Chapter 3

Quentin called out to me before I left the hospital ward. "Don't forget about my design drafts, Mr. Lister."

My anger flared again, and I looked toward Teresa.

Teresa froze for a moment before turning to give Quentin a reproachful look. "Cut it out and rest up, Quentin."

I hadn't gotten far from the hospital ward when Teresa caught up with me to offer an apology. "That's just how Quentin is—he doesn't think before he speaks. Please don't take it to heart, Aaron…"

She glanced at the injured right hand I was cradling and said flatly, "Your hand's hurt. You should head home and rest. There's no rush with the design drafts, so take your time. Quentin's still waiting for me—we'll talk about us another time."

Having said that, she turned around and walked away.

I felt myself growing numb inside, knowing there would be no next time for us.

Teresa sent me a message, telling me to let her know once I made it home safe.

I rolled up my sleeve, revealing a huge swollen patch on my arm. I was still applying medicine to the injury when Teresa had two gifts delivered to me—a luxury-brand watch and the keys to a villa.

She explained in a message that one was compensation for letting Quentin have my design drafts, and the other was payment for continuing to work on his design drafts.

I expressionlessly set the gifts aside, opened my sketchbook, and buried myself in my work again.

A friend who came to visit saw the gifts and sighed with admiration. "Your girlfriend must really love you! I'm so jealous of you, Aaron!"

I forced a smile, one that didn't quite reach my eyes.

I noticed that the sketchbook was almost entirely full, leaving just two blank pages at the end. I knew I was getting close to the day I would let Teresa go.

…

I came down with a fever that night. I got out of bed to get some water, only to notice the gifts Teresa had sent over. I couldn't have cared less about them.

I recalled the emerald pendant I had given Teresa when we first got together. It was a family heirloom that had been with me for years. I hadn't seen Teresa wear it lately, and I had no idea where it had ended up.

I searched every inch of the room but couldn't find the emerald pendant anywhere.

Just as I was about to call and ask her, Teresa walked through the door. She immediately looked worried when she saw my pale complexion.

I couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope every time she looked at me with such a concerned expression, fooling me into thinking she really loved me. I hurriedly averted my gaze and asked, "Where is the emerald pendant I gave you?"

Quentin, who had been waiting outside, suddenly walked in and scoffed. "Oh, that emerald pendant? You're talking about that weird-looking piece of emerald, right?

"I saw Teresa wearing it all the time, so I borrowed it out of curiosity and accidentally broke it. You have nothing to worry about, though, since I already bought Teresa a new one. I'm sorry. I never found a chance to tell you. I'll pay you back for the emerald pendant, so just name a price."

I choked out the words, barely holding back tears. "That was my most treasured possession, Teresa!"

Teresa stopped for a moment, then handed me a cup of warm water to help soothe my throat. "Alright, alright. I'm really sorry about what happened. Just name whatever you want to make up for it, and I'll give it to you, Aaron."

She clearly had no idea how much it had meant to me. I had given her the most precious thing I had, only for her to cast it aside casually.

I didn't take the cup of water she handed over, feeling totally numb inside. "Forget about it. It doesn't matter anymore."

Upon seeing this, Quentin put on a tearful expression and said, "I was the one who accidentally broke your emerald pendant—Teresa had nothing to do with it. I'll never forgive myself if I ruined your relationship over this."