A piercing metallic ringing echoed in Zachary's ears. He gasped for breath as he finally jolted awake from his nightmare.
He sat bolt upright, his face deathly pale and his entire body drenched in cold sweat.
His first instinct was to look down at himself.
When he found no signs of surgery, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thank goodness. It was only a dream.'
Beside him, Naomi stirred awake, startled by his sudden movement. As she sat up, a complicated look flashed across her eyes. "You're awake?"
Her expression almost suggested she'd hoped he would never wake up.
As Zachary recalled everything from his nightmare, a chill swept through his body. His voice was hoarse as he asked hesitantly, "I-I'm okay now?"
After a brief silence, Naomi replied quietly, "You still need another surgery."
Zachary stiffened. "What surgery?"
"The chandelier struck your head and caused an intracranial hematoma. The doctor says you'll need surgery to remove the blood clot," she answered.
Zachary couldn't tell whether his nightmare had been real, so he merely nodded cautiously. "I see."
Naomi stood up. "I'll get you something to eat. Is soup okay?"
Zachary agreed absentmindedly.
The moment Naomi left, he began frantically searching the hospital room. At last, he found his medical records in the bedside table drawer.
He skimmed through them line by line, but there was no mention of an intracranial hematoma!
Naomi was lying to him!
Zachary felt as though he'd been plunged into a freezing abyss. His entire body began to tremble.
He had to get out of there immediately.
Zachary rushed out of the hospital room barefoot, only to find two bodyguards stationed outside on Naomi's orders. They immediately seized him and pinned him down.
With tears blurring his vision, Zachary cried out in utter despair, "Help! Please, someone, help me..."
The nurses who passed by merely cast indifferent glances in his direction.
The bodyguards even sneered at him. "Mr. Brooks, you'd better accept your fate. Everyone here works for Ms. Cole. She's already made urgent arrangements for your surgery.
"Don't worry. She'll find the best specialists in the field. She absolutely won't let anything happen to you!"
No sooner had the bodyguard finished speaking than a sharp pain struck the back of Zachary's head.
His eyes widened in terror. Through his fading vision, he could just make out Naomi returning with the soup. She handed it to Vincent before pressing an incredibly tender kiss to his forehead.
Zachary could read their lips.
Vincent looked deeply worried. "Naomi, if you use Mr. Brooks's skin like this, won't he resent you?
"Maybe we should just forget it. I don't want to come between you two, much less interfere with your life plan.
"You said divorce was never part of your life plan..."
Naomi smiled tenderly. "You don't need to worry. Zachary won't leave me. He'd never have the heart to divorce me, either."
Those were the last words Zachary managed to make out before losing consciousness.
His body felt unbearably heavy, but his mind remained painfully clear. He could even feel the surgical blade slice through his skin, followed by the searing heat of an instrument pressed against his body.
He could also hear the doctors whispering inside the operating room.
"I wonder what Mr. Brooks did to offend Ms. Cole. She won't even let us give him anesthesia. How much pain must he be in?"
Tears streamed from the corners of Zachary's eyes. 'It hurts so much... It really hurts…'
Nothing remained in his heart but boundless pain and despair.
He endured the agony of the surgical blade cutting into his skin until the operation was finally over.
The skin from his back was then transplanted onto Vincent's body.
…
When Zachary woke up again, the pain was so overwhelming that he could barely feel it anymore. It was as though he'd gone completely numb.
His phone showed 6:00 a.m.
It was the day he'd agreed to leave with David.
Zachary calmly changed his clothes, returned home to collect his suitcase, and went to see David to collect the divorce decree he'd longed for.
…
Zachary handed one copy to David. "David, could you please give this divorce decree to Naomi for me?"
David clasped his hand, his face filled with reluctance. "Zachary, I know everything now. I'm an old fool. I failed you, and I'm sorry.
"Don't worry. I've already arranged everything for you over there. From now on, just live your own life in peace. I won't reveal your whereabouts to anyone. Not a single person."
Zachary shook David's hand, then turned and walked away without looking back.
Two hours later, he arrived at the airport and boarded a flight to another country.
Just before he switched off his phone, two messages from Naomi came through.
Naomi: [You're awake? The injury on your back was caused by a surgical error during the procedure to remove the intracranial hematoma. I've already had the hospital dismiss the doctors responsible. Don't worry about it. Just focus on recovering.]
Naomi: [I've had to leave on a last-minute business trip. I'll pick you up from the hospital when I get back.]
In a daze, Zachary recalled the life plan notebook he'd once secretly glimpsed. Naomi had planned a seven-day family vacation to Azure Isles for her 29th birthday.
Just ten minutes earlier, Vincent had posted on social media.
[Vacation time! Next destination: Azure Isles!]
Zachary let out a mocking laugh. With absolute calm, he removed his SIM card and snapped it in half.
Two planes bound for different countries passed each other on the runway.
Zachary closed his eyes. He couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye.
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