Chapter 11

Henry stepped hard on the gas pedal all the way to the hospital. If he had not glanced at a piece of local news while he was about to drive back to the rental home, he would not have found out that Tessa had also gotten hurt at the graduation party.She had been lying in the middle of glass shards with champagne and blood all around her. It looked particularly serious.Henry was filled with guilt and self-reproach. He had reacted instantly at the time and protected Serene. He did not notice Tessa on the ground.To make things worse, he got so busy with the engagement party that all he did was send her a message in a hurry. He did not contact her after that.Tessa was probably feeling horrible, having to be all alone in the hospital.When he passed by a flower shop, Henry quickly hit the brakes. He entered the shop to get a bouquet of yellow roses. Yellow roses represented apology and hope for forgiveness.He was not just apologizing for ignoring her during the graduation party, h

Chapter 12

"Impossible!"Henry reacted strongly to the news.He and Tessa had been together for two years. How could he not know that she was missing a kidney?The doctor looked bitter but insisted that Henry read the report. "Please have a look at the report, Mr. Jennings."Henry snatched it over. He could hardly stand after reading the results of the report. Tessa was really missing a kidney. When did this happen? Why did he have no idea about it?Fear started to crawl through his body. He quickly called his assistant to investigate where Tessa had been recently and what she had been doing.Henry sat in a chair in the hospital after hanging up. His clench on the report tightened; he was almost tearing through it.No one dared to say a word. Everyone around him remained silent for fear they would say something that would upset him.The assistant was very efficient. It took only half an hour for him to complete the investigation. However, every minute and every second of that time was tor

Chapter 13

When the lie started two years ago, Henry had to live with Tessa with a mask on as he carefully pretended to be someone he was not. Even though he was not used to living in a cheap rental house smaller than his bathroom, he had to pretend that it was a home filled with warmth.Henry was not used to the clothes Tessa had carefully picked out by comparing the prices online or buying them in a sale, but he still pretended to like them a lot. Even when he was not used to street food, he would still chomp down on it while sitting on the roadside with her.As time went by, he began to get used to that life. Even though they had no money, they were living life to the fullest.Their 110-square-foot rental place felt more like a home than his cold, icy mansion.Even though the clothes she got him were not comfortable, they were clothes picked with love and care.Henry now knew that he had fallen completely in love with Tessa during those two years he spent as an ordinary man. He loved the

Chapter 14

When Tessa got out of surgery, the bandage on her face affected her sight slightly. She tried to move forward by feeling the wall. Just then, a pair of hands reached out to her."Give me your hand, Tessa. I'll help you."It was a student from the last batch of exchange students. He was also Lawrence's student. His name was Ezra Craven, and he was Tessa's senior.They knew each other back in their home country because they had worked in Lawrence's laboratory together before. He came to pick her up at the airport on her first day in Engliora. Ezra had even accompanied her to register at the university and showed her around.Tessa smiled and placed her hand in his big, warm palms. "I'm afraid a wounded, disabled person like me would have to trouble you."The tips of Ezra's ears turned red, but his expression remained neutral. "I'm your senior, aren't I? It's only right for me to take care of you. Besides, Mr. Werner reminded me about it before you arrived. I don't want him yelling at

Chapter 15

Henry had gotten his assistant to book the fastest ticket to Engliora after finding out the address to Tessa's university. However, before he could get on the plane, his family stopped him.Henry's father was grim when he slapped Henry. "You ungrateful thing! How long do you plan to keep this ruckus going?! That woman is just an orphan who has nothing. How could you cancel your engagement with the Chords for her?"I didn't mind you pretending to be poor and dating that woman for the last two years to help the Chords' daughter get back at her, but that doesn't mean I'll allow you to marry her. My daughter-in-law has to be from a family worthy of us, even if she isn't Serene Chord!"Henry's face snapped to the side from the heavy slap. Blood trickled from his mouth, but he continued to stare at his father defiantly."I won't marry Serene, nor any other woman. Tessa is the only woman I love."Henry's father heaved heavily from anger. He raised his walking cane to hit Henry hard on th

Chapter 16

"That's not possible. We've only broken up for half a month. Weren't we happy in the last two years?" Henry was in a hurry to prove this and kept talking about the memories they shared in the past two years.However, all Tessa heard was evidence of how she was treated as a fool in those two years. "Our relationship was built on a lie."Henry froze. He had no explanation for that. All he could do was stare pleadingly at her."I was wrong, Tessa. This was my fault. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you. But what we went through in the past two years was real."'Sorry' was the most useless word to Tessa.She had given him her heart, but it was stomped on and crushed to the ground. Tessa had been true to him but was treated as a plaything. The moment she found out about the lie, it was the end of their relationship. She could never tolerate being lied to. "Henry, do you really think saying you're sorry is enough to make up for the two years of hurt you've caused me? Can you really