Semua Bab A Love Story Without Me: Bab 1 - Bab 10

I was jolted awake the next morning by my phone. Notifications kept popping up one after another—screenshots from social media, forwarded messages from group chats—as though everyone was afraid I might somehow miss them.The moment I opened the first image, my breathing stopped.Charles and Diana were standing outside the vital records office, holding their marriage certificate and smiling happily. Beneath the photo was a flood of congratulatory messages.I kept scrolling and saw a post from Gavin. 'Getting my buddy to this day hasn't been easy. Congratulations on finally getting your wish.'The photos included Charles, Diana, and pictures from their wedding the year before.The moment I opened the group photo, my hand trembled.There were so many familiar faces. Gavin was there, and so was Jessie Slater. Even my adoptive parents were there. My mother was smiling. My father stood beside her, handing someone a glass of wine.Everyone looked completely at ease. I was the only one

I stood outside the glass, staring at Rosalie lying in the hospital bed. Tears immediately welled in my eyes. Her face was so pale that there was not a trace of color in it. An oxygen tube rested beneath her nose, and the back of her hand was covered with needle marks. At that moment, I barely dared to breathe.When I entered, she was still awake.At the sound of my footsteps, she slowly opened her eyes. The moment she saw me, her eyes reddened. She reached for my hand, looking so weak that it seemed as though she might break at any moment. "Ju."I immediately tightened my grip on her hand. "I'm here. Don't be scared."She looked at me for a long time before tears suddenly spilled down her cheeks. "Ju, are you a homewrecker?"My entire body froze.I did not care if other people called me names. I did not care if they hurt me ruthlessly. But not Rosalie. Not her.If she had not donated a kidney to save me, I would have died long ago. And because of complications from the surger

During the first month after I moved abroad, I barely got a full night's sleep.Rosalie's condition was worse than the doctors had initially expected. During the day, she seemed relatively calm, but something always went wrong at night. Sometimes she would lie there with her eyes closed, tears slipping down her cheeks as she repeated the same sentence over and over. "My sister isn't like that… She's not…"I would sit beside her bed, holding her hand and calling her name again and again, but she seemed unable to wake up no matter how hard I tried.During the day, I accompanied her to her examinations. At night, I stayed by her side. I was even afraid to stop and wash my face in case I missed something important.When we first arrived abroad, my command of the local language was not fluent enough for me to handle all the hospital procedures on my own. The medical terminology was especially difficult. Whenever the doctors spoke too quickly, I could only listen while frantically ta

After Rosalie had spent a full year receiving treatment abroad, her condition finally stabilized. She still needed to continue rehabilitation, and her walking was still not quite back to normal, but at least she no longer woke up in a panic throughout the night or trembled whenever she heard certain names.On the day of her follow-up examination, the doctor closed her medical record and told me, "Her body will recover gradually, and so will her emotions."I sat in the chair and let out a long breath.For the entire year, I had been wound tight. The night before every follow-up appointment, I could barely sleep. Whenever I woke up in the middle of the night, I would check on Rosalie to make sure her breathing was steady, her forehead was not too warm, and she had taken her medication on schedule.Once she could slowly start doing things on her own, I began taking on online freelance work. It did not pay much, but at least I no longer had to survive solely on what was left from sel

Charles had lost a lot of weight. The calm confidence that had once made him seem so unshakable, as though he could effortlessly keep everyone around him under control, had been worn away little by little over the past two years.Perhaps because he saw that I was not turning around and walking away, he seemed to breathe a little easier."Are you doing well now?" he asked."Pretty well.""Are you really?" He looked at me as though he couldn't quite believe it."I really am."The wind blew in from the end of the street, sending fallen leaves skittering across the pavement.Charles remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. "I used to think you wouldn't really leave. I thought that no matter what I did, you'd eventually stay right where you were."I listened without responding.Because he was right.The person I had been back then really had been too willing to endure. But I was not that person anymore.He lowered his head, his voice hoarse. "Is there really not e