Chapter 7 He Lost Me
After that incident, when Hugh, his mother, and Gwendolyn fled the hospital, his mother flew into a rage. She insisted he break off the engagement with me and marry Gwendolyn instead.
Hugh just laughed it off without giving an answer.
He did feel a twinge of guilt for pushing me toward the attacker that day, but not enough to actually care.
After checking around and confirming that no one had died in the hospital, he figured I survived and did not bother to look into it any further.
One week passed, and something started to feel off.
I used to message him every day–good morning, good night, random little stories from the hospital.
And until now, he never got anything from me.
He comforted himself by thinking I must still be upset.
After all, I was terminally ill and had no other support. He figured I would not go anywhere, so there was no need to coax me.
Another month went by before he decided it was time to check in.
He brought my favorite cake and went to the hospital to see me.
However, I was no longer there.
Gwendolyn was not the least bit concerned too.
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Chapter 7 He Lost Me
“She vanished the day that lunatic grabbed her. I thought you were the one who arranged that.
“What’s the big deal? She’s terminal anyway, so she was going to die sooner or later.”
Her face looked innocent, but her words were sharp enough to draw blood.
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Hugh stared at her, clearly disappointed, but did not respond. Instead, he turned away and called Christopher to help track me down.
As he was about to leave, a paper on Gwendolyn’s desk caught his eye. It was my diagnosis.
It read, “The patient’s condition has deteriorated rapidly. Prognosis, terminal. Estimated survival time, less than one month.”
His hands trembled and blood rushed to his head as he stared at the date.
The report was from a month ago.
“Gwendolyn, why didn’t you tell me she was dying?
“It’s been a whole month. What if she’s already dead and I never even knew?”
He lost control and flung the diagnosis at her.
Gwendolyn, clearly not used to being treated this way, stood up with a wounded look and snapped back.
“You’re a doctor too. Didn’t you notice her wounds weren’t healing after the accident?
“You planned that crash yourself! If she really died, the blood is on your hands, not mine. So don’t pin everything on me!”
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Chapter 7 He Lost Me
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For a moment, Hugh felt like the strength had drained from his entire body.
He wanted to argue, but deep down, he knew Gwendolyn was right.
After a brief pause, something seemed to click in his mind. He rushed back to the hospital ward where I used to stay and tore the place apart.
At the very bottom of a cabinet, he found the painting I had left behind.
That was my only source of comfort during those long, agonizing days in the hospital.
One for every month, so there were ninety–six in total.
Hugh crumpled to the floor, completely defeated, and finally started looking at my paintings for real.
Almost all of them were stained with red blotches–spots of blood I had coughed up without meaning to.
Hugh’s tears spilled over as he realized that he might have truly lost me.
And just then, his phone rang.
Christopher’s voice came through the line, “Hugh, I found out that Eleanor got into the Mancini family’s car a month ago!”
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