's questions. All she did was stand there and look at him quietly.

After a moment of spiraling out of control, Jasper suddenly let out a bitter laugh. Then, all his resentment and blame seemed to crumble away, and he pulled Wendy into his arms.

"I'm just glad you're back."

And Wendy, nestled against his chest, glanced at the camera with a look of provocation and smug satisfaction.

The video stopped abruptly.

I smiled bitterly, my eyes filled with nothing but desolation.

Outside, thunder suddenly roared, and tears and rain came pouring down all at once. So, this was what Jasper looked like when he loved someone. I had never once felt anything like it.

I wiped away my tears and returned to the emergency room entrance just as the doors swung open. I rushed over, my eyes frighteningly red.

"Doctor, how is my father?"

"He's out of danger, but this absolutely mustn't happen again. His heart can't handle any more stress."

My whole body tensed as I nodded vigorously.

"It won't. Thank you, doctor."

Mom collapsed in relief, sobbing as the tension finally broke. Just then, Dad was wheeled out.

Looking at him so pale and gaunt, I wanted nothing more than to slap myself hard. Why did it take me until now to finally wake up?

Not long after we settled into the hospital room, a specialist pushed open the door.

"Ms. Ingram, I'm Dr. Heath Bullock, a cardiology expert sent by Mr. Eaton. May I ask about the patient's condition?"

At the same time, a message from Jasper came through.

"Sorry, I didn't know it would upset Dennis. I've arranged for a hypertension specialist to come to the hospital. Dennis will be fine."

I gripped my phone tightly, my hand trembling.

It was absurd. We had been together for five years, and he didn't even know what condition Dad had.

I fought hard to keep my emotions in check.

"That won't be necessary. Please leave."

After getting Dad settled, I went down to the OB-GYN department on the lower floor, only to glimpse Jasper and Wendy through the gap in a door.

Jasper, his face full of urgency, was holding Wendy, who was deathly pale.

The doctor asked, "Tell me about your symptoms."

Wendy didn't say a word, while Jasper answered without hesitation, "Her periods have always been irregular. She also has a habit of eating cold things, so her body's been in a weakened state for a long time. We tried herbal medicine to regulate it, but it never helped."

I stopped at the doorway, my feet feeling as though they were filled with lead.

Every single word Jasper spoke, rattling off the details of Wendy's condition as if he knew them by heart, stabbed mercilessly into my chest.

He couldn't even remember what illness Dad had, and yet he could recall everything about an ex-girlfriend he'd broken up with five years ago.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I called my lawyer, Logan Atwood, and told him to draft the divorce papers.

Then, I pushed open the door to another consultation room.

"Please schedule an abortion for me."